I love cookies. Especially chocolate chip cookies. I’ve met many I didn’t like because of various reasons: too hard, not enough chocolate chips, too many chocolate chips and on it goes. That’s why I decided long ago that I would be the master of my own chocolate chip cookie and I have to say that after many years, I’ve nailed it. People always ask me how I make my cookies and rather than keep it to myself, I’m going to share it with you! Yes, I have a secret ingredient and it’s what makes my cookies different from everyone else’s. They are soft and chewy, and don’t harden for several days after baking when stored in an airtight container. The secret is…. Vanilla Pudding Mix! Don’t believe me? Check out my recipe below!
Ingredients
1 Cup butter (2 sticks)
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbl water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 large box Instant Jell-O vanilla pudding mix (5.1 oz size, not Cook & Serve)
1 10 oz bag of chocolate chips (I prefer dark chocolate).
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and cream butter and sugars. I want to reiterate a baking MUST: make sure your butter is softened, not melty. You should be able to push an indent into the stick, but not have any drips. If your butter is too soft then you will end up with flat cookies.
Add egg, water and vanilla extract and beat well. I tried the Flat Beater attachment to my Kitchen Aid mixer this time, but normally I use the wire whisk. As you can see by the second picture below, things got a little frothy. Be careful not to over mix and introduce too much air into your batter, as it will bake off in the oven and you will also end up with a flatter cookie. Scrape off dough stuck to the sides in between mixing sessions.
Stir in flour, vanilla pudding mix, baking soda and salt.
LOOK HOW CREAMY! You don’t see regular cookie dough like that normally. The pudding mix gives a creamy texture unlike traditional baking ingredients. I have tried several off-brand pudding mixes and they do not work anywhere near as well as Jell-O brand. I don’t work for Jell-O and I usually love generic brands for most things, but if you want the best chocolate chip cookies, you’ll have to shell out the $1.99 for the brand-name.
Fold in chocolate chips with a spatula, don’t use mixer. You can use large, small, mini, milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. Whatever you like! I personally love dark chocolate the best and I think they add a perfect savory-sweet component to the cookies. I like 10oz bags, or just use a little less of a 12oz one. I’ve tried an entire 12oz bag in my batches before and honestly, it’s just too much chocolate. You hardly get any “cookie” in your cookie. Stick with 8-10z!
Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. I personally do not make large cookies and tend to use my cookie scoop because I like uniform cookies. If you use a cookie scoop this batch will make 5 DOZEN COOKIES. Just saying.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. I like to set my timer for 8 minutes and then continue to check until the tops aren’t gooey anymore, but the cookies aren’t too brown. Usually 9 minutes is the best time, but it all depends on your oven. I also find that I can only do 1 sheet at a time. If I do more, then 1 of the sheets inevitably doesn’t cook well enough, and I have to put it in longer, which messes up everything anyways!
Remove almost immediately and place on cooling racks. Pass out to family and friends because 60 cookies is too much to hold on to yourself!
So what do you think? How does this recipe compare to some of your favs? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Related Images:
Karly Wood
Latest posts by Karly Wood (see all)
- 15 Wonderful White Kitchens - January 14, 2019
- We Want All These Spring Manis And We Want Them Now - January 8, 2019
- DIY Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Day Wreath - January 4, 2019
