Nope, not even exaggerating. These cookies are going to change. your. life. Plus, they come with a FREE table tent printable just in time for May the 4th. Star Wars fans, see what I did there? 😉
Chewbacca Image Credit: SpreadShirtMedia
I’m offering a gorgeous FREE printable Ultimate Party Planning Checklist for email subscribers here!
To explain my bold assertion of these cookies’ worthiness, I must tell you their story. I grew up in a small town where two women ran the market on chocolate chip cookies. One was a beloved member of our church, “Grandma” Helen, and the other was a good friend’s mom, Becky. When you attended a bake sale or pot-luck dinner around town you knew when you were eating one of Grandma Helen’s or Becky’s cookies. They were amazing, soft, chewy, chocolatey, mounds of deliciousness that melted in your mouth.
I’m pretty sure both Grandma Helen and Becky followed the same recipe although you could tell from whose kitchen the little gem in your hand had come. “Becky’s Cookies” were ginormous and straight-up amazing. (Rumor had it that she used an ice-cream scoop when scooping the dough!) “Grandma Helen’s Cookies” were no less amazing but they were smaller which meant you didn’t feel so guilty when you managed to scarf down 10. Lucky for me, I got their recipe when I went off to college and in the years following have used it over 900 times. (Yes people, I sat down with pen and paper – ok, my cellphone calculator – and figured out that number!) Nine-hundred times or more. That’s a whoooooollllee lotta cookies. 32,400 give or take a few.
At this point in my life I am asked to leave family functions if I show up without them. Ok, not really…but sometimes I wonder if they love me solely for what have become known as “Margaret’s Cookies”. 😉 I know this recipe inside-out, upside-down, backwards, forwards, and in my sleep. And while the recipe is quite simple, I have a whole system for mixing, scooping, and cookie-tray-rotating. It is so worth it. These cookies are amazing each and every time. Just ask my family, my friends, and anyone at any pot-luck function I’ve ever attended.
Today, I’m going to share all of my cookie knowledge with you, my lovelies! Here’s what you’ll need.
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, added one at a time
- 1 3.4-oz package of instant vanilla pudding
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips
To start, cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Empty the contents of the vanilla pudding box into your mixing bowl. (Just the powder, not actual pudding!) Add the vanilla extract as well and get mixin’! Your dough will be super smooth and creamy after this step.
In a separate bowl stir together the flour and baking soda. Slowly add this dry mixture to your wet ingredients. I usually do it 1/3 at a time.
Finally, add the chocolate chips.
Scoop the cookie dough and roll it into balls. (Mine are roughly 2T of dough each. You could be like Becky though and blow peoples’ minds!) Place them about 2″ apart on your cookie sheets. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes until they are barely golden. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for another 1-2 minutes on the pan.
My Secret Tips:
- Room temperature butter is important. I find that overly soft butter makes smooshier cookies which are more likely to spread and burn on the bottom.
- When measuring your flour be sure to “fluff” it a bit before you scoop it. An overly packed measuring cup of flour means too much flour in the recipe which results in dry cookies.
- Use well seasoned cookie sheets. My newer/shiny ones always burn the bottoms of my cookies.
- Every oven is different so make sure to adjust cooking temperature/time according to your oven’s quirks. Or maybe you’re one of the lucky ones with a perfect oven! I’m not. We moved about 18 months ago and I’m finally figuring out my oven. I adjust my temperature down 10* and halfway through the baking time I rotate my trays AND switch the shelf on which they’re resting. I know, it seems a bit high maintenance but a perfectly baked chocolate chip cookie is SO worth it.
- Taking them out of the oven at the right time is crucial. Be really careful not to over-bake these babies. They might not seem done to you but allowing them to rest on the hot cookie sheets for a few more moments after they’re pulled out of the oven will continue the cooking process.
- Be prepared to have these be known as, “|Insert Your Name|’s Cookies”. They will become your signature. Your trademark. Your pièce de résistance. Boom.
There you have it! Happy baking my friends and May the 4th be with you!
FREE Printable: Chewbacca “Chewie” Chocolate Chip Cookie Table Tent
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter via email and follow along on social media!
xoxo,
Meg
Oh my goodness…these look so good especially since my hubby and I are on a diet! These look splurge worthy!
Haha! They really are splurge worthy. They also store very well in the freezer for what it’s worth! 🙂
Yum, these sound amazing! I love the addition of the vanilla pudding mix. I bet that’s delicious. And the “May the 4th” addition is extra special. 🙂
The vanilla pudding is definitely the key ingredient! Keeps them most and, well, “chewie” ?
Vanilla pudding, who would have thought! I’ve got to make these sometime this summer. I’d make them now, but I am trying to lose a bit of weight. Pinning this for later!
It’s a funny ingredient, isn’t it?! But it keeps them so irresistibly soft! Happy baking when the time comes!
Okay, I LOVE May the Fourth!!! Also, in our area we have “Becky’s” cookies that are very similar to yours. Every time she makes them they are sooooooo good. I have made them using her recipe but mine get too floury. I’m going to follow your step by step tutorial and see if that makes a difference!
Melony, are you from Somerset County?! ?
These look fantastic!! Your photographs are amazing!!
Aww, thanks so much! In this case, the camera does not lie — they really are as fantastic as they look! 🙂
Vanilla pudding must be the secret ingredient! What a great idea, have you ever tried chocolate pudding? I am a true chocoholic… I will have to try some day.
I haven’t used chocolate pudding in this particular recipe but I have used it in this recipe from Crazy for Crust (http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/03/triple-dark-chocolate-pudding-cookies/) and they are awesome! There’s cocoa powder in the recipe as well for extra chocolatey goodness. YUM!
Meg, Now I am reading your post with a new eye. How could I miss “Grandma Helen”?? and Becky?? Good grief, I am good friends with Helen’s daughter Vicky!! Also, Becky’s daughter Brianne (don’t know if that’s the correct spelling) made the last batch I tried and they were equally spectacular!! I can’t believe you have 4 kids!! That’s awesome! Looking forward to many visits over tea (not a coffee drinker, unfortunately!)
Haha! I just love Bob & Vicki! It’s been forever since I’ve seen them. I bet Brie has had a lot of time “testing” Becky’s cookies to get them just right 😉
These look so yummy! Pudding in a cookie dough makes so much difference in the end! And I LOVE your “chewie” printable! So cute!
Thanks so much, Sadie! I hope that they make their way into your oven soon enough — they’ll become known as “Sadie’s Cookies”! Haha! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
The cookies look delicious and I enjoyed the cute back-story! Thanks for linking up with us at #welcomehomewednesdays I can’t wait to see what you have for us this week!
Thanks so much, Rebecca! I’m loving #welcomehomewednesdays and will see you there tomorrow! ?
Good Morning! I wanted to let you know that your post has been chosen as a Featured Post for the Welcome Home Wednesdays Link Party!! Stop by this morning to see your post linked up and grab a Featured button as well!! ~Lisa~
That’s SO exciting! Thank you, thank you!!! I will see you over at Welcome Home Wednesdays! Hooray! 🙂
I found your cookies from a Pinterest post. Oh, am I ever glad I did!! I’m going to be making cookies tomorrow for sure.
You mentioned well-seasoned cookie sheets. Unfortunately, hubby tossed them out and we have new(ish). I use parchment paper – would this work ok?
Thank you for your amazing recipe?
BethF
Hi Beth! SO glad you found me and my cookie recipe. 🙂 Using parchment paper will totally do the trick! I hope you love them as much as we do in this house! xo