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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.
More Pudding Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
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Triple Dark Chocolate Pudding Cookies
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 Video
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!
I made these before you did the change to 1 cup flour and I didn’t really have any issues. Except, well, maybe I didn’t let the dough chill. I tried! Honest! But as I was putting the cookie sheets in the fridge I thought about how I really like cookies that spread a bit, so I thought I’d experiment one tray. And they hardly spread at all. In fact, I had to press down on ’em just a little to get a slightly flatter cookie. So I quickly grabbed all the trays out of the fridge and flattened all the balls and had wonderful cookies. I don’t think they lasted two days in my house.
I’ll try them again and next time cut back a bit on the flour, but I do like them just the way they are (or, were).
Oh, and for the Canadian readers, I couldn’t find anything on any official company website about the equivalent for pudding mixes (Canadian ones are sold as grams not ounces), so I crossed my fingers and used a 113g box. My kitchen scale weighed it as just over 4 oz, so I figured it was close as could be. Seems to be the right size.
p.s. I used a combination of dark, white and milk chocolate chips. It was amazing.
So awesome! Thank you Tanya!! I’m glad you liked them!
I did change the ingredients list just recently to 1 cup of flour and 1 tablespoon coffee or water. Thanks for your tips!
I made these cookies tonight but when I was mixing the dough it got very very dry and I couldn’t really mix in the chips. I followed the recipe as you have it written but I had to add 2Tbsp of water to get the chips to stick at all in the dough. Any reason you can think of why this happened? Wondered if you had experienced this at all or not.
I’m sorry Danielle! Did you follow the directions as specified or make any changes? Did you use the pudding mix called for or a different size or flavor?
I followed them exactly and used the same pudding mix. I used an electric stand mixer as well. It just seemed like 1 1/2 cups of flour was too much or maybe it needs 2 eggs? I wondered if the recipe had a typo. I know my fingers move faster than my mind sometimes and that happens.
I’m sorry that happened! As far as I remember the recipe is correct, 1 egg is my standard for that size batch of cookies. This gives me a reason to make them again!
Thank you so much for letting me know this Danielle. I went and re-made the dough this am (still chilling it) and I don’t know what went wrong in my original instructions, but 1 cup of flour and 1 tablespoon coffee/water made the dough perfect. Thank you so much! Once I bake them later today, I’ll edit the recipe. You’re a lifesaver!
I literally just made these….they are in the refrigerator now and my dough turned out just fine. It was totally sticky enough for the chocolate chips to stick….I followed the recipe to a “T” except that I used mini-choc. chips instead of regular…may be that’s why they stayed in better?? But had no problems with dryness all seemed to go well. PS: Thoroughly enjoyed the finger licking and bowl cleaning ;-). Can’t wait for the cookies tomorrow!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!! Thank you!
I love the idea of dark chocolate cookies. I bet these are great with red wine.
I make a regular chocolate chip cookie with pudding and they are THE BEST, so I couldn’t wait to try these; I just made them and doubled the recipe (cause I was sure we’d love them) and the dough is as dry as can be!!! Is that normal? Is it a very dry dough? The chocolate chips didn’t even blend in with the dough….I double and triple checked my ingredients; all I can think is it only needed 2 cups of flour, rather than 3 (when doubling)…
Any insight on what to expect from this dough? Is it normally dry?
When I made the dough it wasn’t dry at all. Did you use two boxes of pudding when you doubled? That might be the culprit. Or, you’re right, the flour. I’ve never doubled the recipe!
Hi!!! Lucky enough to have found my way here from a Facebook link from Family Fresh Cooking! I L-O-V-E pudding cookies! I’ve been making them for years and they are usually devoured within a day or two!
I wanted to remark about using sugar free pudding mix in pudding cookie recipes. I’m a pretty avid baker and have had complete success substituting just ONE box of sugar free pudding mix for the one box of regular pudding mix. I’ve used multiple different flavors of sugar free, all with the same results. I will say the results are not exactly the same, but to me the differences are negligible.
My disclaimer to this whole statement will be I have not tried using it with sugar substitutes (for those who might be trying to produce a completely “sugar-free” cookie). But if the only thing holding you back from making these cookies is sugar free pudding-go for it!
Thank you so much Beth for leaving this comment! I think that other reader just added too many boxes, so it’s good to know that one works. I need to try it myself and see, and I want to try it with sugar subs too. Thank you again!
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