Description
These Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies combine rich chocolate cookie dough with a creamy cheesecake filling, topped with a delicious drizzle of melted chocolate. Perfectly soft and slightly fudgy, these cookies bake up beautifully with a slight crackle on top and a velvety cream cheese center for an irresistible treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260g)
- ½ cup Dutch cocoa powder (50g)
- 2 tablespoons black cocoa powder (14g)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (16g)
- 2 tablespoons powdered milk (10g)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ cup salted butter, softened (113g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 additional large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 ounces whole milk, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened (170g)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (130g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Topping
- ½ cup chocolate melting wafers (milk, dark, or white)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. If using a 9×13-inch baking sheet, prepare two sheets for baking two batches.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, Dutch cocoa powder, black cocoa powder, cornstarch, powdered milk, and baking soda until well combined. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together granulated sugar, softened salted butter, and salt for 1 minute until fluffy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the large egg, then add the additional egg yolk, whole milk, and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat until incorporated, then add remaining dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until all combined into a cookie dough.
- Prepare Cheesecake Filling: In a separate bowl, beat softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste or extract until smooth and creamy.
- Form Cookie Dough Balls: Using a #24 cookie scoop, portion 16 scoops of dough (about 1.8 ounces each). Gently flatten and shape each into a bowl shape.
- Fill Cookies: Place about a heaping teaspoon (approximately 0.3 ounces) of the cream cheese filling into each dough bowl. There may be some filling leftover.
- Enclose Filling: Carefully fold the cookie dough up and around the cream cheese filling, patting and pinching to seal completely. Roll each into a smooth ball.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the filled cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet with the sealed side down. Space each cookie at least 2 inches apart for normal size.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 11 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops have a matte look with slight cracking. They may appear slightly underbaked, which is normal.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer carefully to a wire rack using a spatula to cool completely. Cookies are soft immediately after baking but firm up while cooling.
- Melt Chocolate and Drizzle: Melt the chocolate melting wafers in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring between each until smooth. Transfer melted chocolate to a piping bag and drizzle over cooled cookies. Allow chocolate to harden before serving.
Notes
- For best results, use room temperature eggs and milk to ensure the dough mixes evenly.
- If you don’t have black cocoa powder, use all Dutch cocoa powder but expect a slightly lighter color.
- Chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking can improve dough handling but is not required.
- Space cookies sufficiently apart as they may spread slightly during baking.
- Melt chocolate slowly to avoid burning; stir frequently during microwaving.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
