For an easy year-round treat, give these Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies a try! They're super soft and chewy on the inside with a little bit of crispiness on the outside, loaded with chocolate chips, and topped with some sea salt flakes. And the best part? There is NO chilling required for the dough! They're absolute perfection!
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Ingredients Needed
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make these incredibly soft chocolate chip pudding cookies!
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Instant Flavored Vanilla Pudding. The star ingredient in this super soft chocolate chip cookie recipe. You will use the powder mix for this recipe. Don't make the pudding; add it to the cookie dough. If you don't have instant vanilla pudding mix, a homemade version is below.
- Vegetable Shortening. You can substitute the shortening for unsalted butter. Your cookies will spread out more using this substitute.
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Chips. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate bars.
- Sea Salt Flakes. An optional ingredient you can top the chocolate chip cookies with right before you bake them!
For quantities and instructions, please see the recipe card below.
Vanilla Instant Pudding Substitute
If vanilla instant pudding is hard to come by in your area, you can use this as an easy substitute for this super soft chocolate chip pudding cookie recipe. It's a homemade version of vanilla instant pudding and can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
This homemade vanilla instant pudding substitute recipe makes approximately 2 Ā½ - 3 cups. And this chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for one packet of instant vanilla pudding mix, which is 96 grams or Ā½ cup.
Ingredients
- Ā¾ cup Nonfat Dry Milk
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ā teaspoon Nutmeg
- Ā¼ teaspoon Salt
- Ā¾ cup Cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Powder
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl and store in an airtight container.
- Use Ā½ cup or 96 grams of this homemade instant pudding mix for the super soft chocolate chip cookie recipe.
If you still have trouble finding any of the above ingredients to make the instant vanilla pudding mix, you can omit it entirely from the recipe. The purpose of the instant pudding mix in this recipe is to boost moisture and flavor.
How to Make the Recipe
Here's a quick overview of how to make these ridiculously soft and easy chocolate chip cookies! And bonus—no chilling is required for this recipe!
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. This includes all-purpose flour, baking soda, and instant vanilla pudding.
- Mix the wet ingredients together. You can use either your hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment for this part. To start, beat the vegetable shortening and sugars. Then add in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Do this gradually over low speed. Anything faster, and you'll have the dry ingredients everywhere.
- Stir in the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. You can stir them in or just add them on low speed if you're using your mixer.
- Scoop 'em out! You can use a spoon or a cookie scoop to do this. I used my 1 Ā½ tablespoon size cookie scoop. Space them out about 1 Ā½ inches apart.
- Sprinkle, then bake! Sprinkle a little sea salt flakes onto each cookie (optional step). Then bake for 8-10 minutes at 375ºF (mine baked for 10 minutes) until lightly brown.
The cookies should be a nice light golden brown with a slightly crispy outside. They will also be very soft, so let them cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
How to Keep Your Chocolate Chip Cookies Super Soft for Days
After you've baked your chocolate chip cookies, store them in an airtight container with a slice of bread.
The cookies will take in all the moisture from the bread, leaving them all nice and soft for A LOT longer.
And props to my hubs for teaching me that little tip almost 15 years ago!
Recipe FAQs
It's used to boost the moisture and the flavor of the cookies, and boy, does it ever!
I include an easy substitute above!
Nope! Just make and bake! You can chill it, though, if you're planning to make them a day or two later. Just keep the bowl tightly covered with plastic wrap or place the dough in an airtight container.
I used a 1 Ā½ tablespoon size cookie scoop.
At room temperature, in an airtight container (with a slice of bread), the cookies will keep for up to 5 days.
I recommend letting them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling all the way. And a highly recommended tip—use a spatula to transfer them because they will be very soft!
More Cookie Recipes!
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š Recipe
Super Soft Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Author:Ingredients
- 2 Ā¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3.4 oz Instant Flavored Vanilla Pudding (just the powder, don't make the pudding)
- 1 cup Vegetable Shortening
- Ā¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- Ā¾ cup Light Brown Sugar (lightly packed)
- 2 Large Eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 12 oz Semi-Sweet or Milk Chocolate Chips (or bars of chocolate broken into pieces)
- Sea Salt Flakes (optional, for sprinkling over cookies)
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and instant vanilla pudding. Set aside.2 Ā¼ cup All-Purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, 3.4 oz Instant Flavored Vanilla Pudding
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar together on medium-high speed until fully incorporated.1 cup Vegetable Shortening, Ā¼ cup Granulated Sugar, Ā¾ cup Light Brown Sugar
- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract until completely blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.2 Large Eggs, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, then gradually add in your whisked dry mixture until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips or broken pieces of chocolate.12 oz Semi-Sweet or Milk Chocolate Chips
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop (I used the 1 Ā½ tablespoon size), drop the cookie dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets and space them 1 Ā½ inches apart.
- Sprinkle a little sea salt flakes onto each cookie (optional step).Sea Salt Flakes
- Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375ºF (mine baked for 10 minutes), until lightly brown. Remove from the oven then top cookies with additional chocolate chips and shape each cookie with a round cookie cutter, if desired.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Keep them stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
- Cookie dough can be made ahead of time. Simply scoop out the cookie dough onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet, then freeze until the cookie dough balls are solid. Place into a freezer-safe bag or container.
- When ready to bake, place the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet into the oven and bake, adding an additional 1-2 minutes of baking time.
- Recipe adapted from the 2001, A Taste of Bedminster Elementary School cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutritonal information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Deanna says
This are the bomb! The flavor and texture remind me of Entemenn's chocolate chip cookies - but better!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed them Deanna, thanks!
Julisha says
Would it be possible to use a cookie cutter after / before baking?
Jennifer says
Hmm...I never tried using one with this recipe. I've always just used a cookie scoop or spoons. Using it after could possibly work just to get them relatively the same size.
Agatha says
Amazing, soft and tender choc chip cookies!
Megan says
These were absolutely delicious! I loved the vanilla pudding mixture and sea salt addition!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! Will definitely make these again for the fam!
Jennifer says
I'm so glad you and your family loved them, Megan! Thank you for making them and for sharing them on Instagram!
Sarah says
So yummy!!! Made these while my ankle was sprained and realized I didn't have eggs so I used yogurt instead and I left the pudding mix out because we didn't have that either. They still turned out so soft and chewy! Just what I have been looking for in a chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's a keeper. š
Jennifer says
Thank you so much for making this recipe, Sarah! Love the substitutions you tried as well!ā¤ļø Hope your ankle heals quickly!
Ashley says
How much yogurt did you use?
Olga Solntseva says
Hi. What weight is of vanilla puding ?
Jennifer says
Hi! It should be the 3.5 oz package size. It's the typical size you'd find in most grocery stores.
Rita says
Can I use butter???
Jennifer says
Hi Rita! I've not made them with butter, but absolutely you can substiute the shortening for butter. It would be an equal substitution (1 cup butter = 1 cup shortening) and will more than likely spread out more.
cheddarben says
ooof... these look so good! Problem with making cookies is that they are gone lickety-split. One I like to do is to use bread flour instead of all-purpose. It gives them a bit of a fluff in the cookie.
admin says
Thanks, Ben! Yeah, tell me about itāthese are just about gone in our house. I really like the idea of using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour! Iāll have to try that next time. Is it an equal exchange in the amount you use?