AMISH CHOCOLATE CHIP PUDDING COOKIES

I can't think of a better Amish recipe to share today than this Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookie recipe of Wanda Yoder from my Heritage Country Harvest Cookbook. The cookbook contains over 700 favorite recipes from the Amish in Northern Indiana.

Believe it or not, I actually found five different recipes that were very similar. It was hard to decide which one would be best. The main difference was in the amount of flour they used. Mrs. John (Edith) Hochstetler used 2-1/4 cups flour and only 1/2 cup butter but 2 cups (12 - oz bag) of chocolate chips. Mrs. Harry Wayne Miller and Wilma Beechy used 3 cups flour, 12 oz chips, and 1 cup nuts (optional). Mrs. William (Velda) Miller used only 2-1/4 cups of flour and no chocolate chips. (Her recipe was called "Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies" so not sure if it was omitted by error, but then it would have been the same as Mrs. Hochstetler's recipe.) Mrs. Mary Ann Lambright and Mrs. Amos Yoder had a similar recipe called "Holstein Cookies". It called for 2-1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup margarine and 1/2 teaspoon salt. It also didn't call for any chocolate chips but suggested using vanilla pudding in half of the dough and chocolate in the other half. You then take a little of each to form a roll which is rolled in white sugar before baking. That sounds interesting.

The main reason I used Wanda's recipe is it was the only one that said to dissolve the baking soda in a little bit of water. She used vanilla instant pudding and I decided to use the chocolate (just because I like chocolate). She also used 1 cup chocolate chips and I used more (about 1-2/3 cups). I used unsalted butter instead of the margarine and my chocolate instant pudding mix was sugar-free. I also added the word "pudding" to her recipe title to distinguish it from other chocolate chip cookies. The mixing instructions are what I did. If you wanted to reduce the sugar, use sugar substitute products for the sugar and the brown sugar.

I don't know if dissolving the baking soda makes a better cookie or not. All I know, is I agree with her comment of "Very good and soft!" 

Sure to be a hit with your family and friends.

PRINT recipe.

AMISH CHOCOLATE CHIP PUDDING COOKIES

1/4       cup white sugar
3/4      cup light brown sugar
1           box vanilla or chocolate instant pudding (4-serving size)
1           cup margarine or butter (room temperature)
1           teaspoon baking soda (dissolved in a little bit hot water - I used 1 teaspoon hot water)
1           teaspoon vanilla
1           cup chocolate chips (or more if you like lots of chips in your cookies)
2          eggs, beaten
3          cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the sugars and pudding mix first to blend well.

Add the margarine and beat.

Then add baking soda in water and vanilla. Beat til smooth.

I then added the chips. (and beaten eggs)*

Lastly the flour. You will need to scrape the sides and from the bottom several times to make sure you mix it all well.

Using a cookie scoop, drop on ungreased cookie sheet

and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
 

Remove cookies and cool on wire rack. The result is a delicious tasting soft chocolate chocolate chip cookie.

Since these are a soft cookie, a tip that was shared in the cookbook was to put a slice of bread in the cookie jar to keep the cookies soft. I decided to do this and the cookies are still just as soft and fresh tasting as ever. It may not look great in the cookie jar but I would rather have the cookies not get hard and dry tasting.

*UPDATE*

I made these cookies for our next door neighbor Sean's birthday. Every time I take them something I have made, he tells me his all-time favorite were those chocolate pudding cookies I made. When he told me he was having a birthday, I told him I would make him a batch of the chocolate pudding cookies for him. He was all smiles. 

Well, I made them today and as I was following the recipe above I realized that I forgot the eggs the first time I made them. They aren't in any of my pictures. I added them today and the cookie was smoother and spread a little bit more. Obviously they taste great without the eggs (Sean would testify to that in court I am sure). I will leave it up to you as to whether you add the eggs or not.

Sean's cookies today.....