Cottage Cheese Cookies
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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.
I wanted a cookie that stayed thick, soft, and gooey without relying on eggs or extra butter, and surprisingly, cottage cheese turned out to be the perfect secret ingredient. It adds moisture, richness, and natural binding (just like in my cottage cheese brownies), plus a little extra protein for good measure.
And don’t worry- you’d never guess it’s in there. These bake up thick, soft in the middle, with crisp edges, and my very picky partner and friend group who taste-tested these couldn’t tell the difference.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Tastes 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.
Key Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients for these cookies, along with my kitchen notes. The complete list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
- Cottage cheese. I like to use whipped cottage cheese because it blends seamlessly into the dough. In terms of which cottage cheese to use, I tested these cookies with full-fat, low-fat, and fat-free cottage cheese and found no real difference among 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
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 the cookie dough into 3-4-inch balls 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 additional step, but it is worth the effort.
While there is cottage cheese in the cookie dough, these cookies still contain butter and sugar and should be enjoyed in moderation.
Yes, you can. Swap out the flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum added. I had success with Bob’s Red Mill brand.
✅ Nutrition reviewed
Nutrition information has been reviewed by registered dietitian Felicia Newell, MScAHN, RD, CPT.
Cottage Cheese Cookies
Video
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.
Notes
- Cottage cheese: Any cottage cheese works for these cookies (full-fat, low-fat, non-fat). In terms of brands, I like Daisy’s and Good Culture.
- Leftovers: Keep at room temperature for 5 days or in the fridge for two weeks.
these are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had??? How? Thank you for this insanely great recipe, wow.
Aw, thank you Jess!
We tried the @thebigmansworld cottage cheese cookies and they turned out delicious! I doubled the recipe and made about 25 large cookies. I wish I could share a picture on how beautiful they turned out.
Wonderful recipe! I was a bit worried about the dough but man, did they bake up beautifully@
Loved these and so did my grandchildren. I did sub Allulose for the white sugar and it worked well. Nice recipe!
These are going to be delicious! I love all the ingredients. How could they not be?
can u add protein powder for a higher protein amount?
I don’t see why not!
Sounds great
Made a second batch of these cookies but swapped out half the chocolate chip for chopped walnuts. Have you ever tried levain cookies? These tasted just like that!
Just made these cottage cheese cookies and am SO impressed- not like the other recipes that taste like bird food!!!
Good morning I have made your cottage cheese cookies and it taste like cake is that how is suppose to be ??
Hi Carmelle- did you overmix the batter? That would result in cakier cookies VS thinner and crisp ones.
Forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by “whip” the cottage cheese? I can’t help but wonder if you are trying to tell us to perhaps put it in the blender or use an immersion tool to break down the cottage cheese into a smooth finished product. I’ve never “whipped” cottage cheese before and find the term confusing for this recipe.
Yes, Bonnie 🙂 If you click the link for whipped cottage cheese, I walk you through the process 🙂
Can monk fruit and almond flour be substituted to make this keto friendly?
Not sure for the almond flour, but the monk fruit works
These were so easy and I love the texture! Thanks for this!
Glad to hear that, Teresa!