Description
Santa's Favorite Cookies are soft and pillowy brown sugar pudding cookies filled with festive Christmas candy. These easy-to-make cookies combine the richness of brown sugar and vanilla pudding mix to create a tender texture, finished with colorful sprinkles and M&Ms for a fun holiday treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 box 3.4 ounces Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (not sugar free)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup red and green sprinkles (or any colors)
- 3/4 cup Christmas M&Ms (or any color of M&M)
Instructions
- Cream Ingredients: Cream the softened butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add the instant vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Gradually add the flour and mix until the dough comes together.
- Mix in Candy and Sprinkles: Stir in the red and green sprinkles and Christmas M&Ms evenly throughout the dough.
- Scoop and Chill: Scoop 2 tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat. There's no need to space them out at this stage. Cover the sheet and chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.
- Bake Cookies: Place the chilled cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 11 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to one month.
Notes
- Chilling the cookie dough is essential to maintain the shape of the cookies and achieve the perfect texture.
- You can substitute the red and green sprinkles with any festive colors to suit different occasions.
- For a different flavor, try swapping vanilla pudding mix with chocolate or butterscotch pudding mix.
- Store cookies in a cool, dry place in an airtight container to keep them fresh longer.
- Freezing the cookie dough balls before baking preserves freshness and allows baking fresh cookies on demand.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 127 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 57 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
