Recipe: Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

SOFT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter (or margarine), softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1  package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Mix the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture, then stir in the chocolate chips. (Batter will be stiff). Drop from a teaspoon or cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Don’t overbake! In my oven, 8 minutes is exactly when they need to be removed. Cool for 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to wire racks. Makes 5-6 dozen.

NOTES and VARIATIONS

• In place of chocolate chips, substitute chocolate chunks (leftover Easter bunnies work well here) or M&M’s. Since M&M’s are larger than traditional chips, you may not need quite as much. 1 1/2 cups seemed to work well.
• For chocolate cookie batter: Use 2 cups flour + 1/4 cup baking cocoa and chocolate instant pudding (rather than vanilla). Mix it up by using butterscotch or peanut butter chips instead.
• This recipe is nothing if not flexible! Experiment with different pudding flavors and chip varieties. Consider using white chocolate chips with lemon, banana or pistachio pudding, chocolate chips with butterscotch pudding, etc. Add 1/4 cup to 1 cup walnuts, pecans or toffee bits, if desired.
• The cookies will spread out nicely if you use butter, but will stay rounder and puffier (more cakelike) with margarine. Butter is definitely recommended. I often like to use 1 stick of butter and 1 margarine to balance it out.
• Save yourself some time (and dish duty!) and double the recipe. Bake half for now and scoop the rest into dough balls, freeze them on a cookie sheet until firm, then place into a freezer bag labeled with baking directions. You’ll have your own ready-t0-bake cookies waiting in the freezer whenever you need them – and they bake up perfectly, even from frozen! We love to put a dozen cookies into the oven after we’ve baked dinner – and they’re done and ready in time for dessert.

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