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Chocolate Chip Cookies with Vanilla Pudding

April 4, 2018

Basic chocolate chip cookies are given a unique flavor twist with the addition of a box of JELLO vanilla pudding to the ingredients.  Get the recipe and learn everything you need to know to pull these perfect bakery-style cookies out of the oven every time.


COOK + BAKE   |   Published April 4, 2018



Chocolate Chip Cookies





There are certain recipes for all of us that surely bring up memories and pull us back to a different time.  Certain flavors, smells, or tastes can transport us to times like when we tasted our first homemade lemonade at a county fair, savored a piece of tiramisu at a favorite Italian restaurant, or in my case, sat down to enjoy chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven with my grandma.


Since her passing in February, my mom and I, along with other family members, have been slowly clearing out her house filled with 97 years worth of gathered belongings.  And one of the things we've had to sort through is a collection of  recipes.  Mixed in with pages torn from magazines and handwritten recipe cards are notes about what baked goods and candy she would be making that year for the holiday.


Every Christmas until about five or six years ago, my grandma would make what I considered the best chocolate chip cookies.  They were different than anyone else seemed to bake and she explained to me that it was because they had a secret ingredient.....vanilla pudding.  Of course, I always believed that the addition was her own unique idea, but later learned that it was actually a recipe she had cut off of a box of JELLO pudding.



Closeup of chocolate chip cookies



This was actually one of the first recipes that I posted on my blog close to five years ago.  You know, when I had about five readers, limited skills in blog writing, and pictures were shot with a point and shoot camera and had no photo editing.  Things have improved a bit since then.


After finding my grandma's holiday reminders (along with her missing recipe for Ginger cookies I've searched years for), I was inspired to update this post and share it again....now that I have a few more readers to see it.



Chocolate chip cookies on wire rack

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Before we get into the recipe, I want to share a few tips with you  I've discovered over the years ensuring you end up with perfect bakery-style cookies every time regardless of the chocolate chip cookie recipe you are using.



TIPS FOR BAKING THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES



  • I've said it before, but an ice cream/cookie scoop is your best friend when baking cookies.  It ensures each and every cookie end up the same size....which makes a perfectionist like me happy.  But even more important, the cookies will bake and brown better being the same size.

  • Bake the cookies just until you start noticing browning along the bottom edges.  They will continue to bake a little more once removed from the oven, so pulling them out before they get too brown will give you perfectly done cookies by the time you eat them.

  • And because they are not quite firm when pulled from the oven, you'll need to allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for one or two minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool.  If you try to take them off immediately after taking the pan out of the oven, the cookies will break apart.

  • While you are waiting those couple of minutes to transfer them, you can take your cookies from ordinary to extraordinary by pressing a few extra chips down into each cookie before it cools.  That simple step really gives you basic chocolate chip cookie a fancy bakery style touch.



Stack of chocolate chip cookies





VANILLA PUDDING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

PRINT RECIPE



INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 - 4 serving package JELLO brand vanilla flavor instant pudding and pie filling
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 - 12 ounce package Hershey's semi-sweet OR dark chocolate chips (reserve about 1/4 cup of chips to press into the cookies after baking)



HOW TO MAKE VANILLA PUDDING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

  1. Combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, dry pudding mix, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  
  2. Beat in the eggs.  
  3. Add the baking soda to the flour and then gradually add to the butter mixture.  
  4. Then stir in chips by hand.  The batter will be stiff.  
  5. Use a Tablespoon sized cookie scoop and drop balls of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  
  6. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven when the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges.  Immediately place a few more chocolate chips into the top of the cookie and allow them to rest on the pan for one to two minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.



Pour yourself a glass of milk and sit down with a couple pudding chocolate chip cookies....or maybe a dozen.  I hope you can be transported back to your childhood days of looking forward to an afternoon snack of fresh from the oven cookies as well.






Chocolate chip cookies and milk


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anderson+grant is a lifestyle blog dedicated to helping you to create a slower, simpler home with contemporary style.

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