Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

Last month I joined Baking Partners. We are a group of home bakers helping each other to achieve baking perfection. Baking partners was begun by Swathi at Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

Baking a homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and the right techniques are required.

We are a small group of home baker friends, who love and want to learn more about the nook and corners of baking. We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows. Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group. The main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic procedures if there are ways to improve and to eat delicious food.

This month’s theme is Cookies. We were given 3 recipes to choose from and since the reveal date is my birthday I chose the recipe I liked best for Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito selected by Tina of Pinay in Texas from Food & Wine Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes Vol. 14. This was an excellent choice – crunchy outside, smooth and creamy inside – a very unusual cookie texture, but wonderful!

Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened slightly

4 ounces Cream Cheese at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar – beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Beat in the eggs, heavy cream and vanilla until blended.
At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Add the melted chocolate and chocolate chips and beat just until incorporated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them two inches apart.
Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies are just set; shift the baking sheets for top to bottom and front to back half way through.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

Note: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.