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
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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.
Hi! I’m making these for a children’s party and they sound AMAZING. My only question is about the pudding mix. All we have at home is Cook&Serve, and I don’t want to have to search Walmart later tonight for instant. Will it work the same? Or will it turn out different because they’re different types of pudding mix?
Hi Felicity! It will definitely turn out differently, I haven’t tried it with the cook and serve and from my understanding it won’t work out. :(
After seeing your FB video tutorial for these, I knew I wanted to give it a shot. I have to report back that these are fabulous. Thanks so much for the great recipe.
What kind of flour?
All purpose flour :)
That looks very yummy. We definitely have to try to make them.
I usually use stick butter. Should it be room temperature or is that too soft? I feel like that may be why my cookies always turn out so thin.
I appreciate any suggestions!
Sometimes room temperature is too soft – depends on how warm your house is! Yesterday, I got out a stick of butter and in less than hour, I could smoosh a third of the thickness of the butter down easily with one finger, so it was ready. :)
I have a brand new oven but even leaving the cookies in longer than called for they’re still raw. I use a dinner teaspoon to drop them on the pan. Could that be the problem? Too big? Also, I have insulated cookie sheets. Another possible reason they don’t cook?
It could be that your oven temperature isn’t correct – do you have an additional, independent oven temperature gauge? And yes, a dinner teaspoon is usually quite larger than a measured teaspoon, and insulated cookie sheets can also cause cookies to need more time baking. :)
I just made these and let me say WOW!!!! I am an avid baker and always trying different chocolate chip cookie recipes looking for the “perfect” one, and this is it! I always have pudding, but today I only had chocolate but I tried it anyway. The outcome was the softest cookies ever. Ooey, gooey, goodness. This will be the only recipe I will ever use again.THANK YOU????
I made these and they were really good!!! I had to send them out to dinner with my friends so that I wouldn’t eat the whole container!!! ♡ Next time I make them, I’m
going to use a mixture of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips!!! Thank you for the recipe! :)
Just made these!! They’re very soft and delicious!!! Will definitely be baking them again!!
I learned about the pudding, back in 1996, and alot of people absolutely love my cookies, I call it my secret ingredient!!! I’m a little shocked to see someone else doing the pudding. It makes a Huge difference.
Can I use sugar free pudding?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work!
I want to make this for my jis, can’t wait!!
Have you tried with a chocolate pudding mix instead just curious as I am a huge chocoholic.
Yes! And it’s so delicious!
I love the flavor, but my cookies came out flat. I hate that! How can I make it fat like yours?
My first thought is maybe your oven temperature is running a little high or your house temperature is kept cooler than mine. Usually the “shock” of the drastic temperature change is what makes them spread thin so fast. :)
I have been making this fabulous recipe for 33 years now. For variety, you can use an chocolate instant pudding mix instead of vanillapudding to get a yummy chocolate chocolate chip pudding cookie. It’s good too!
Super good and soft. Definitely a keeper recipe… thank you
Hi I just made these and followed your direction to the T and they are wonderful so yummy~crisp around the edges and soft and chewy on the inside! This will be remade at our house for sure~ thankyou for sharing! Merry Christmas!
These are my go-to cookie recipe! The only changes I make are to cut down the white sugar a bit, only use 3/4 cup of butter, and mine have to bake for about 11-12 minutes. Every time it makes around 40 cookies on the smaller side. Thanks so much for the recipe, they are without a doubt my favorite cookies to bake (and eat!)