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Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

These soft batch chocolate chip cookies are chewy, soft, and fail-proof. They always turn out perfectly. Both dough and baked cookies freeze beautifully.

Chewy Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
The best soft chocolate chip cookies have a secret ingredient.

The Best soft chocolate chip cookies

It’s not even winter yet, but we’ve hit subzero temps already in this land.  I’ve no qualms with staying in, turning up the kitchen heat, and baking madly away. I’ve been up to my forehead in cookies galore.  Even as I write, there are several batches of various cookie dough sitting in my fridge, waiting for their turn in the oven.  

I realized a couple weeks ago:  I’ve absentmindedly neglected to write up these superbly soft, chewy, and chocolatey chocolate chip cookies.  Even though I bake them on a very regular basis.

These chewy soft chocolate chip cookies are my all-time favorite soft-batch style cookies that never fail when we want a sure thing that never misses the mark. These are soft, toothsome, winning cookies that stay soft – but not cakey – for a long time, without drying out.

It’s like your favorite pair of jeans… so loved, so well-worn, and nothing else fits the same. That’s what these chocolate chip cookies are like.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
These soft chocolate chip cookies are never cakey nor dry – they stay perfectly soft, even after freezing!

Never cakey, never dry
Always Soft Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are … well, chewy ‘n soft.  They stay soft without being cakey, and they don’t dry out or become stale.  Fact is, they have never been put to the test longer than 2 days on our kitchen counter.  But I just know they would stay soft several days longer if people would leave them alone. These are reminiscent of those soft-batch chocolate chip cookies that were crazy popular in the 80’s, except this homemade version is undeniably more flavorful and way better tasting than anything that store-bought.

The secret is in the pudding

The reason these chocolate chip cookies stay decadently soft is because they’re essentially pudding cookies. Adding vanilla pudding, still in powder form, straight into the dough keeps these cookies luscious and soft, without being cakey or dry at all. The pudding also packs an extra boost of vanilla flavor to the cookies.

Chewy Soft Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Soft-batch style chocolate chip cookies keep exceptionally well.

Cookies to Gift, share, or freeze

I have a habit of making my cookies on the smaller side…I make them the way I want to eat ’em.  If they are smaller, I can absolutely eat as many as I want. Because the truth?  It is impossible to eat just one of these soft chocolate chip cookies. Impossible.

Gift giving, party hosting, or anytime sharing… these cookies magically appear and disappear in an instant. However, if you were to make a mountain of these soft chocolate chip cookies, they keep exceptionally well at room temperature and are a prime candidate for shipping to your favorite people on their birthdays or during the holidays.

Bonus: both the dough and baked cookies freeze well in airtight containers. Freeze dough in one big ball or form pre-shaped rounds to freeze for easy baking anytime.

Soft Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Both the baked cookies and unbaked dough can be frozen.

More to Bake and Eat

Try these 3-ingredient shortbread cookies, too:


soft batch chocolate chip cookies horizontal

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 from 16 ratings
These chocolate chip cookies are super soft, extra chewy, and they stay soft (not cake) for a long time. This is recipe makes a big batch. Cookie dough freezes very well for future use!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Servings: 72
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

  • 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened just to room temp
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
  • 2 3.4 oz each packages instant vanilla pudding
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 TB vanilla extract
  • 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, minis and chunks work great, too!

Instructions

  • Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, add flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together well and set aside.
  • Wet Ingredients: In bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar on medium high, until light and fluffy. Add packages of pudding mix, and beat until incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla, blending well.
  • Fold Together: Slowly add in the flour mixture. Using dough hook attachment, fold dry and wet ingredients together just until fully incorporated
  • Add Chocolate: Add in chocolate chips and mix into the dough. (If it gets too hard to mix, I sometimes use clean hands to work the dough!)
  • Chill: Dough will be a bit sticky. Cover tightly and chill in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Preheat Oven: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Bake: Form 1 inch balls of dough and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake about 8 minutes or just until edges look golden brown. Cookies may seem slightly underdone, but they will firm up upon cooling. Do not over bake.
  • Cool: Cool on baking sheet about 10 minutes, and remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Yields about 72 smaller sized cookies. If you’d like to make them larger, bake a couple minutes longer, just until edges are golden brown and center looks slightly under-baked. Key is not to over-bake. 
These cookies keep very well at room temp in an airtight container. Unbaked cookie dough can be tightly wrapped up and frozen for later use.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.6g | Protein: 2.1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 23.9mg | Sodium: 112.9mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 13.8g
Course: cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Method: baking

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Recipe Rating




93 comments

    • Jan

    I’m ready to bake these, bet they won’t last very long, so I bought double the amount to make more. Thanks for an easy recipe.

