Chocolate Cookies with Cream Cheese Chips

In trying to use the cream cheese chips that I have in the cupboard before all the holiday craziness begins, I decided to use the last of the chips in these chocolate cookies. They were originally called inside out chocolate chip cookies, as they are a chocolate cookie with white/cream cheese chips rather than a blonde cookie with chocolate chips, but I thought that didn’t really describe these cookies very well. I simply called them chocolate cookies with cream cheese chips. Yes, white chips were originally called for in the recipe and of course would be great.

These cookies aren’t difficult, but they do take a little extra time since you must chill the dough. As with almost any chocolate cookie, the dough is very sticky and chilling helps reduce some of that stickiness. They were still a little tricky to roll into balls, and I had to wash my hands a lot. That’s good hygiene anyway, right? It never hurts to be a neat baker (and I am, most of the time).

This makes a petite batch of cookies, which is ok since I have so many other things planned for the near future. This made a little more than two dozen. It’s critical that you save some extra chips to top the cookies when they come out of the oven. I only topped half of the cookies with extra chips, and they looked great. These taste a lot like a chocolate chip cookie, with a little more chocolate flavor. There is something homey about these cookies that can’t be beat!

Chocolate Cookies with Cream Cheese Chips
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 cup cream cheese chips

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir on medium to incorporate. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Mix on low until the dough begins to form. Finish the mixing with a spatula as you fold in the cream cheese chips.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Scoop the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-11 minutes. Once out of the oven, you can press additional chips into the tops of the cookies. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Alpine Ella