Recipe courtesy of Emily Weinberger for Food Network Kitchen

Cottage Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 2 hr
  • Active: 20 min
  • Yield: 24 cookies
You’d probably never guess the secret ingredient in these cookies if it wasn’t in the name of the recipe. Cottage cheese is the star in these otherwise classic chocolate chip cookies, and it works to transform them in three impressive ways. First it boosts the cookies’ protein content, an excellent and unexpected nutritional bonus. Second, it acts as a fat replacer, allowing the dough to stay rich and tender with about half as much butter. Finally, these cookies bake up chewy and fluffy thanks to the moisture content the cottage cheese brings. All these benefits come without sacrificing any of the flavor you expect from a chocolate chip cookie. What’s not to love?

Ingredients

Directions

Special equipment:
a 1 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop
  1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
  2. Beat the butter and 1/2 cup cottage cheese in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until well combined and the mixture resembles ricotta, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just to combine.
  3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and remaining 3/4 cup cottage cheese and beat until just combined. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 1 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  5. Bake the cookies until they are golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, 15 to 17 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)