Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is an incredibly delicious recipe shared with me by a good friend. Wow. I do use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese and they turned out just fine. There are no eggs in this recipe so I was content to eat some batter too. :)

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

from melskitchencafe.com

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

12 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, melted butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until mostly incorporated but a few dry streaks remain. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined and no dry streaks remain.

Roll the dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand (just barely press, you don't need to flatten it all the way). Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes until the edges are just barely golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.