Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
I think we can all agree that high school can be both exhilarating and tragic all at the same time, right? So much is happening.
There are friends and drama and boys and more drama and homework and dances and proms and slow songs and dates in cars and staying up until dawn talking to your best friend. There are butterflies and broken hearts, dreams, plans, and finding your way. In the midst of it all, there are friends. Friends that you navigate that crazy, scary world with… best friends.
Do you know what best friends do a lot of during high school? Eat. There are so many random foods that remind me of some of my best high school friends and trigger such fun memories. Things like iced animal crackers, Dr. Pepper, cheese sandwiches, pizza rolls, Twizzlers, and… Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies. Once I discovered a world of packaged chocolate chip cookies that weren’t crunchy, all bets were off. I was a Soft Batch fanatic in no time at all.
It’s been awhile now that I’ve been trying to replicate the Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies of my 1990’s alternative music-filled teenage years. Turns out, it’s not so easy. I tried a handful of random recipes to no avail, then I tried the recipe from Serious Eats. These actually had pretty much the exact same flavor as the original Soft Batch cookies, but try as I might, I just couldn’t get the texture to turn out the way I wanted. Finally, I settled on a compromise, which included my homemade vanilla pudding mix; using this, along with slightly underbaking the cookies, resulted in perfectly soft cookies reminiscent of the ones we would binge on in high school.
I had my Chief Culinary Consultant taste one and he said that it kind of tasted like a chewy store-bought cookie, and thus, I considered it a success. While I have a long list of awesome chocolate chip cookie recipes that I love, I was thrilled to be able to recreate something that reminds me of some of my favorite people.
Grab a cookie, a glass of milk and cheers to good friends!
One year ago: Mini Tiramisu Cheesecakes
Two years ago: English Muffin Bread
Three years ago: Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
Four years ago: Irish Soda Bread Scones
Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups (281.25 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (11 g) homemade vanilla pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (270 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing only until a little flour remains. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
- With a medium cookie scoop (or 2 tablespoons), form dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until the outside edges are just set and light golden brown, and the middles are still puffy, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
My family can’t get enough of these
this is the best and I’m making it for my class for a project
Thank you so much for Making this yummy food blog!
Do you remember the bame of those soft chewy cookies from the 90’s?
I think the brand was “Soft Batch”! https://www.google.com/search?q=soft+batch+cookies&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=Ex6TsyvGAWarDM%253A%252CBfjoNPFajnqT7M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTJJfIeKr14eoWOCDgmEBT1qGg4qA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi10Om8kaHjAhWomuAKHQyLB1YQ9QEwBHoECAUQCg#imgrc=Ex6TsyvGAWarDM:
what do you mean by 2 1/4 cups?
2 cups + ¼ cup
Hi there! I made these with a couple substitutions that suited my palate more (increasing vanilla to 1 tablespoon, increasing salt to 2 teaspoons, using dark brown sugar, and browning half the butter.)Â
I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing why you bake at 375 instead of 350? Thanks!
Hi Michelle! Those look divine!! :D Question: what if we use the store bought pudding mix? To make the homemade, I’m going to need vanilla beans, and I can’t find those anywhere. Any suggestions?
Hi Maleeha, You can use store bought pudding mix, just measure out ½ cup (I’m not sure how much is in a package).
Nothing like the foods we loved in our teen years to bring on the nostalgia.
Just took a look and did a little quick math on the pudding mix, based on 16 Tablespoons in a cup. So, I may be wrong (math is not my strong point) but rather than mixing up pudding mix just for the cookies (yeah, I am super lazy!), you could just adjust your cookie recipe and add:
3.2 T. sugar
2.4 T cornstarch
2.4 T dry milk
a little extra salt
1/2 a vanilla bean or some extract
I would probably round the amounts to make life easier.
I have been watching “Mind of a Chef” and I am guessing the difference in the flavor came from the dry milk powder, which Christine Tosi called the MSG of baking…claims it makes everything taste better. And she also says it adds chewiness to cookies. So…
Does anyone know if these happen to freeze well?
Yes, they freeze well! I wrap in plastic wrap then put in a ziploc freezer bag.
Yay! I’m preparing for my PhD defense in just a month away and plan on stress baking treats for the D-day :D now… to free up space in the freezer.
When I was in high school, my best friend and I ate a lot of Kraft mac & cheese. I can’t believe I survived it. I can’t wait to try these cookies.
I made these yesterday & they are amazing! I used your recipe for the vanilla pudding mix & I substituted soy milk powder for the regular milk powder & they turned out perfect! I will definitely be making these a LOT!
Made these last night with my 2yr old daughter. Half of the cookies were chocolate chip and the other half she put Spring M&Ms on them instead (colors and counting make baking educational and calories go down, right?) . Both versions baked up perfectly. This is is going to be my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe – who knew what magic some pudding mix could do! Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi, I made this cookies yesterday, altough they were really good, I had a problem: the cookies spread a LOT in the oven, any advice? :)
Love your blog!!! :)
Hi Laura, They should not spread much at all, and stay fairly puffy. If you greased a cookie sheet, that could have been a problem. I recommend using parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Also, make sure that your oven is running at the correct temperature by using an oven thermometer.
