Can’t decide between cheesecake and cookies? Enjoy the best of both worlds with this recipe for soft and chewy White Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies! These cookies are packed with creamy white chocolate chips and the tanginess of cheesecake to satisfy all your dessert cravings in one delicious bite.
Table of Contents
Remember the Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies? Today I’d like to introduce you to their confectionery cousin, White Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies. Both recipes are made with the same secret ingredient, which is responsible for giving these cookies their extra-light texture and super-soft consistency.
There are no crispy cookies resulting from this batch of dough, which goes for a long chill in the fridge prior to scooping and baking. The chillout session is just one of my many tricks to guaranteeing the best chocolate chip cookies to ever cross your lips.
But this time, you’re skipping the semi-sweet morsels in favor of white chocolate chips (or chunks). And the resulting cookie delivers big on flavor and texture, pairing the pillowy lightness and tanginess of cheesecake with the chewy bite of a classic no-chill chocolate chip cookie.
- All-purpose flour: The backbone of our cookie dough. Be sure to measure your flour properly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off the top with a straight edge.
- Baking soda: For lift and a light, airy texture.
- Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavors of our cookies and balances out their sweetness.
- Unsalted butter: Using unsalted butter gives you complete control over the saltiness of your recipe. Bring the butter to room temperature, which means it should be cool to the touch and about 65°F. The easiest way to tell if your butter is at room temperature is to gently press it – if it makes a small indent, it’s ready; if it sinks into the middle, it’s too soft.
- Cream cheese: The secret ingredient! You’ll want to use regular, full-fat cream cheese softened to room temp for this recipe to achieve the best results. The higher fat content adds that perfect richness and moisture to the cookies.
- Sugars: You’ll need both white granulated sugar and light brown sugar for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract: Adds an extra layer of deliciousness. Opt for pure vanilla extract for the best results, and don’t be afraid to experiment with homemade vanilla extract!
- Eggs: Just like most of my cookie recipes, it’s important to use room temp eggs to create a smoother batter and better texture for your cookies. Place eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to bring them to room temperature quickly.
- White chocolate chips: My go-to brand is Ghirardelli. Save the rest for my favorite Mama Kelce cookies. Tip: Cream cheese chips would be delicious, too!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
I use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to cream and combine the ingredients, but a hand mixer works just as well for making the cookie dough. Just a heads-up: you’ll need to chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Cream the wet ingredients. Cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Do this for a full 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 3 days.
- Prep for baking: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Drop mounds of dough onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Pro Tip: Using a cookie scoop is the fastest and easiest way to create same-sized cookies.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers are set. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Baker’s Tip: Baking times can vary depending on your oven and the size of your cookies, but aim for 10 to 14 minutes. When in doubt, underbake slightly—cookies will continue to set on the baking sheets once removed from the oven.
- Measure the cream cheese by spooning/scraping it into a dry measuring cup and leveling it off. Do not use low-fat cream cheese or the texture of the batter will be affected.
- Don’t skip the chilling step! The cookie dough will be very soft as a result of the cream cheese, so it must be refrigerated for at least 2 hours to firm up slightly and make it easier to scoop.
- Not a fan of white chocolate? Swap in dark, milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.
You can store the cheesecake cookies in an airtight container at room temp. They’ll stay fresh for about 5 days.
I recommend freezing the cookie dough in balls/scoops so all you have to do is bake them off as needed.
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Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temp (See Kelly’s Notes)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
- 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 just until combined, then stir in the white 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 10 to 14 minutes 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 ½ cup cream cheese by spooning/scraping it into a dry measuring cup and leveling it off. Do not use low-fat cream cheese, or the texture of the batter will be affected.
- The cookie dough will be very soft as a result of the cream cheese, so it must be refrigerated for at least 2 hours to firm up slightly and make it easier for scooping.
- You can store the cheesecake cookies in an air-tight container at room temp. They’ll stay fresh for about 5 days.
- I recommend freezing the cookie dough in balls/scoops so all you have to do is bake them off as needed.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
These recipes sound fantastic. Thank you. I would love to have these recipes
Thanks, Carolyn!
Can salted butter be used in place of the unsalted butter if that’s all that’s available?
Sure! Just cut the additional salt from the recipe.
Made these for family today, the cookies were fabulous and everyone loved them and said they are now their favorite cookie.
Love reading this, Rane! I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the cookies!
Can you use Neufchâtel cheese in this recipe?
Hi Gina – You’ll want to use regular (full-fat) cream cheese for this recipe to achieve the best results. :)
does it have to be stored in the fridge after baking?
Hi Vickie! You can store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temp. They’ll stay fresh for about 5 days. :)
We loved these. They stayed soft even after 4 to 5 days. My husband asked for these again!
I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoy the recipe, Terri!
My cookies are chilling in the fridge. Prep time was less than an hour. Hope I didn’t forget something. Will let you know how they turned out
Enjoy!
Hi! Can’t wait to try this recipe :D i was wondering how much sugar i can cut out of this recipe?
I’ve never tried cutting out any of the sugar so I’m not sure!
Could you use whipped cream cheese?
That’ll work as long as its full-fat cream cheese.
Hi I would really like baking these if possible could you please share the recipe in grams. I’d highly appreciate it. Thank you
Hi Mona! I don’t measure my ingredients in grams, but perhaps you’ll find this conversion table helpful: http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/ :)
I made these for my husband because he loves white chocolate; I’m normally not a big fan. After making these though it’s safe to say they may be our favorite cookies ever! I never thought I would like a white choc chip cookie so much, but these have a totally different taste profile than the “normal” ones. It must be the cream cheese! I’ll be sending this recipe to all our family and friends. Thanks so much!!! *only cooked for 10 min in our oven.
Wow! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the cookies, Caitlyn!
Hi Kelly,
I just tried making it and it is very cakey. Not sure where I went wrong.
Hi there, Edwina – It’s hard to determine exactly what the issue may have been, but is your flour fresh? And did you chill your dough?
OMG!!! This looks super delicious!! You can never go wrong with any kind of cheesecake especially when its chocolate
I stumbled across this recipe and so glad I did! They are delicious and a favorite of my family. I have to make another batch because they loved them so much! :) Thank you!!
Woohoo! I’m thrilled to hear this, Kelly!
looks great!
Thank you!
Hi how would I store these and for how long
Hi Nikki! You can store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temp. They’ll stay fresh for about 5 days. Enjoy!
I made these and also added cranberries – everyone absolutely raved about them and asked for the recipe! Thanks so much :)
I did find them hard to ‘scoop’ with my cookie dough/icecream scoop so ended up just rolling into balls instead (I like the shape and consistency the scoop gives them, but they were still great!)
I love your addition of cranberries, Kara!
I’ve been consumed with making a copycat version of these Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies that Subway used to make, what do you think of adding a bit of diced ‘dried’ raspberries (or blueberries yum!) Would dried be the way to go or freeze dried? Have you tried either?
Love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Dried raspberries would be delicious! You can stir in 1/2 cup to the batter at the same time as you stir in the white chocolate chips. Can’t wait to hear your results :)
Just took a batch of these out of the oven and I can’t stop eating them! They are soft and chewy cookie perfection.
Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Jane!