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.
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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 (72 g) homemade vanilla pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ 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?
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What’s the correct weight for the pudding mix? Eleven grams is nowhere near a 1/2 cup? Love your recipes, would like to make this one today.
Hi Christine, I apologize for the incorrect weight, it should be about 72 grams. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!
Hi, do you use the entire 3.4 oz pudding mix if not using the homemade version ?
I’m always thrilled when I see a new post from you!
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.)
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