Mini M&M Pudding Cookies

Are you guys familiar with the expression “when it rains, it pours”? It’s a pretty apt description of the way things have been going here over the past few weeks. Earlier this month, after holding out as long as we could, we caved and turned on our heat. Well, we tried to anyway – it decided it was only going to work intermittently. Luckily it was before the temperatures really started to drop so it didn’t get too cold in here, and after a stressful week of dealing with repair issues, it’s back up and running.

But the fun didn’t end there. Within the past week both my laptop battery and our oven decided to die. Talk about a bad combination for a food blogger, right? 🙂 I haven’t dealt with the battery yet but just last night Shane and I did manage to fix the oven all on our own. Let me just say – the internet is a wonderful resource when it comes to DIY! From diagnosing the issue to finding the part we needed and watching videos on how to complete the repair, it was a total lifesaver. I’m giddy thinking about the money we saved not having to pay someone to do it for us!

By the time we finished the repair last night it was late and we were both starving. After a quick dinner, all I wanted to do was curl up under a blanket on the couch with a plate of cookies. These mini M&M pudding cookies specifically, and that’s exactly what I did! When I made the recipe way back in October, I froze most of the dough and love pulling it out to make cookies on demand when the urge strikes.

I might be the last person to jump on the pudding cookies bandwagon here, but if not and you haven’t tried them, I suggest you change that asap 🙂 The cookie recipe is fairly basic but a package of instant pudding mix is thrown in along with the usual suspects and it makes these cookies soft and chewy like no other. They even stay soft for a few days after baking, they’re the best! I much prefer M&M cookies over those made with chocolate chips so that’s what I used here, but either would work.

Mini M&M Pudding Cookies
adapted from AllRecipes.com

{Note: Recently I’ve been able to find bags of mini M&M’s in the candy aisle alongside the regular M&M’s, but if you couldn’t find them mini chocolate chips (or even regular ones) would be fine.}

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 – 2 cups mini M&M’s

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the pudding mix until combined and then add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the mini M&M’s.

Using a small cookie scoop (mine measures about 1 1/2 inches across), portion the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes (rotating the baking sheets halfway through) or until the edges of the cookies are set and light golden brown. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool for a few minutes then remove the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough.

Makes about 4 dozen