Soft and chewy chocolate chip pudding cookies are gooey and flavorful thanks to vanilla pudding mix. This twist on chocolate chip cookies is a fail proof favorite!
Soft cookie recipes are the best! Other favorites include pudding cookie recipes like butterscotch pudding cookies or pistachio cookies and these cream cheese cookies.
Table of Contents
Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies
These pudding cookies are my all-time favorites! They taste similar to my best chocolate chip cookie recipe, but have a softer texture like chocolate chip sourdough cookies.
One of my friends made this chocolate chip pudding cookies recipe for a church activity a few months ago and shared it with me. Unlike a flat, more crisp original Toll House cookie recipe, they have a gooey middle like my double chocolate chip cookies and stay soft and chewy for days!
The Secret Ingredient: Vanilla Pudding Mix
Powdered vanilla pudding mix is a magical ingredient that makes these the best chewy chocolate chip cookies!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix: You only need to use the dry instant pudding mix and no added ingredients. This secret ingredient makes the chocolate chip pudding cookie recipe extra soft.
- Salted butter: I like to use salted, but you can use unsalted if you prefer.
- Sugars: I love to use a mix of light brown sugar and granulated sugar for extra sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: Even more vanilla to amp up the flavor.
- Eggs: This helps bind everything together.
- Baking staples: All-purpose flour for structure and baking powder and baking soda to make the cookies a little lighter.
- Kosher salt: I like to add a little extra to enhance the flavor.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: The chocolate chips help balance the flavor, you can use a mix of milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet or even white chocolate chips.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
- Cream together the butter and sugars using an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla and then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- In a separate bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.
- Slowly combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients until mixed thoroughly.
- Fold chocolate chips into the cookie dough and stir to combine.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown. For soft cookies, the centers will look a little underdone. Rest on the pan for a few minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Pudding Cookies Tips and Variations
- It must be instant pudding mix (not cook & serve). Don’t make the actual pudding!
- You can do a mix of milk chocolate and white chocolate chips, make a white chocolate chip cookies recipe or even try butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips or dark chocolate chips.
- My preference is using instant vanilla pudding mix, but chocolate would work too.
- This recipe calls for the smaller box of instant pudding mix (3.4 oz). If you can only find the bigger one, add in a little more than half a box! It will be fine if it is not exact.
- Add chocolate chips on top of the cookies right out of oven for the perfect touch!
- Make them mini sized like my favorite mini chocolate chip cookie.
Want more chocolate chip cookie recipes? Try brown butter chocolate chip cookies, triple chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Other Favorite Cookie Recipes
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter , softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (just the dry mix)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips , plus more to taste (can do a mix of milk or white)
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 to 2 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 eggs one at a time until combined.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 1/3 cups flour, 3.4 ounce dry pudding mix, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Slowly stir into the wet ingredients until well combined. Fold in the 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips.
- Scoop. Using a medium cookie dough scoop, portion the dough onto the baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown; you want the center to look a little underdone. Let sit 2 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk!
Notes
- Add it in dry…don’t make the actual pudding!
- This recipe calls for the smaller box (3.4 ounce). If you can only find the bigger one, add in a little more than half a box! It will be fine if it is not exact.
- It must be instant pudding mix (not cook & serve).
- You can substitute other flavors of pudding mix (i.e. chocolate, butterscotch, etc.), however vanilla is my favorite.
- Dough: Freeze the cookie dough in balls until solid and then store in a freezer bag up to 3 months. To bake from frozen, place cookie dough balls on a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet and let sit at room temp while the oven heats up. Add 1 to 2 minutes to the original cooking time.
- Baked cookies: Let cool completely, then add to a freezer bag. Store in freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
You won’t believe how moist these soft chocolate chip cookies are, and it is all because of the pudding mix. Dry pudding mix contains cornstarch which helps absorb and retain moisture which results in softer cookies. It also adds a really nice flavor, which you can mix up depending on what type of cookie you want to make.
Vanilla is my favorite type of mix to use in these chocolate chip pudding cookies, but you can substitute other flavors too. Chocolate pudding, white chocolate pudding, banana pudding or even cheesecake pudding could be used.
Yes! The cookies won’t bake the same and the texture will be different if you use a cook and serve pudding mix. Stick with the instant.
Store baked cookies 2-3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can also freeze baked cookies up to 3 months.
Flash freeze the cookie dough in balls until solid then keep in a freezer bag and bake straight from frozen! Place cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet, let sit at room temp while oven preheats, then add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time.
Categorized as: American, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cookies, Desserts, White Chocolate Cookies
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
So good – had to make it twice in one week they disappeared so fast !!
