Butterscotch Pudding Cookies: Soft, Chewy Bliss in Every Bite
A from-scratch brown sugar dough with one pantry shortcut, instant butterscotch pudding mix, plus butterscotch and white chocolate chips. Thick, golden and tender for days.
- Makes 12 to 48
- Chill or no-chill
- Eight variations
- Freezer-ready scoops
The cookies from the pin: thick, golden and soft, studded with butterscotch and white chocolate chips.
Butterscotch pudding cookies get their plush, tender middles from one pantry shortcut: a box of instant butterscotch pudding mix beaten dry into a from-scratch brown sugar dough. The card makes 24 thick cookies with butterscotch and white chocolate chips, scales from 12 to 48, and there is a version with no pudding mix at all.
In this post:
- Why pudding mix keeps them soft
- The recipe, from 12 to 48 cookies
- Each ingredient, and the one shortcut
- Five rules for thick, chewy cookies
- Chill or no chill, size and bake time
- Eight versions, including no pudding mix
- Storage, freezing, troubleshooting and 14 FAQs
Why These Cookies Stay So Soft
Soft for days
Instant pudding mix is mostly sugar and pre-cooked starch, and that starch holds on to moisture. The centers bake up tender and stay soft for 4 to 5 days in an airtight tin.
Thick without fuss
The mix gives the dough body, so the cookies rise thick and puffy with crinkled tops even without chilling. Thirty minutes in the fridge makes them taller still, like the pin.
Butterscotch twice
Butterscotch flavor runs through the dough from the pudding mix and brown sugar, then again in the melty butterscotch chips. White chocolate chips add the pale, creamy flecks on the pin.
One honest shortcut
Flour, butter, sugar and eggs are measured by hand; the only box is the pudding mix. For a batch with no box at all, the no-pudding version is in the tabs below.
Butterscotch Pudding Cookies Recipe
The card makes 24 large cookies from 3-tablespoon scoops. Tap 12, 36 or 48 and every amount changes.
Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
The cookies from the pin: a from-scratch brown sugar dough with one shortcut, a box of instant butterscotch pudding mix beaten in dry, plus butterscotch and white chocolate chips. Thick, golden and soft for days. Tap a batch size and every amount updates.
How many cookies?
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (140 g)2¼ cups (280 g)3¼ cups + 2 tbsp (420 g)4½ cups (560 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp1 tsp1½ tsp2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp½ tsp¾ tsp1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup (113 g)1 cup (227 g)1½ cups (340 g)2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 tbsp (80 g)¾ cup (160 g)1 cup + 2 tbsp (240 g)1½ cups (320 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp (25 g)¼ cup (50 g)6 tbsp (75 g)½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ box (48 g)1 box (3.4 oz / 96 g)1½ boxes (144 g)2 boxes (192 g) instant butterscotch pudding mix, dry (gelatin-free)
- 1234 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ tsp1 tsp1½ tsp2 tsp alcohol-free vanilla
- 6 tbsp (65 g)¾ cup (128 g)1 cup + 2 tbsp (190 g)1½ cups (255 g) butterscotch chips
- 6 tbsp (65 g)¾ cup (128 g)1 cup + 2 tbsp (190 g)1½ cups (255 g) white chocolate chips
- a pinch flaky sea salt, to finish (optional)
Instant pudding mix, not cook-and-serve, used dry. For halal, pick a gelatin-free mix and check the label. Alcohol-free vanilla; regular extract contains alcohol. Weigh the flour (280 g a batch) or spoon and level it. Half batch: half the box, about 48 g.
Instructions
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set the butter and eggs out about an hour ahead.
Whisk the dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugars
Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high for 2 minutes, until paler and fluffy.
Beat in the pudding mix
Add the pudding mix dry, straight from the box, without making it up. Beat 30 seconds until smooth and evenly colored.
Add the eggs and vanilla
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, scraping down the bowl.
Add the flour
On low speed or with a spatula, mix in the flour just until no dry streaks remain. Overmixing makes them tough.
Fold in the chips
Fold in the butterscotch and white chocolate chips. For taller cookies, chill the dough 30 minutes now.
