Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies

By GratefulSea

First posted by CameronRoss.com, these have crispy edges with soft centers, and were perfect after 9 minutes of baking.

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1-1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Details

Servings 36
Preparation time 120mins
Cooking time 120mins
Adapted from justataste.com

Preparation

Step 1

The secret ingredient in my chocolate chip cookies is none other than … cream cheese! The tangy spread has become my latest baking obsession ever since I experimented with subbing a bit of it for butter in a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. The result is the softest cookie that pairs a perfectly chewy center with slightly crispy edges.

Ready to up your chocolate chip cookie game? Here are a few tips to guide you on on your path to cookie perfection:

DO use brown sugar in addition to granulated sugar. A combination of the two sugars results in chewier cookies, while cookies made with only white sugar will be much crispier.

DON’T use low-fat cream cheese. These are cookies, not green juice.

DO chill the dough before scooping and baking it. The refrigeration period, which is anywhere from 2 to 72 hours, gives the ingredients a chance to bind. A cohesive dough is a better dough, and one that guarantees the cookies won’t spread too much while baking. Put simply: The longer you refrigerate the dough, the better the cookies will taste.

DON’T over-bake the cookies. For perfect cookies with crispy edges and soft, chewy centers, remove them from the oven 2 minutes before they’re fully baked, as they’ll continue cooking and crisp up slightly as they cool.

DO tell yourself that you’re “only going to eat one cookie” … and then eat three.


DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture, beating to combine, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.

Drop 2- to 3-tablespoon mounds of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing the mounds at least 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes (ours were great after baking for 9 minutes), or until golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Kelly's Notes:

Measure 1/4 cup cream cheese by spooning/scraping it into a dry measuring cup and leveling it off.