Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have made a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes in my life.  Most of the time when I get the urge to make them, I simply Google a recipe.  None of them ever disappointed, but none of them ever stood out either. A while back, I was making ice cream sandwiches from scratch and I ran across a recipe that used vanilla pudding, so I decided to try it.  I immediately froze the cookies after they cooled so that I could make the sandwiches and never even thought to try them unfrozen.  Needless to say, we knew they were awesome cookies even when frozen, because they were not hard as a rock.  I made sure that the next time we were at the store we picked up pudding so that I could make them again when the urge hit.  Well, I wanted to make something this weekend that could last a while and was simple and quick to make.  I struggled finding the recipe again, but finally ran across it again.  Now that I have found it again, and successfully made the softest, best tasting chocolate chip cookies ever, I want to make sure to put it down on the blog so it will never get lost again.

I know it sounds silly to say these are amazing, but they really are.  For some reason, the vanilla pudding makes them super soft for many days to follow.  The taste of the vanilla stands out to make them rich and full of flavor.  The one thing that always throws me off is that the cookie dough is super thick, so don't be alarmed by that.  I think it keeps the cookies a bit thicker as well when cooking which is amazing.  So, here we go!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature(1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
 3.5-ounce packet instant vanilla pudding mix (not sugar-free and not 'cook & serve')
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
12 ounce bag (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or white chocolate, peanut butter chips, whatever you would like)

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugars and beat on high until fully incorporated.
2. Add egg, vanilla, and mix until they are incorporated.  Try not to over mix.
3. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
4. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
5. Using a 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 14 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Tip - Strategically place a few chocolate chips right on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.
6. Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
7. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart and bake for about 14 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don't overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving.
8. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Recipe adapted from here