Scoop
Scoop 12243648 balls of 3 level tablespoons (about 48 g). Space them 2½ inches apart, up to 12 on a sheet.
Bake
Bake one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set and light golden and the centers look puffy and slightly underdone. Chilled dough needs 1 to 2 minutes more.
Cool on the sheet
Leave them on the hot sheet for 5 minutes to set, then move to a rack. Press a few extra chips into the warm tops, and a pinch of flaky salt if using.
The Ingredients, and the One Shortcut
The pin says made from scratch, and the dough is: flour, butter, sugar and eggs, measured by hand. The one shortcut is the box of instant pudding mix, and it is the reason for the plush texture. For a batch without it, use the no-pudding tab further down.
Unsalted butter
Soft enough to dent with a finger but still cool, about 65°F. Melted or greasy butter is the main reason these spread flat.
Brown sugar
Light brown sugar as written. Dark brown sugar gives a deeper, more molasses-rich butterscotch flavor. The granulated sugar crisps the edges.
Instant butterscotch pudding mix
Instant, never cook-and-serve, and dry from the box: one 3.4-oz box a batch. For halal, choose a gelatin-free mix and read the label; a halal-certified mix removes any doubt.
All-purpose flour
Spooned and leveled, or weighed: 280 g. Flour scooped straight from the bag can add a quarter more and makes cakey, domed cookies.
Eggs
Two large eggs at room temperature. Cold eggs can make the creamed butter seize and the dough greasy.
Alcohol-free vanilla
Regular vanilla extract is made with alcohol. Alcohol-free vanilla keeps the cookies halal; the seeds of half a vanilla pod work too.
Butterscotch and white chocolate chips
Three-quarters of a cup of each. Butterscotch for flavor, white chocolate for creaminess. For a strictly halal table, look for a halal mark on the bags.
Baking soda and salt
Baking soda only, no baking powder, for a chewy, crinkly cookie. Do not skip the salt: it keeps two kinds of sweet chips in balance.
With Pudding Mix or Without?
| With pudding mix (the card) | No pudding mix | |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | With pudding mix (the card)Plush, tender, almost fudgy center | No pudding mixChewy and soft, a little less plush |
| Thickness | With pudding mix (the card)Thick without chilling | No pudding mixSpreads slightly more; chill 30 minutes |
| Flavor | With pudding mix (the card)Butterscotch through the whole dough | No pudding mixBrown sugar dough; butterscotch from the chips |
| Stays soft | With pudding mix (the card)4 to 5 days, airtight | No pudding mix2 to 3 days, then firmer |
| Shopping | With pudding mix (the card)One 3.4-oz box of instant mix | No pudding mixCornstarch and dark brown sugar |
Five Rules for Thick, Chewy Cookies
Mixing: golden dough in the bowl, the dry pudding powder, eggs, flour and both chips, with scooped dough balls on a lined sheet.
Instant mix, dry, into the butter
Beat the dry pudding mix into the creamed butter and sugar before the eggs, so it spreads evenly and never clumps. Never make up the pudding first.
Soft butter, not melted
It should hold a dent without looking shiny. Butter that is too warm gives flat, greasy cookies; too cold and it will not cream.
A light hand with the flour
Weigh 280 g or spoon and level. Too much flour gives cakey domes; too little and they spread thin.
Stop mixing when the flour disappears
Low speed or a spatula. Beating after the flour goes in develops gluten and makes the cookies tough instead of chewy.
Take them out while they look underdone
Edges set and lightly golden, centers puffy and pale. Five minutes on the hot sheet finishes them; another minute in the oven makes them hard by tomorrow.
To Chill or Not, and How Big to Bake Them
Up close: the soft, chewy center of a broken cookie and a melted butterscotch chip stretching between the halves.
