Lesson Of The Day: Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies...

Keeping It Real: Makes 6 dozen..

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, I used freshly ground hard white wheat *
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
* Feel free to substitute All Purpose flour for the whole wheat flour amount if you would like. It works just as well as the whole wheat version.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flours and baking soda and set aside. In a large bowl or kitchenaid mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add in the pudding mix and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Slowly add in the flour mixture, making sure that it is well incorporated. Last, add the chocolate chips and stir well to mix them throughout the dough.

I use my medium scoop to make the cookies an even size. I like to bake up about half of the batch and then freeze the remaining dough. When I am ready to use it, I simply set it on the counter for 20-30 minutes and then scoop out the number of cookies that I want to bake at the time.

I bake these on a silpat mat for 11 minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to wire racks. The cookies freeze beautifully, as does the cookie dough. For the record, both the cookies and the dough taste awesome straight out of the freezer. Yes, I did just admit that. Enjoy! Ya Dig?...