These soft and chewy vanilla pudding chocolate chip cookies are a favorite in my family. The pudding mix adds big vanilla flavor and makes the texture amazing!
Pudding chocolate chip cookies are the perfect mix of soft and chewy. They have big vanilla flavor and lots of chocolate.
There is pudding mix hidden inside that gives them great texture and makes them super delicious. So get your glass of milk ready, it’s cookie time!
To be honest, before this batch I hadn’t had these cookies in years. But there was an era in my family where these were an absolute staple.
Why These Pudding Cookies Are Special To Us
My brother, Clint, was one of those kids who was in high school when September 11th happened. He and a bunch of his friends instantly knew as soon as they graduated they would join the armed services.
And join they did. It was one of those moments that made you proud and scared at the same time.
As he went of to Marine boot camp in California, we had been strictly warned against sending any sort of treats. Only send letters, and even then keep them simple.
Don’t do anything that draws attention and definitely don’t do anything that might make him stand out… standing out in boot camp is not a good thing.
But as he moved on to his MOS school in Texas for fire safety and rescue and then moved on to his base in North Carolina, treats suddenly became acceptable. And these cookies were the home baked goods that were most frequently requested.
There is just something about getting your favorite cookie baked by your mom to make you feel at home no matter where you are. Luckily Clint was never deployed overseas.
He would have been fine… I’m not sure that my mom would have been. Plus the postage to ship all of these cookies overseas would have really added up! 😉
As things go, we somehow moved off these cookies an onto something else at some point along the way. But I knew I wanted to include them on the blog, so I dug up the recipe and whipped up a batch.
They were just as delicious as I remember them. No wonder he requested them as often as he did.
So now these will be back in our regular cookie rotation. They would be perfect for holiday cookie trays and also much appreciated after school snacks.
Of course they are perfect for care packages as well. A little taste of home goes a long way!
Storage
Cookies can be stored at room temperature for several days. Put them in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
Adding a slice of sandwich bread to the container helps keep them softer for longer. The bread will help keep a higher level of moisture in the container.
These cookies freeze well. You freeze baked cookies for several months in a freezer bag.
You can also freeze balls of dough on a cookie sheet and then transfer the frozen dough balls into a freezer bag. You can bake the dough from frozen, just add a minute or two to the baking time.
Why add pudding mix to cookies?
Adding instant pudding mix to cookies gives them a great, soft texture. Plus it adds to the vanilla flavor in the final cookie.
Of course vanilla is the go-to in this recipe, but you can certainly experiment with other flavors of pudding mix if you want to.
If you like toffee flavored cookies, try adding butterscotch pudding mix. Or try pistachio for a fun change of pace.
Just make sure you are adding the pudding mix powder without milk, don’t try to make the pudding first.
For another fun recipe that uses instant pudding, try making no bake chocolate eclair cake. It is a classic icebox dessert that is ready to make a comeback!
More Great Cookie Recipes
For a fun twist on a classic peanut butter blossom cookie, try making peanut butter paw print cookies. They are cute for all sorts of occasions.
Cinnamon roll cookies are another favorite in our family. They look and taste like cinnamon rolls, but with a soft sugar cookie texture.
Sweetened condensed milk cookies are soft and chewy. They are rich and tasty too!
Check out my full collection of cookie recipes for more inspiration.
Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- ¾ light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups chocolate chips*
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars and pudding mix.1 cup butter, ¾ light brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture.2¼ cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Stir in chocolate chips.2 cups chocolate chips*
- Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of dough and place 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove to wire racks to cool.
Notes
Video
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