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If you love chocolate, you have to try these Dark Chocolate Cookies! They’re pudding cookies with three kinds of chocolate: Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, Special Dark instant pudding, and dark chocolate chips. This chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe makes a batch of super-soft cookies that stay that way for days!
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BEST Soft Dark Chocolate Cookies
Let’s talk about the most amazing dark chocolate pudding cookies EVER, shall we? They’re rich, decadent, super soft, and seriously good. Chocolate lovers, I’m talking to you – this is one delicious cookie recipe. There’s so much chocolate your chocolate craving doesn’t stand a chance.
Instant pudding is the secret ingredient that gives the cookies the most amazing soft texture. I love soft chocolate chip cookies, and these cookies are a fantastic chocolate upgrade because I decided to go dark – dark chocolate, that is.
I never liked dark chocolate when I was a kid, but kind of like how my lemon love started a few years ago, my dark chocolate addiction is at an all-time high. And dark chocolate pudding cookies? Sign me up, please.
These chocolate chocolate chip pudding cookies combine the best of chewy chocolate chip cookies with soft chocolate cookies and lots of dark chocolate chips. It’s a trio of chocolate that I’m pretty sure will be your new favorite cookie. Oh, and bonus – it’s one of my favorite easy recipes.
What is a pudding cookie?
Why add pudding mix to dark chocolate cookies? Two reasons.
1. It adds another layer of flavor.
Depending on what cookie you’re making, you can add different flavors by adding instant pudding mix. For this recipe, I use Hershey’s pudding mix.
Want a touch of a different flavor to a cookie? Try adding banana, pistachio, cookies ‘n cream, cheesecake, or white chocolate pudding mix. It won’t be an overpowering flavor, but it’ll be there. You can even make classic chocolate chip cookies with a twist when you add instant vanilla pudding mix.
That’s why I love adding the pudding mix – there are endless flavor combinations! So once you try these chocolate pudding cookies, try a different flavor for next time.
2. Pudding chocolate cookies are softer and stay soft.
If you like a chewy on the outside and soft on the inside cookie, pudding cookies are perfect for you. These moist cookies are soft-batch cookies, and they stay soft for days…if they last that long.
My recipe gives that chewy texture at the first bite, as you expect from a cookie, but the inside is all soft and perfect. Because of the dark chocolate, these cookies almost taste like brownie cookies!
So, in a nutshell: Cookies with chocolate pudding are the Best. Cookies. Ever. I should know. I ate way too many of these soft chocolate cookies!
Ingredients in Chocolate Pudding Cookies
Softened Butter: I always use unsalted but you can use salted if you prefer, just omit the salt in the recipe.
Sugar: This pudding cookie recipe uses a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar for a sweet soft texture.
Vanilla extract: For flavor
Salt: If using unsalted butter you need to add the salt.
Egg: Always buy LARGE eggs!
Baking soda: For leavening
Cocoa Powder: For dark chocolate cookies, use Hershey’s Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder. You can also use regular unsweetened cocoa powder (that’s what I use in my Valentine Cookies).
Instant Pudding Mix: You MUST use instant and the small box (about 3.4 oz depending on brand and flavor). For dark chocolate, use Hershey’s Special Dark Pudding Mix or you can use any instant chocolate pudding mix.
Brewed coffee or water: The coffee just adds a bit of deepness to the chocolate flavor.
All-purpose flour: Be sure to measure it correctly!
Chocolate Chips: Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips divided or any dark chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, or chopped extra dark chocolate bar.
How to Make Dark Chocolate Cookies
- Cream the butter and both kinds of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer at high speed.
- Mix in vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa and egg until smooth.
- Add dry pudding mix with the wet ingredients in the large mixing bowl.
- Combine the flour mixture, coffee (or water) into the dough and beat well.
- Stir in 1 ¼ cups of chocolate chips.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to drop the cookie batter on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover them with plastic wrap and chill the raw dough balls for at least 30 minutes.
- Use parchment paper to line cookie sheets and place the chilled dough balls on them. Bake the cookies for 10 to 13 minutes or until the edges are no longer shiny. I like my cookies a little underdone, so I take them out of the oven when the centers are still a little bit shiny. Cool the baked cookies on a cooling rack.