So glad you enjoyed the pudding cookies!
These are the best cookies! I use only semi sweet chips and then pop a couple chunks on top before baking! Amazing recipe!
Love mixing semi-sweet chocolate chips and chocolate chunks too! So yummy!
Can I use self-rising flour instead of all purpose flour?
I haven’t tested. That should work, I would just use a little less since it will make them a little thicker :)
I am making these today but only have the sugar free instant pudding…..will that work?
I haven’t tried, but that should work (will be a little less sweet)! Let us know how it goes :)
I’ve made these cookies multiple times since 2020. They are always loved!! Very flavorful, sweet, chocolatey, with soft centers. I even made a successful large cookie in a cast iron pan.
Jim,
How long did you bake the cast iron cookie!
An awesome recipe with awesome results. I haven’t found a person who didn’t liked them. This is my 5th year in making them. In our household, this recipe has become a standard. Thanks for sharing!
Ah, so glad to hear that! Thanks so much for your review!
Everyone tells me these are the BEST chocolate chip cookies they’ve ever had and always ask when I’m making some!
Ah I’m so glad to hear!
These are my favorite cookies! I just do basic chips and add a couple chocolate chunks on top of each cookie before baking. I get raving reviews all the time! Great recipe.
Im so glad to hear! Thanks for your review Jackie!
Best cookies I’ve ever made!
So glad to hear you loved them :)
Made these with pumpkin spice pudding just now and they came out delicious! I also subbed out the vanilla for maple syrup and used dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips.
Your substitutions sound delicious, Matt! Glad the recipe was a success for you!
I’m going to make this but I only have self rising flour.Is that ok?
I haven’t tried but I think it would make the cookies a little thicker and cakier.
I cooked the first batch 121/2 mins. Still wasn’t done. Next batch about 17 mins perfect. Keeping recipe. Yum. Used vanilla. Have to find a store with butterscotch. Think it would be the bomb!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them. It’s amazing how every oven cooks so differently. Thanks for the review! :)
Has anyone added cocoa powder to this recipe to make it a double chocolate chip?
I have not, but you could always try this triple chocolate chip cookie recipe too! https://www.iheartnaptime.net/triple-chocolate-chip-cookies/
I recently did! For triple chocolate I subbed 1/3 cup cocoa powder for 1/3 cup of the flour, and used a chocolate pudding packet instead of vanilla and they turned out great! I’ve made this recipe the standard way half a dozen times and the modified chocolate version is still just as great. You have to watch them a little closer so you don’t overbake them because they’re naturally dark in colour, but if you err on the side of caution they stay chewy and lovely.
Thanks for sharing your suggestions, Pixie! Glad to hear you had success with the chocolate version :)
Amazing!!!!!!
I loved this recipe both times I’ve made it, this is my ideal chocolate chip cookie! Ooey gooey on the inside with a slightly crispity exterior. I personally chose to bake them closer to 7 minutes (for the full butter version) and let them cool the majority of the way on the sheets and they turned out perfectly. They spread most of the way on their own, and then I gave them 4 or 5 swift taps as they come out of the oven. My favourite version of this recipe is when I use half butter and half butter flavour shortening for even more moisture (the absolute perfect version for cookie ice cream sandwiches, they’re able to be bitten into quite easily even when nearly completely frozen), but as written with all butter they’re incredible and so decadent, especially fresh out of the oven. I also doubled the recipe this time and now I have three dozen dough balls hanging out in the freezer to throw in the oven when the sweet tooth strikes. Thank you so much for sharing this! :)
This comment just made my day, thank you so much for your kind review, Pixie! I’m so glad you love them :) And love that you have a freezer cookie dough stash – I have one too!
Made these today it was easy and they are extremely tasty and I’m glad that they didn’t get too flat because that’s the problem I have with my cookies. So these are awesome and I just used white chocolate chips and butterscotch with chocolate pudding.
Mmm butterscotch chips sound delicious! So glad you enjoyed the cookies :)
I halved this recipe and I was feeling bold so I used pistachio pudding and did half chocolate chips and half dried cherries as an attempt to recreate spumoni. I would recommend smashing the cookies down because they don’t quite spread out like the pictures. Great recipe, the spumoni version was a hit!
That version sounds so delicious! Thanks for your comment and review, Deborah :) Here’s another pistachio version you could try: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/pistachio-and-chocolate-leprechaun-cookies/
I love this recipe so much and I keep coming back to it, but I can never get the cookies to spread nearly as much as the pictures depict.
Glad to hear you enjoy them! Every oven bakes a little different (depending on altitude, etc)… I would try pressing the balls down with the palm of your hand before you bake them for a flatter cookie.