No chilling is needed, because the pudding mix keeps the dough thick. A short chill buys height:
| Dough | Chill | Bake at 350°F | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoughNo chill (the card) | ChillNone | Bake at 350°F11 to 13 min | ResultSoft and thick with crinkled tops; spreads a little more |
| DoughShort chill | Chill30 minutes in the fridge | Bake at 350°F12 to 14 min | ResultTaller and puffier, like the pin |
| DoughOvernight | ChillCovered, up to 3 days | Bake at 350°F12 to 14 min; rest 10 min on the counter if rock-hard | ResultThe thickest, with a deeper brown-sugar flavor |
| DoughFrozen dough balls | ChillFrozen solid, up to 3 months | Bake at 350°F14 to 16 min, straight from frozen | ResultTall, with slightly paler edges |
| DoughWarm kitchen | Chill30 to 60 minutes; not optional | Bake at 350°F12 to 14 min | ResultStops them spreading flat |
Cookie Size and Bake Time
All at 350°F (175°C), one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Pull them when the edges are set and the centers still look soft.
| Size | Dough each | Makes a batch | Bake | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SizeSmall | Dough each1 level tbsp (about 20 g) | Makes a batchabout 55 | Bake8 to 9 min | NotesCookie trays and lunch boxes |
| SizeMedium | Dough each1½ tbsp (about 30 g) | Makes a batch38 to 40 | Bake9 to 11 min | NotesThe old card’s scoop: it never made 24 |
| SizeLarge (the card) | Dough each3 tbsp (about 48 g) | Makes a batch24 | Bake11 to 13 min | NotesThick and soft, as on the pin |
| SizeBakery-style | Dough each¼ cup (about 70 g) | Makes a batchabout 16 | Bake14 to 16 min | NotesChill first; 6 to a sheet |
| SizeCookie bars | Dough eachWhole batch in a lined 9×13 pan | Makes a batch24 bars | Bake22 to 26 min | NotesGolden edges, middle just set; cool before cutting |
Eight Ways to Make Them
Same dough, a different finish. Tap a version:
Butterscotch and White Chip Pudding Cookies
The card above: ¾ cup butterscotch chips and ¾ cup white chocolate chips in a butterscotch pudding dough, the pale chips on the pin. For the bakery look, press a few extra chips into the tops the moment they come out of the oven.
White Chocolate Macadamia-Style Pudding Cookies
Skip the butterscotch chips and fold in 1 cup white chocolate chips and ¾ cup roughly chopped roasted macadamia nuts. The butterscotch dough adds a caramel note to the classic pairing. If the nuts are salted, cut the salt in the dough to ¼ tsp.
Butterscotch Pecan Pudding Cookies
Use 1 cup butterscotch chips and ½ cup chopped pecans, toasted 6 to 8 minutes at 350°F and cooled, in place of the white chocolate. Toasty, crunchy and a little less sweet. Dark brown sugar suits this one.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
Cut the flour to 1¾ cups (220 g) and stir 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats and ½ tsp cinnamon in with it. Use 1 cup butterscotch chips and ½ cup white chocolate chips. Chill the dough 30 minutes, then bake 12 to 14 minutes. Chewier and more rustic.
Brown Butter Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
Cook the butter over medium heat, swirling, for 5 to 7 minutes, until it smells nutty and the solids turn amber. Pour it into a bowl with 1 to 2 tbsp milk for the water that cooked off, and chill about an hour, until soft-set. Cream as written. Deeper, toffee-like flavor.
Salted Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
Use dark brown sugar for more depth, then sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt on each cookie as it leaves the oven, while the tops are still tacky. Sweet and salty, and the easiest fix if the classic tastes too sweet.
Pumpkin Spice Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
The fall version: whisk 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg and ¼ tsp ginger) into the flour. Keep both chips, or swap the white chocolate for toasted pecans. Skip pumpkin purée here: the extra moisture turns them cakey.
Butterscotch Cookies Without Pudding Mix
Leave out the pudding mix. Use 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (¼ cup more than the card), whisk 2 tbsp cornstarch into the flour and fold in 1½ cups butterscotch chips. Chill the dough 30 minutes and bake 11 to 13 minutes.
The honest difference: they come out chewy and soft but not as plush, spread slightly more and firm up after 2 to 3 days. The butterscotch flavor comes from the dark brown sugar and the chips.
