Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

So you want to know the trick to baking the softest, chewiest cookies? Just replace a half-cup of the sugar in your recipe with a package of pudding mix. It's that easy! Your cookies will stay soft and chewy, even days after baking -- if they last that long.

You can experiment with different flavors of pudding in your cookies, but vanilla is my hands down favorite.

And in case you're wondering, there are MSPI-friendly pudding mixes. JELL-O brand makes several -- do check the ingredients very carefully. But one word of caution, these puddings are MSPI-friendly, not safe. There could be cross-contamination during the production process, so only use these mixes if your little kiddo can handle it.

Here's my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe using pudding. It's based on the Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe found on the back of their semi-sweet chocolate chips packages. I also scale back the vanilla a little bit, since there's plenty of vanilla flavor from the pudding.


Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter-flavored shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
1 box (3.4 ounces) MSPI-friendly vanilla pudding
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup MSPI-friendly chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated.

In separate bowl, combine flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip: I highly recommend lining your cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. Much easier to clean-up!