Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
These Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips. Easy to make, bakery-style cookies everyone will love!
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Holidays are approaching, and that means we need all the delicious cookies to bake. If you love thick, soft chocolate chip cookies that stay perfectly chewy for days, you need to try these Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies!
The secret ingredient? A packet of instant vanilla pudding. It adds moisture, richer flavor, and prevents the cookies from drying out, giving you that perfect soft cookie every time. You can't go wrong with a classic Chocolate Chip Cookie, Kitchen Sink Cookies, or a chewy Snickerdoodle Cookie recipe either.
Why This Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
These cookies come together quickly and require no chilling, making them the perfect last-minute dessert for parties, holidays, or when guests show up for the upcoming holidays. Plus, this soft cookie recipe is easy to scale and make a few extra batches. Enjoy some now, freeze some for later!
Let's Gather The Ingredients
- All-purpose flour (spoon & leveled): Creates a thick, sturdy cookie with a soft, bakery-style center.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix: Adds moisture, flavor, and keeps the cookies soft for days.
- Baking soda: Helps the cookies spread just the right amount.
- Baking powder: Adds extra lift for thick, puffy cookies.
- Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances flavor.
- Butter, softened: Adds richness and helps create soft, chewy centers.
- Shortening: Helps the cookies stay thick and extra tender without spreading too much.
- Brown sugar: Adds moisture and chewiness with a deeper caramel-like flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Gives crisp edges and sweetness.
- Eggs: Binds the dough and add moisture for a soft texture.
- Vanilla extract: Brings warm, classic cookie flavor.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: You can use dark or milk chocolate chips if you prefer.
How to Make These Pudding Cookies
- Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Step 2: In a large bowl, beat softened butter until creamy.
- Step 3: To the creamed butter mixture, add in brown sugar and white sugar, mix until smooth.
- Step 4: Add eggs and vanilla, blend to combine.
- Step 5: Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix until just combined.
- Step 6: Fold in chocolate chips.
- Step 7: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop cookie dough balls (about 2 tablespoons each) onto the baking sheet.
- Step 8: Bake until edges are lightly golden brown and centers still soft. Add extra chocolate chips on top right after baking. Use a round cookie cutter to gently swirl around the edges to make perfectly round cookies. Serve and enjoy your chewy chocolate chip cookies.
Recipe Tips
- Remove baked cookies when centers still look soft. The soft center will continue to set as they cool.
- Adding more chocolate chips at the end can be optional. It helps give that pretty, bakery-style cookie look.
- For perfectly round edges, “circle” the cookies with a round cutter while still warm. Do not wait until they've cooled to reach room temperature.
- For best results, to keep cookies soft longer, store with a slice of bread in your airtight container. Cookies will last 4-5 days this way.
- You can freeze the cookie dough. Just scoop it into the balls of dough first. Flash-freeze the cookie dough before placing it in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Recipe Faq's
Vanilla instant pudding mix adds moisture, richness, and structure to the dough, creating cookies that bake up extra soft and chewy. The pudding helps prevent the cookies from drying out, so they stay tender for days while adding a subtle boost of vanilla flavor.
No. Cook and Serve pudding will not work for these cookies. Instant pudding dissolves easily into the dough and provides the soft, chewy texture these cookies are known for. Cook-and-serve pudding requires heat to thicken and won’t blend the same way into the dough.
This usually happens if the butter is too soft, the flour wasn’t spooned and leveled, or the baking sheets are warm. Chilling the dough for 20–30 minutes can help.
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Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour spoon and leveled
- 1 3.4 box instant vanilla pudding do not use cook and serve
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons butter softened but not melted
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet
- In a medium bowl add the flour, pudding, baking soda, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer mix the softened butter until creamy.
- Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until combined.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet and beat until fully combined.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons into dough balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes. When they come out of the oven place a few more chocolate chip into the cookies.
- These cookies shouldn’t spread much but right when they come out of the oven you can use a circle shape to run around the edges of the cookies to make that perfect circle.
