Chocolate Chip Cookies with Vanilla Pudding Mix

August 20, 2020

The “secret” to these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies is instant vanilla pudding mix! When the recipe is from an old church community cookbook, you know it will be good.

I grew up with my mom making these chocolate chip cookies and have made a few edits over my years of baking them myself. The best part of these chocolate chip cookies is that the pudding mix makes them STAY soft and chewy even after a few days!

a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with vanilla pudding mix

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

In a medium bowl mix the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

I am using my KitchenAid Artisan Mini (Guava Glaze), but you can use a hand mixer or mixer of your choice. Beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla pudding mix until it is smooth and creamy then beat in the eggs.

chocolate chip cookies with vanilla pudding mix dough before adding flour in the mixer

Gradually beat in the flour mixture until you’ve added it all and crumbles start to form. By hand or with a spoon start to press the crumbles together to form your dough. If your dough is too wet and sticking to your hands or spoon, add more flour a few tablespoons at a time.

Add the mini chocolate chips and mix until evenly dispersed through the dough. I like to use mini chocolate chips because you get more chocolate in each bite! You might not use the entire bag, just add as much as you’d like.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper (if you don’t have parchment paper, just make sure to spray your cookie sheet with nonstick spray). Using a scoop/baller or your hands form evenly sized balls and place on your cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. Sprinkle sea salt on the top of each cookie.

chocolate chip cookies with vanilla pudding mix dough balls

The Oven

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies should come out of the oven while they are still a little doughy in the center!

If you can resist the hot baked cookie, let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 30 minutes. This will let the centers firm up a bit and develop the perfect soft and chewy texture.

tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with vanilla pudding mix next to a glass of cold milk.

Storage

You can store your baked cookies at room temperate in an airtight container for several days or freeze them.

I like to only bake a few cookies at a time! Portion out the dough into balls/disks and stick them in the freezer. When you are craving a warm cookie, bake straight from frozen. This also keeps me from eating 10 at a time 🙂