A New Favorite...

Okay, I think Jamie at My Baking Addiction is my new best friend. The fact that she has no idea I exist is irrelevant. I just tried her latest recipe and Superman and Valiant have declared that this is the best "plain old chocolate chip" cookie they've ever had. Valiant wanted to be certain I understood that they weren't better than my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, but that they were the best plain ones he's ever had. High praise, indeed, wouldn't you say? As for me, I'd say the vanilla pudding in the recipe adds a dimension, a depth of flavor (Jamie said it was magical), that is not present in most chocolate chip cookies. Let's be serious, here...they're cookies and they're really good.

So, if you're looking for a new chocolate chip recipe to try, give this one a try...you will be surprised. (Head on over to My Baking Addiction to see the original recipe. I'll bet you want to make Jamie your new best friend, too.)

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chippers

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional) (Why would you put nuts in your baked goods? Why?)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Note: This recipe made a lot of cookies. I cooked half the dough and froze the other half (after scooping into cookie-sized balls). It would be easy to cut in half, though, so keep that in mind.

P.S. I guess it is a good thing that I haven't been slacking off on my gym time. These treats I've been making have been way too good. Back to the bike I head...sigh...