1 small package cream cheese (8oz) - room temperature
1 1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon baking soda
3 cups white flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips or semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
Cream the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. (The crystal structure of sugar is very angular, and when you mix it in with something rather vigorously, it rubs and scratches the surface, and allows air into the mixture. This air makes the cookies feel “lighter” once they come out of the oven.)
Mix egg and lemon juice into the cream cheese and sugar until fully combined. (The egg adds the proteins needed to give the cookies structural support… once baked especially, they hold everything together rather than turning into soft crumbs.)
Pour in 1 cup of the flour and the baking soda. Mix thoroughly . Add last of flour, and stir until all flour has been incorporated. Dough will be very sticky.
Place butter/margarine and chocolate in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave for 20-25 seconds, or until butter is melted and chocolate is beginning to soften. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. (If you microwave chocolate until it is entirely melted, the water inside of it will evaporate and the chocolate will “seize” - turn into little globules of rather unappetizing chocolate-like product. By adding some fat/oil and applying only minimal heat, you minimize evaporation. The other option is to create a double boiler style setup by placing a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water and stirring constantly. Either way, treat chocolate gently!)
Using a rubber scraper or wooden spoon, drop bits of chocolate over surface of the cream cheese dough still in the mixing bowl. Fold (dig your scraper or spoon in on one side, and very carefully run it along the bottom of the batter, then lift up and over the top) gently until the dough is swirled, but not mixed.
Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes in 350 degree oven. Cookies are done when puffed and slightly resistant to touch. Edges will not noticeably brown. Pull out of oven, and transfer to cooling rack.
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