Description
Chewy, bakery‑style cookies loaded with chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel bits using instant pudding mix to boost texture.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all‑purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3.4 oz (≈ 1 box) vanilla instant pudding mix
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white (granulated) sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
- ¾ cup semi‑sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup roughly chopped pecan halves
- ¾ cup caramel bits
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and vanilla instant pudding mix. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the melted butter with the brown sugar and white sugar until well combined.
- Add vanilla extract, then beat in the egg and egg yolk until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Stir in the dry ingredients (flour mixture) just until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel bits.
- Using about ¼ cup of dough per cookie, form into balls and place on a parchment‑lined baking sheet (or plate) spaced apart.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 °F (≈163 °C).
- Place the chilled cookie dough balls about 3 inches apart on a parchment‑lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges are golden.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or storage container.
- Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can freeze the cookie dough balls and bake later.
- If caramel bits are unavailable, small pieces of caramel candy (cut small) may be substituted.
- Do not overmix after adding the dry ingredients — stir just until combined.
- Spacing the dough balls gives room for spreading.
- Let cookies cool a bit before moving to prevent breaking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 332 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 208 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g (approx)
- Trans Fat: 0 g (not specified)
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 34 mg