Chip Combinations
| Mix-in | Per batch | What it tastes like |
|---|---|---|
| Mix-inButterscotch + white chocolate (the card) | Per batch¾ cup each | What it tastes likeSweet and creamy; the pale chips on the pin |
| Mix-inAll butterscotch | Per batch1½ cups | What it tastes likeDouble butterscotch, and the sweetest |
| Mix-inAll white chocolate | Per batch1½ cups | What it tastes likeCreamy and vanilla-sweet; the old card’s choice |
| Mix-inButterscotch + semi-sweet chocolate | Per batch¾ cup each | What it tastes likeLess sweet; the chocolate balances the caramel |
| Mix-inButterscotch + toffee bits | Per batch1 cup + ½ cup | What it tastes likeCrunchy, buttery caramel pockets |
| Mix-inButterscotch + toasted pecans | Per batch1 cup + ½ cup | What it tastes likeNutty, less sweet, holiday-ready |
Storing and Freezing Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
An autumn afternoon: cookies stacked on a cream plate with a glass of cold milk, more cooling on the rack.
| How | How long | |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | HowCooled completely, in an airtight tin | How long4 to 5 days |
| Keep them soft | HowA slice of bread in the tin; the cookies draw moisture from it. Replace it when it dries out | How longThe whole time they last |
| Freeze baked | HowLayered between parchment in a freezer container | How long3 months; thaw 30 minutes on the counter |
| Freeze dough balls | HowScoop, freeze solid on a lined sheet for 1 to 2 hours, then bag | How long3 months; bake from frozen, 2 to 3 minutes longer |
| Dough in the fridge | HowCovered, or scooped into balls | How longUp to 3 days; bake cold, 1 to 2 minutes longer |
| Gifts and bake sales | HowFully cooled, stacked in bags or tins | How longBest within 3 days |
Where they go next:
- With a cold glass of milk, or warm from the oven
- Just one cookie, right now: a chocolate chip cookie in a mug
- On a platter of sweets: a dessert grazing table
- Packed for a bake sale: easy Halloween bake sale treats
- Beside spooky cookies for October: peanut butter spider cookies
- More butterscotch and pecan for the holidays: pecan pie bark
Nutrition (approximate, per cookie)
One of 24 large cookies with half butterscotch and half white chocolate chips; about 18 g of the carbs are sugar. A 1½-tablespoon cookie (38 to 40 a batch) is about 135 calories. Contains dairy, eggs and gluten.
Troubleshooting: Flat, Cakey or Too Sweet
Most problems come down to butter temperature, flour and bake time:
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| ProblemFlat, spread thin | Likely causeButter too soft or melted, a warm kitchen, or cook-and-serve mix | FixButter that holds a dent; chill the dough 30 minutes; instant mix only |
| ProblemLater sheets spread more | Likely causeDough scooped onto a hot sheet | FixLet the sheet cool or use a second one; keep waiting dough in the fridge |
| ProblemCakey, domed | Likely causeToo much flour, or baked until the centers looked done | FixWeigh 280 g or spoon and level; pull them while the middles look underdone |
| ProblemToo sweet | Likely causeTwo kinds of sweet chips plus pudding mix | FixSwap the white chocolate for semi-sweet chips or toasted pecans; flaky salt on top; cut the granulated sugar to 2 tbsp |
| ProblemHard the next day | Likely causeOverbaked, or not stored airtight | FixOne minute less in the oven; airtight tin with a slice of bread |
| ProblemDry, crumbly dough | Likely causeToo much flour or cold butter | FixWeigh the flour; mix in 1 tbsp milk if it will not hold together |
| ProblemGreasy bottoms | Likely causeButter too warm when creamed | FixStart with cool, soft butter; chill the dough |
| ProblemDark bottoms | Likely causeDark pan or a low rack | FixLight-colored sheet, parchment, middle rack |
| ProblemMild, pale flavor | Likely causeLight brown sugar and white chips only | FixDark brown sugar, more butterscotch chips, or the brown butter version |
Butterscotch Pudding Cookies: FAQs
What does pudding mix do in cookies?
Instant pudding mix is mostly sugar and pre-cooked starch. The starch holds on to moisture in the dough, so the cookies bake up thick and tender and stay soft for days. The butterscotch mix also flavors the whole dough, not just the chips.
