Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Santa’s Cookies)

Why This Recipe Works

Soft cookies – I don’t know about you, but I like my cookies to be soft, not hard and crunchy, and this recipe guarantees a soft Christmas cookie every time. (Read more on that below.)

So festive – You don’t have to buy a lot of decorations or spend hours icing cookies with these jolly Christmas Cookies. The red and green M&Ms take care of the decorating for you. 

Simple ingredients – All ingredients in these soft Santa’s Christmas cookies can be found at any old grocery store (or you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already).

Easy – Mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry, put them together with some chocolate chips and M&Ms and that’s about as hard as this recipe gets! 

Here’s How You Make It

1. To make these amazing Christmas cookies, first get out a large bowl and cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 1-2 minutes or until it’s fluffy. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Then, add the vanilla and egg and mix it all together. (not pictured)
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, vanilla pudding mix, salt, and baking soda. (photo 1)
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until it’s all mixed together (do not over-mix). Next, stir in almost all of the chocolate chips. (Save some for decorating later.) Cover the dough and put in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. (photo 2)
4. While the cookie dough chills, preheat oven to 350 and very lightly grease a baking sheet. (I use a light misting of cooking spray, then wipe it off with a paper towel.) Alternately you can use a nonstick baking mat. (not pictured)
5. Take the dough out of the fridge. Roll about 3 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie into a ball (about the size of a golf ball) and place on prepared baking sheet. (photo 3)
6. Gently press the remaining chocolate chips and the M&Ms into the cookie dough balls (this makes sure you can see the chips and the M&Ms after they bake!). (photo 3)
7. Put these soft cookies in the oven to bake for 9-12 minutes or until they are set but still slightly underdone. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.  (photo 4)
8. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

How to Keep Chocolate Chip Cookies Soft

Do you have trouble keeping your chocolate chip cookies soft? I have several tricks and tips to help your Christmas cookies stay soft. 

• Dry instant pudding is my secret ingredient for keeping soft cookies soft even when stored at room temperature. Just one small box is all it takes to keep the cookies from hardening up right away. 
• Another way to keep your cookies soft is to stack them high in the container that you’re using to store them. This allows less air to get to each cookie, thus drying it out. 
• I always underbake the cookies and cool on the pan since they will continue cooking on the hot baking sheet after you take them out of the oven. So that means, if you cook them longer than the directions suggest, and then take them out of the oven, they’ll cook even more on the sheet, resulting in a hard cookie. 
• Do you have little (or big) hands stealing cookies and forgetting to put the lid back on or resealing the bag? That will lead to a dry cookie in no time! Make sure to keep that container or bag sealed up. 
• Melt the butter. If your cookies won’t stay soft, try melting the butter and allowing it to cool a bit before adding the other wet ingredients to it can help the cookies stay moist. (Note, this can also make your cookies thinner so be aware of that.)

How Do You Fix Dough That Is Crumbly or Too Dry

• First, be sure to measure flour properly by spooning into measuring cup NOT scooping with measuring cup
• Softened butter is technically still cooler than room temperature. If you find that your butter has softened too much before starting the recipe, put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. 
• If you find cookie dough is too crumbly and dry and not coming together, add an egg white and mix. If still too dry add a second egg white and mix. If still too dry, then add 1 teaspoon of milk and mix. 
• If your dough looks too crumbly after mixing, try squishing it together with your hands to really work that butter in. This can help your dough come together.

Expert Tips 

• Store in airtight container at room temperature up to five days. 
• If these cookies are just one selection of many you plan on making, you can freeze them before the holidays. Thaw as needed. 
• You could use Christmas or other holiday sprinkles or non-perils instead of or in addition to M&Ms if you want to mix up these cookies a bit. Plus, M&Ms come in a variety of colors now so you could make these for Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and more.