Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

Each month at work I bring a birthday cake for all the folks at work with birthdays that month. I baked this month’s cake earlier in the week. While that would normally not exasperate my baking mojo for the week, the cake I made presented some challenges. Frosting didn’t turn out, ganache wasn’t quite right, etc. In the end the cake was great, but for the cookies this week I wanted something simple.

I have been planning to make these chocolate cheesecake cookies for a few weeks. After planning the cake, I hadn’t planned my other baking. I had the ingredients for these cookies, they looked like they would come together with little stress. I wasn’t sure how the cream cheese would do in the cookies, as I typically only use cream cheese in bar cookies.

The dough when mixed together is very similar to thick brownie batter. Reading the original recipe, I knew what to expect. It was sticky but a cookie scoop makes quick work of it. These don’t spread much, so I baked 20 per sheet rather than my typical 12. This made about 60 small cookies, which was a lot! Knowing how long to bake them is a challenge. I baked the first batch 9 minutes, and they were a little gooey. Not that this is a bad thing! 10 minutes seemed just perfect. The cookies are soft and cakey, with a good chocolate brownie flavor. These aren’t complex, but sometimes less is more.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium until smooth. Add the sugar and beat again on medium until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/cocoa powder mixture. Stirring just until incorporated. To avoid over mixing, you may want to do the last bit of mixing by hand with a spatula.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-11 minutes, until set. They will be soft but will set as they cool. Do not over bake.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar.

Recipe from Yellow Bliss Road