Variations and Substitutions
I found my Special Dark Chocolate pudding (and chocolate chips) at Walmart, but I think they sell it at other grocery stores, too. If you can’t find it, you can substitute chocolate or chocolate fudge pudding. You can use any dark chocolate chip you like – the darker, the better!
If you aren’t a dark chocolate person, no problem. Substitute regular chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge pudding, semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, and regular unsweetened cocoa powder. They’ll still be triple chocolate, just more to your liking.
Note: if you live outside the United States and are wondering what the heck pudding mix is, I’ve been told that Angel Delight is similar to it. It comes in lots of different flavors, just like pudding mix.
Expert Tips
- To avoid confusion, when you’re making double chocolate pudding cookies, you don’t make the actual pudding. You just add the powder to your batter.
- Be sure to use instant pudding mix!
- I think these cookies are best with dark chocolate chips, but you can use other chocolate chips, including milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet, or even white chocolate chips. Or try different types like butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips.
- Want to make quadruple chocolate pudding cookies? Use the cocoa powder, chocolate pudding, and two kinds of chocolate chips!
- When I bake cookies, I like to reserve some of the mix-ins (in this case, chocolate chips) and press some on top of the dough. It makes them prettier after baking.
- For this chocolate pudding cookie recipe, the dough MUST be refrigerated. Don’t skip this step, so plan ahead!
- Lightly press the cookies a bit before baking to help them spread so they don’t bake like little balls.
FAQ
Yes, it works fine.
Yes, be sure to use instant pudding mix for pudding cookies.
Store pudding cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep well for up to a week.
Yes, they freeze well for up to three months.
I haven’t tested this chocolate pudding cookie recipe with Dutch process cocoa, but most likely, it will work fine.
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Triple Dark Chocolate Pudding Cookies
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cup (133g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (10g) Hershey’s Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder or you can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 3.5-3.8 ounces box instant Hershey’s Special Dark Pudding Mix (or any instant chocolate or chocolate fudge pudding mix, not sugar-free)
- 1 tablespoon brewed coffee or water
- 1 cup (124g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (255g) Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips divided (or any dark chocolate chip or chopped extra dark chocolate bar)
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars. Mix in vanilla, cocoa, salt, baking soda and egg until smooth. Mix in pudding mix (just the powdery mix, not actual pudding).
- Beat in coffee or water, and flour until well blended. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips.
- Drop cookie dough balls (I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop) onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. You don’t have to space them out, you’re going to chill the cookie dough balls. Press a few of the remaining chocolate chips into each cookie. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment or a silpat. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until the edges lose their sheen. I like these a little under-done, so I take them out when the center is still a tiny bit shiny.
Recipe Nutrition
These Triple Dark Chocolate Pudding Cookies are filled with three kinds of dark chocolate for a real chocolate kick. The pudding adds another layer of flavor and keeps them soft for days, if they last that long!
These are absolutely fantastic!!! I live in Rochester, NY literally 1 mile from the Wegmans headquarters. Long story short…they started to carry a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recently and I was obsessed. The price was insane for a 2 pack! it was $3.50 for two cookies! So I did some recipe research and these are even better and cost so much less to make at home! Thank you Thank you to the wonderful person that posted this recipe. Key notes….follow to a tee and definately use coffee instead of water. This is fantastic 🙂
I love this recipe! I make it with different chocolate bar variation’s. I just made them with smashed up butter finger bars ! a must try!!
I just love chocolate cookies and so does my husband. Both of us give this an average chocolate cookie recipe. I’ll go back to my other recipe.
OMG HELP! I’ve been using your triple dark chocolate pudding cookie recipe FOREVER and I love it….but now Hershey’s has discontinued their special dark pudding and replaced it with a dark pudding that is 3.95 oz! Can I use the new Hershey’s pudding even though it’s a whole 30 oz. more than the old pudding?? I will be waiting for your reply because I love this recipe and don’t know what I will do if I can’t make it anymore! Thank you!
I meant to say .30 oz, not 30, like thirty oz…lol….but still, it’s a slightly bigger box so I’m worried. Please let me know if I can still make these cookies with the new pudding. Thanks!
Made this exactly as outlined and it’s so dry the cookies didn’t even spread. Waste of ingredients!
If you find that happening, you can press them a little bit with the palm of your hand to get them started. Usually when I bake these they flatten just fine – but occasionally they don’t and I’m not sure why – other than they have been chilled a long time and just need a little help flattening.
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