Pudding Cookies

There are few things I love more than chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven.  I think I could love any chocolate chip cookie recipe.  That being said, I do prefer soft cookies.  We're talking baked-yesterday-and-still-soft chocolate chip cookies.

I have a couple recipes I like for soft chocolate chip cookies.  I've made this recipe several times and loved it.  What makes it soft is the corn starch.  Sounds weird but tastes like a normal chocolate chip cookie.  Except eternally soft.  They are soft even after leaving them out on the counter overnight.  Not that I've ever done that before (wink).  It's really pretty amazing.

Pudding cookies are another fantastic way to make a delicious soft chocolate chip cookie.  Basically it's adding a packet of pudding mix to the dough.  The fun part is that you can change the flavor of your dough.  Yeah.  Flavor change.  If you prefer the traditional chocolate chip cookie, use vanilla.  But if you're feeling adventurous, you can go with chocolate, butterscotch, pistachio, lemon, etc.  So many options!

For the above pictured cookies, I used chocolate fudge pudding mix and mint/chocolate chips.  They were delish.  It had a chocolate flavor, but it still tasted like classic chocolate chip cookies.  I love the classic cookie taste.

Pudding Cookies

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
3/4 cup Shortening
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 Eggs
1 Large Box Instant Pudding Mix
3 cups Flour
3 cups Chocolate Chips

Mix all the ingredients except the flour and chocolate chips.  Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.  Add chocolate chips.  Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop dough onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Super easy.

A few tips:

--Pull the butter/margarine out of the fridge and set it on the counter about 30 minutes before mixing up your ingredients.  That way it's softened, but not too soft.  Butter temperature plays a huge role in making the cookies look as good as they taste.

--When measuring the shortening, I line my measuring cup with a plastic sandwich bag first.  The shortening tends to come off the bag pretty easily, then you can throw the bag away.  No scraping shortening out of the measuring cup, and then little to no clean-up of the measuring cup (which is a big deal to those of us with no dishwasher).  Win.

--If I've mixed everything up and the dough seems too soft and sticky, I stick it in the fridge for 15 min. or so to let it set it up a little.

-- Seeing as there are only two of us at my house, baking an entire batch of cookies is not a good idea.  My impulse control with fresh cookies isn't great.  Thus, I usually bake a few cookies, let my dough sit in the fridge for a little while, then I use a cookie scoop to put the rest of the dough into a ziplock back.  Then I throw it in the freezer.  Having it frozen in individual cookie form makes it so easy to bake just one cookie.  Although I usually bake two or three.

--When I'm baking previously frozen dough, I put my dough balls in the microwave for 15 seconds, flipping them over halfway through.  The goal is to soften the dough up a little before baking, but not to make it too soft and gooey.