    • Freya
    • 5 stars

    What a perfect chocolate chip recipe! Easy and the perfect amount of chocolate chips!

      • Amy Dong

      So glad you enjoyed these!

    • FOODHEAL
    • 5 stars

    My daughter has been looking for cookies to make, I find yours to be easy to understand without many ingredients. Will pass this recipe to her.

    • Marcellina
    • 5 stars

    I can never say no to another chocolate chip cookie recipe and this one is particularly good! Adding the instant vanilla pudding mix is genius – these are so soft and chewy!

      • Amy Dong

      So happy you loved them, Marcellina!

    • Bernice
    • 5 stars

    I can’t believe you were sitting on this gem of a recipe! These are so perfect and exactly the way we like our chocolate chip cookies.

    • Paloma

    This recipe came out bread like. Not sure what happened but not a consistency I like in a cookie.

      • Amy Dong

      Paloma, cakey cookies are often a result of over-measuring the flour to liquid ratio, or over-baking. Be sure to use the scoop/scrape method of measuring with a dry measuring cup… and try baking a minute or two less time in your oven. Would love to hear how it goes!

    • Jackie

    Hi
    Can you give me the gram amounts for the flour and sugar. Thanks.

    • Alivia

    Hi! I’ve tried some of your other cookie recipes and they are amazing! I’d like to give these a try but I was wondering if they will still turn out if I half the recipe?

      • chewoutloud

      Absolutely, Alivia! 🙂

    • Jessica Yeida
    • 5 stars

    This the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever had. My family also thinks these are the absolute best cookie. Thank you for sharing.

      • chewoutloud

      Sooo happy you guys loved these, Jessica!

    • Cathy
    • 5 stars

    I like your recipe, easy to follow. Cookies are my favorite. I can’t wait to try.

      • chewoutloud

      Aww, thank you, Cathy! 🙂

    • Sonia Seivwright
    • 5 stars

    Beautiful Cookies. I love these.

    • Danielle
    • 5 stars

    These look extra yummy. Looks like I’ll be baking soon!

      • chewoutloud

      Thanks, Danielle!

    • J Cherry

    Oh my goodness, I totally want to make these now! Yummy.

    • Marysa

    These sound so delicious, and they have so many chocolate chips in them! We just made ice cream cookie sandwiches, but the cookies were a little too hard. These would probably have been a lot better.

    • Kimmy

    This recipe sounds so delicious!

    • Len Swegart
    • 5 stars

    Wow, these look so delicious. If I were around those cookies, they’d be goners in less than a minute! I hope I muster the courage to make these.

    • Ashley

    I can’t wait to try to make these!

    • Sarah
    • 5 stars

    I will definitely be trying this recipe.

    • Robin Creath

    Well, I was going to make it but I need to know if I can use sugar free vanilla pudding mix?

      • chewoutloud

      Robin, you can use sugar free pudding. Hope you love these 🙂

    • leah

    Hi i’m from the uk and i have a question about the vanilla pudding. Is it je-llo you use or do you use some other type of vanilla pudding. Sorry i haven’t ever used pudding in a recipe before

      • chewoutloud

      Hi, Leah! Yes, Jello has an instant pudding powder that comes in a little box. But other brands make it, too. Just be sure it’s “instant” pudding powder Enjoy! 🙂

        • leah

        Thanks! I did this recipe and its a sure winner! I couldn’t stop eating them

          • chewoutloud

          You’re so welcome, Leah! Thanks for coming over to let us know you guys liked this 🙂 And I’m with you…I can’t stop eating them either (pssst…they freeze pretty well, if that helps from devouring the entire batch by yourself) 😉

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