Chocolate Cream Cheese Chunk Cookies

This recipe is adapted from the chocolate chip cookie recipe in The Village Baker's Wife cookbook. If you want to try the original chocolate chip version, omit cocoa and cream cheese, and add a 1/2 c more chocolate chips. They're scary good both ways.

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c . chocolate chips
8 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1/2 in. chunks

Put the bar of cream cheese in the freezer for a few minutes, then take it out, cut into chunks, and return to freezer until you're ready to add it to the batter. This keeps the cream cheese from making a mess when you're cutting it up and when you're forming the cookies.

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In bowl of tabletop mixer fitted with paddle, cream butter. Add sugars and beat until well combined. Beat in 1 egg and vanilla. Add remaining egg and beat just until incorporated.

In separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix gently until just barely incorporated. Add chocolate chips and combine just until incorporated.

Take about a 2-3 tablespoons worth of dough and add in a few cream cheese chunks. Bake on center rack of oven for 12-14 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies, so watch them).

Eat them.