Soft cookies are the best! Who wants to have to break teeth to eat something delicious. I was super frustrated when I went vegan and every cookie I tried was either really hard or fell apart like a pile of sand. It was what inspired me to create my own chocolate chip cookie recipe (http://www.veganosity.com/food/knock-your-socks-off-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies/) which turned out to be absolutely amazing!
I just made them with baking powder and boxed pudding mix. They turned out great. I have never made cookies with pudding mix but will definately make again.
Well I made a second batch. This time with chocolate pudding mix and white chocolate chips. Again they turned out great.
Are we supposed to use baking powder or baking soda?
Hi Tasha, Baking soda. I am so sorry for that error!
Can you clarify if its baking powder or baking soda thats needed for this recipe pls? The ingredients say baking powder and method says baking soda. I made a batch today with baking powder and they don’t seem right so I’m wondering if this is the problem …. thanks
Hi Amy, My apologies for the error above, it should be baking soda. I have now corrected it.
Thanks Michelle, although I used the baking powder instead of soda, they tasted good and my kids LOVED them, but they didn’t bake right (they were kind of like scones) ! I’ll try them again soon
Nvmd – just read your recipe note. Will try this weekend!
Could you substitute store bought pudding mix? I know, shame….
You are so right! I have tons of memories surrounding food from high school (and all of growing up for that matter!)
If you say these taste like Soft Batch Cookies then I am ALL IN!! Can’t wait to try them!
I’m all about soft chocolate chip cookies. That melted chocolate is to die for. Wonderful post, I love a recipe with a story!
pudding cookies do come out soft. these look yummy!
In elementary school I always volunteered to clean tables in the cafeteria – just to get an extra cookie. I remember the cookies being similar to snickerdoodles. I’ll try this recipe soon. Thanks!
I just made your homemade vanilla pudding mix, I can’t wait to use it in these cookies.
I also have so many memories of food and chocolate chip cookies will forever remind me of my family. These look so perfect!! Love it!
My all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe has vanilla pudding mix in it; it’s the only kind my husband will EVER let me make! But I’m most sure he’ll let me make an exception for this one :) They look awesome!
YUM… it’s all about the gooey centre.
Laura: a Lifestyle Blog
Ahhh the high school days! Definitely filled with cookies, and these look amazing!!! But for me it was the giant crunchy peanut butter cookies they had in the cafeteria!!! Probably the fondest high school memory I have :)
These remind me of the cookies I’d get from my school’s cafeteria back in high school! They weren’t chocolate chip – they were peanut butter chip, actually – but they have the same sort of buttery and chewy texture that you described. I cannot wait to make these!!
I used to love those boxed soft cookies also growing up, so I love that you’ve successfully made one from scratch — especially using a homemade pudding mix. I’m not much into using boxed pudding, so this is a great alternative for me!
MAKING ME SO HUNGRAY!
:)
FIONA
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That is so funny you say they remind you of your high school friends. Whenever I see those cookies I’m right back in my high school cafeteria, sharing a bag with my girlfriends!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks!
I pretty much love any cookie (except probably raisin), especially soft ones. These are going on my terribly long list of “must make” items. They look so yummy.
I made chocolate chip cookies a couple of weeks with pudding mix and gave them away . I felt like something was missing but thought these kids might eat them. My son called and said the mother, the kids and their friends thought they were the best they had ever eaten. I thought my 20 year old air bake cookie sheets might have made a difference. Not sure I have ever had any store bought cookies.
I’ve made a similar recipe before and they are awesome. The cookies are so soft and yummy. Plus they don’t spread out as much as other cookie recipes can. I usually put all brown sugar in my chocolate chip cookie recipes because I like the taste better. Looking forward to trying this version.
Yum, and no chilling of the dough! These look fab
I really need to try pudding mix in cookies. Sounds like it’s THE ingredient for amazing soft cookies like these.
Had to laugh, as I am scrolling down drooling over the chocolate chip cookies, the ad at the bottom is for the fitness band! ;)
hi…
i personally like ur blog ….ur pictures r so tempting …. so yummy cookies
LOVE this post! These sound awesome! I am in high school now, and this is definitely accurate!
These really look exactly like the real thing! I am so excited to try them this weekend. They were my absolute fave when I was younger. I went through many, many…many packages. Ahh…teenage metabolism. Another thing wasted on the young :)
Just when I thought you had posted the best recipe on earth..you post an even better one!
choclate chip cookies were always my favorite cookies, and extra soft and gooey ones are the best.. yours look sooo delicious.. and there’s no excuse for not making a few batches today :)
Thanks for sharing
I love pudding mix in cookies :-) These look soooo good!
What a great idea to use pudding mix for cookies! I love a soft-baked cookie, and I bet that pudding mix really brings them to the next level of softness. Does it provide that similar cake-y texture you would find in a bakery cookie? Looks delicious – mail me a dozen? :)
I literally JUST made my first chocolate chip cookie!
How delicious are they :)
The Macadame. xx
http://www.creamstop.com
I am ALL ABOUT pudding mix in cookies for softbatch-style results. Huge fan. There is nothing else that gives the same results, much as Ive tried. So…I roll with it :) And underbaking is so key, yes! :) pinned. They look awesome!
I think I just swallowed my tongue. Looks like I picked a bad week to restart Weight Watchers. ;)