Okay, Ya'll here's the REAL deal. I've made all of the TOP choc chip cookie recies on our wonderful site here and I'm here to tell you --THIS IS IT! I held off making this one because I thought the pudding would be gross but you can't even taste it. All it does it make and keep them soft (like putting a preservative in). I would make the following changes: Add 2 teasp. of baking powder, 1/2 teasp. salt and 2 TABLESPOONS (yes, you heard right) of VANILLA. This gives them what they were missing as noted in serveral reviews. My second favorite are the BEST BIG ones but they are really rich and my family prefers this recipe instead. You won't believe how delicious these turn out!! Happy Baking!

This recipe is the best I have found. They are very simple to make although they take a little time they are well worth it! The things I have found helpful with this recipe is it is best to chill the dough when you arent using it. I use a mellon baller to get the cookies at a good uniform size, 1 to 2 scoops depending on the size of the mellon baller, roll them up and plop them down. Also, as every oven is different, my cookies come out perfect at 9 minutes, dont let the soft look fool you they seem to continue to cook a bit after you take them out. And as a common cookie rule, keep the pan at a room temperature so your cookies dont come out flat with all the butter that is in this recipe, if you can't rotate between pans, run them under cool water to bring the temp down, they really make them look a lot better than if you dont. Many people have been asking how to add the pudding, it goes in completely dry, just the mix, nothing more, it really helps the taste yet tastes nothing like pudding. One last thing I would suggest, if the cookies are coming out like 'cake' they have not been prepared correctly, these cookies come out perfectly for me every time, not once were they anything but what they should be, follow the directions close and you'll do fine! I hope I could help, these are really worth the time!

do you have to cook the pudding first or do you just add the mix to the recipe? i just added the mix and the cookies came out very crumbly in texture. it didn't form quite well either. please help!

I followed this recipe exactly and loved it. I enjoy reading other people's reviews because you can find some really good advice on the recipes you're making. For instance, thank you to everyone who mentioned that the cookies are done after 12 minutes even though they may not look it - you're absolutely right! They were done to perfection. Also, thank you to whoever suggested refrigerating the dough before using. That makes it much easier to handle. I have only one piece of advice to add: These cookies DO NOT spread out at all when they cook, so feel free to put them close together as possible on the cookie sheet - it will save you time if you're making all 7 dozen! Finally, thanks to Debbi for sharing such a wonderful recipe.

I belong to a family of bakers, and believe me when I say this is THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever..I have replaced my Neiman Marcus recipe with this one. BUT (and this is important)it helps to bake these (and all cookies)the following way... on a baking stone (which I do, so they don't spread) or use parchment paper in your pan. It also helps to have a convection oven which is perfect for baked goods. If you don't have any of these, refridgerate the dough before baking to prevent spreading. Take the cookies out of the oven about 1 minute before they are actually done to prevent overcooking.. The texture of these cookies is perfect.

This is THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have EVER found! I half'd it and it comes out perfectly fine. I always make the cookie dough and scoop/spoon out all the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and then I freeze them and store them in a large tupperware bin. With the cookies frozen individually that way I can take out and bake as many cookies as needed/wanted (my husband and I don't need to polish off a whole batch at a time!). My tips for these cookies: I use dark brown sugar and cream the butter and sugars together with a hand mixer, until light (3-5 minutes); I use 2 tsp of vanilla; eggs at room temperature; I add almost 1 tsp of salt; and I bake the cookies at 325* and I check them at 12 min and go from there depending on how done I want them. Be sure to make these and enjoy!!

AMAZING!!!! Who ever had problems with these cookies, I'm sorry but you did something wrong. I halved the recipe because at first was afraid because of some of the negative reviews. Don't let them stop you!!!!Like I said I did half the recipe and the only thing I did different was add 1 tsp. salt and just 1 12oz bag of semi-sweet choc. chips not two cups. I think a major key to this recipe is to make sure butter is really good and soft. Also cream your butter and sugers together really well and add the pudding mix a little at a time to the butter/suger mixture, mixing well in between. Add flour mixture about 1/3 at a time, mixing good each time. I used an electric hand mixer for the whole recipe except when adding chips and nuts. Also don't over bake.I did 10 min and took right off baking sheet. They are perfect. Not to fat, not to thin, no bitter after taste, soft on the inside (I wouldn't say cake like) crisp out. I've tried ALOT of cc cookie recipes and this one is perfect.

What award did this recipe win exactly? The Stone Masons Union award for best alternative substance to brick? I guess the term 'Soft' that's used in the title is subjective and open to interpretation. Maybe the author/chef could put an astrics next to 'soft' and add some spiffy legal jargon at the bottom. Example: *The term 'Soft' is only an opinion and has little or no relation to the actual cookie(s) resulting from this recipe. Technically, the cookies could qualify as 'soft' when compaired on Moh's Hardness Scale to corundums and diamonds.

It was well worth the effort trying this recipe. I generally follow the recipes on this site verbatim the first time through and then make any substitutions or modifications if I use the same recipe again. I don't think I'll be making any changes whatsoever to this cookie recipe, its great just the way it is. As I was making these I couldn't help wonder about some of the negative reviews and how some people indicated they followed the recipe exactly with poor results. Perhaps technique, tools or materials are to blame. For instance, I wouldn't attempt this cookie recipe without using, at the very least, a hand-held electric blender, particularly when creaming the butter and sugar. Maybe it just goes without saying, but I still wondered if some folks try and mix this by hand. As someone else mentioned earlier or in another recipe, using an ice cream scoop to drop the dough makes it easier to yield consistent sized cookies.

I think these cookies are great: very chewy. You might like to try placing a pan with 1 inch of water in the oven while these bake (bottom rack). This technique works great with cakes too to make them moist and to prevent burning. I also melt the butter and double up on the vanilla extract(ideas I picked up from other websites), but the cookies taste great even without these changes.