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My cottage cheese cookies are thick, chewy, and have gorgeous, crisp edges. They use simple pantry staple ingredients and don’t need any chilling whatsoever.
Okay, so adding cottage cheese to cookies may sound strange, but trust me- once you bake a batch of them, you’ll add them to your cookie rotation.
The cottage cheese adds extra moisture and richness, and because we aren’t using any milk or eggs, it also helps bind them. They also add a little extra protein, which is always a plus. Don’t fret, though, because these turn out thick and chewy, with gooey soft middles.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Taste like actual cookies. Most cottage cheese cookie recipes are healthy and wholesome, which is fine, but I wanted my recipe to yield bakery-style cookies that everyone would adore.
- Quick and easy. Like my cream cheese cookies, from prep to plate, these cookies take less than 20 minutes to make.
- No chill time. You’d be surprised that it doesn’t need time to chill for such a decadent-looking cookie. You just shape and bake.
If you love cottage cheese desserts, try my cottage cheese cheesecake, cottage cheese pudding, and cottage cheese ice cream next.
Key Ingredients
- Cottage cheese. I like to use whipped cottage cheese because it blends into the dough seamlessly. In terms of which cottage cheese to blend, I tested these cookies with full-fat cottage cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, and fat-free cottage cheese and found no real difference between them, so use whichever you prefer.
- Butter. Unsalted and softened to room temperature.
- Sugar. I like to use a mix of white sugar and brown sugar to give the cookies crisp edges and soft middles.
- Baking soda. The leavening agent gives the cookies some rise and prevents them from spreading thin.
- Salt. Just a pinch to balance out the other ingredients.
- All-purpose flour. Sifted, please.
- Chocolate chips. Optional, but highly recommended.
How to make cottage cheese cookies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Cream the butter and sugars together, then stir through the cottage cheese.
Step 2- Make the dough. Mix in the baking soda, salt, and flour until combined. Fold through the chocolate chips.
Step 3- Shape. Using your hands, roll out 3-4 inch balls of cookie dough and place them on a baking sheet.
Step 4- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Do not overmix. Overmixing the cookie dough will result in puffy, cakey cookies. If that is what you prefer, then go for it. However, these taste best when they are soft and chewy in the middle, so mix until ‘just’ combined.
- Shape large balls of dough. I find these cookies bake best when shaped into large (I’m talking 2 1/2- 3 ounce) dough balls. The smaller the balls, the less chewy they are.
- Avoid overbaking. These cookies will continue to bake as they cool down. I recommend removing them from the oven once the edges are just brown. The tops might seem soft, but they’ll firm up beautifully within a few minutes.
- Make ahead. You can prep the cookie dough up to 48 hours in advance. Once you’ve mixed in the chocolate chips, cover the bowl and refrigerate it. When ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover cookies can be covered at room temperature for up to five days. If you want these to keep longer, store them in the fridge, and they’ll keep well for up to two weeks.
To freeze: Place the baked and cooled cookies in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t whip the cottage cheese before adding it to the batter, you risk the cookies needing a little extra moisture to be smooth. I know it’s an extra step, but it is worth the effort.
While there is cottage cheese in the cookie dough, these cookies still use butter and sugar in them, and should be enjoyed in moderation.
Yes, you can. Swap out the flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour with added xanthan gum. I had success with Bob’s Red Mill brand.
More cookie recipes to try
- Flourless cookies
- No bake oatmeal cookies
- Chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips
- Single serve chocolate chip cookie
Cottage Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whipped cottage cheese Or blended cottage cheese of choice
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Stir through the whipped cottage cheese.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and flour and mix until smooth and just combined. Gently fold through the chocolate chips.
- Using your hands, shape large, 3-inch balls of dough and place them on the lined baking sheet, two inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool to firm up.
