1. Start by making the cream cheese topping. It’s very important the cream cheese is softened so you get a smooth blend. Add the cream cheese to a bowl then mix with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Section off into teaspoons sized portions and place on a platter lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

2. While the cream cheese is freezing, start making the cookie dough. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. Add the all purpose flour, then sift in the cocoa to avoid clumps. Mix in the salt, and baking soda.

3. Melt the butter then add to a large bowl. Whisk in the white sugar, then then the brown sugar, the egg, vanilla extract, and the liquid red food coloring.

4. When there’s about 10 minutes left for the cream cheese freezing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5. Add about 1/2 the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. Then add into most of the first bar of the chopped dark chocolate (the bar I used in this photo was a 3 ounce bar, so if you’ve chopped a 3.5 ounce bar add most of it and reserve the rest for garnishing). Then, add the remaining dry ingredients, stirring and kind of “mashing” until all of the dry mixed into the wet.

6. Form a cookie dough ball and gently press onto the cookie sheet. Press on top a piece of the cream cheese filling, then a small square of the chopped dark chocolate. Repeat until all the cookie dough is used…you might not use all the cream cheese filling and not all of the dark chocolate.

7. Bake for 1o minutes, then remove to a plate.