Do you make the pudding first?
No. Add the pudding mix dry, straight from the box, and beat it into the creamed butter and sugar. Made-up pudding would add far too much liquid, and the cookies would bake up wet and cakey.
Can I use cook-and-serve pudding mix?
Use instant. Its pre-cooked starch works in the raw dough, which is what keeps these thick and soft. Cook-and-serve mix needs heat and liquid to thicken, so the cookies tend to spread more and come out less tender.
Can you make butterscotch cookies without pudding mix?
Yes. Leave out the mix, use 1 cup packed dark brown sugar, add 2 tbsp cornstarch to the flour and fold in 1½ cups butterscotch chips. Chill 30 minutes. They are chewy and soft, though less plush, and firm up sooner. It is the last tab in the variations.
Is instant pudding mix halal?
Many instant pudding mixes contain no gelatin, but recipes differ between brands and flavors, so read the label each time and pick a gelatin-free mix. A halal-certified mix removes any doubt about the other ingredients. Use alcohol-free vanilla in the dough too.
Do you have to chill pudding cookie dough?
No. The pudding mix keeps the dough thick enough to bake straight away. Chill it 30 minutes for taller cookies, like the pin, or whenever the kitchen is warm. Chilled dough needs 1 to 2 extra minutes in the oven.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
24 large cookies from 3-tablespoon scoops, about 48 g each, as on the card. With a 1½-tablespoon scoop the same batch makes 38 to 40 smaller cookies, baked 9 to 11 minutes. Tap 12, 36 or 48 on the card to scale it.
Why are my pudding cookies flat?
Usually the butter was too soft or melted, the kitchen was warm, or the dough went onto a hot baking sheet. Cook-and-serve mix and under-measured flour cause it too. Chill the dough 30 minutes and use cool sheets.
Why are my pudding cookies cakey?
Too much flour, usually from scooping the cup straight into the bag, or baking until the centers look done. Weigh the flour (280 g) or spoon and level it, and take them out while the middles still look slightly underbaked.
How do you keep butterscotch cookies soft?
Take them out while the centers look underdone, cool them completely and store them airtight. A slice of bread in the tin helps, because the cookies draw moisture from it. Pudding cookies stay soft for 4 to 5 days.
Can you freeze butterscotch pudding cookie dough?
Yes. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them solid on a lined sheet, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F, adding 2 to 3 minutes. Baked cookies also freeze well for 3 months.
Can I use a different pudding flavor?
Yes. Any 3.4-oz box of instant mix works the same way: vanilla, French vanilla, chocolate or pistachio. Butterscotch gives the caramel flavor these cookies are named for. Check each flavor’s label for gelatin.
Butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips?
Both. The card uses ¾ cup of each: butterscotch for flavor, white chocolate for the pale, creamy chips on the pin. All butterscotch is sweeter and more intense; half semi-sweet chocolate is less sweet. The chip table has six combinations.
Can I make these into cookie bars?
Yes. Press the whole batch into a 9×13-inch pan lined with parchment and bake at 350°F for 22 to 26 minutes, until the edges are golden and the middle is just set. Cool completely before cutting into 24 bars.
Save the pin so the recipe, the bake-time chart and all eight versions are one tap away.
More Cookies and Fall Bakes
A mug cookie, cinnamon roll cookies, pumpkin bakes, pecan pie brownies and the Thanksgiving dessert table.
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug
One cookie, about a minute. See the recipe → Soft CookiesCinnamon Roll Cookies
Soft, swirled and cinnamon-sweet. See the recipe → Fall CookiesPumpkin Pie Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin pie flavor in a cookie. See the recipe → BarsPecan Pie Brownies
Brownies meet pecan pie. See the recipe → Sandwich CookiesPumpkin Whoopie Pies
Soft pumpkin cakes with a creamy filling. See the recipe → HolidayThanksgiving Desserts That Are Not Pie
For the dessert table. See the ideas →Instant mix beaten in dry, soft butter, a light hand with the flour, and out of the oven while the centers look underdone. Thick, chewy and soft for days.
Pin these butterscotch pudding cookies for your next bake sale.