Cookies

These Firecracker Pudding Cookies are soft, sweet, and all dressed up for the Fourth of July. Happy birthday, America.

I know I post about pudding cookies pretty often (go ahead and take a look). But there’s a good reason for it. They are consistently delicious! Plus I think that they come out being good looking cookies just about every time, too. There’s nothing wrong with an ugly cookie (provided that it tastes good), but ugly cookies aren’t exactly photogenic for a food blog.

Pudding cookies are also endlessly customizable. Switch up the mix-ins and pudding flavors to suit your needs. I obviously went red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July, but you can switch things up for any holiday or occasion.

This recipe is adapted from one found on Crazy for Crust.

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Firecracker Pudding Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

11 mins

Chilling time

1 hr

Total Time

26 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3.4 oz (1 box) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup red, white, and blue sprinkles
• 3/4 cup red, white, and blue M&Ms, plus more for pressing into the top of the cookies

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
2. Add the pudding mix, baking soda, and kosher salt. Mix until combined. Add the flour. Mix again until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. Add the sprinkles and M&Ms and mix on medium-high speed until they are well distributed throughout the cookie dough.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop ~1.5 tbs balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
4. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the chilled balls of cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn brown.
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and press additional white chocolate chips into the warm cookies, if desired. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Some days, there are few things more satisfying than the simplicity of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Sure, the flavors aren’t particularly complex. But they’re sweet and chewy, and totally delicious. Complexity can be overrated, I say.

I haven’t really addressed this yet, but here goes… You may have noticed that things are looking a little different around here lately. I finally took the plunge and decided to take my blog self hosted! Basically this means that I now have all the creative control over the functionality and appearance of A Nerd Cooks that I could ever want.

It’s a bit of a work in progress since it’s just me working on this, not a team of people. So if you happen to come across broken links or missing photos (or anything else that looks wonky), please bear with me. Also feel free to also shoot me an email to let me know! I’m steadily working through my blog posts to freshen things up and make sure that everything is working the way that it should so that you can have the most enjoyable experience possible.

Stay tuned for more updates and lots of good stuff. Thank you so much for reading and for coming along on this journey with me! I appreciate you all very much.

In the meantime, please enjoy some of these chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! I think that you’ll be pretty pleased with them. I know I am. In fact, I’m eating one as I type this.

This recipe comes from Bunsen Burner Bakery. If you haven’t been to her blog yet, I strongly suggest that you do. Of course the photos are beautiful, and the food looks and sounds delicious. But I’m also a fan because she, like me, is a scientist by day. Check it out!

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Total Time

27 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. One at a time, beat in the eggs, followed by the vanilla extract.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until just combined.
5. Add in the oatmeal in batches, stirring after each addition, until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
6. Drop the dough by the 1.5 tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown.
7. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Haven’t had your fill of cookies? Check out these Thick and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, and Lemon White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies!

These Double Chocolate Irish Cream Cookies are soft chocolate cookies, studded with mini chocolate chips, dunked in an Irish cream glaze, and topped with green sprinkles.

St. Patrick’s Day is nearly upon us! While you’ll never catch me doing a drunken bar crawl, or even drinking a Guinness (dark beer is not my jam) to celebrate the holiday, I am totally on board with holiday-appropriate boozy treats.

Luckily for me (and you!), all of the classic boozy flavors like whiskey, Guinness, and  Irish cream work really well in baked goods. These Chocolate Irish Cream Cookies have double the chocolate (cocoa powder + mini chocolate chip) and double the Irish cream flavor (in the cookie dough + the glaze). Top everything with some festive AF green sprinkles, and you have yourself a tasty cookie that’s sure to please.

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Double Chocolate Irish Cream Cookies

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Chilling time

3 hrs

Total Time

3 hrs 20 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 cookies

Author: laurenpacek

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

For the glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbs Irish cream liqueur
• green sprinkles optional

Instructions

To make the cookies

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set this bowl aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together for a few minutes until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and add the vanilla extract and Irish cream.
4. Little by little, add the dry ingredients to the wet, on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the mini chocolate chips and turn the speed up a bit higher to incorporate them throughout the thick dough.
5. Next, you’re going to want to scoop and chill the cookie dough. Unfortunately, the chilling is necessary. But trust me, it's worth it!
6. Scoop and roll the cookie dough into 1.5 tbs-sized balls. Place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours, and up to overnight. When slightly impatient, I've been known to put my cookie dough that requires chilling into the freezer (for 1-2 hours) instead of the fridge. I haven't run into any issues yet!
7. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Move half of the dough balls over to the other cookie sheet, leaving a couple of inches between each dough ball.
8. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes or so before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the glaze

1. When the cookies are cool, mix the powdered sugar and Irish cream in a bowl. Dip, dunk, or drizzle your cookies with the glaze. 

2. Top with green sprinkles, if you're feeling festive. Bonus: the sprinkles that I used add a bit of crunch to these otherwise soft cookies.

Need more boozy baked goods for St. Patrick’s Day? Try Guinness Brownies with Caramel Fudge Frosting or some Chocolate Guinness Cheesecake with Chocolate Whiskey Ganache!

These Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are soft, full of warm gingerbread spices, and have pretty, crackly-looking tops.

To be honest, I’ve never been wild about gingerbread cookies. In my experience, they’re hard, dry, and just all around meh. It it just me? Or have I just been eating the wrong gingerbread cookies all along?

Regardless… THESE gingerbread cookies are something else entirely. They’re super soft and warmly spiced. The powdered sugar lends a bit more sweetness, in addition to allowing for the pretty, crackly tops.

This delicious recipe comes from the blog Self Proclaimed Foodie. Based on the cookie scoop that I use, this recipe has consistently yielded 2.5 dozen. Depending on what you use, you may get 2-3 dozen.

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Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Chill the dough

2 hrs

Total Time

27 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tbs kosher salt
• 12 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup molasses, see notes
• 2 tbs heavy cream, see notes
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low until combined.

2. Turn the mixer off and add the butter that has been cut into pieces. Mix again, but at medium-low speed, until all of the dry ingredients are coated in butter. This will take about 1-2 minutes.

3. Reduce the mixer's speed to low. With it still running, slowly add the molasses and heavy cream. Mix until the dough is evenly moistened and everything is combined.
4. Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours (or up to overnight) or freeze for 20-30 minutes.
5. When it's time to bake the cookies, line another baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Roll the chilled dough in the granulated sugar until coated. Next, roll the dough in the powdered sugar (see notes).

7. Place the dough balls on the prepared cookie sheet, approximately 1 inch apart from one another, and bake 10-12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven once they start to crack. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Recipe Notes

Notes:

• Spraying your measuring cup with cooking spray before pouring the molasses in helps keep the measuring cup mostly mess-free
• I have used 2% milk when I didn't have heavy cream on hand, and nothing seemed to be adversely affected.
• When it comes to rolling the dough in the powdered sugar, more is more. The first couple of times that I made these cookies, I skimped on the powdered sugar. Sure they looked like they were pretty much covered, but when they baked, the powdered sugar kind of melted. You're going to want to really coat them in powdered sugar. See the photo below for what you're aiming for.

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are chewy, sweet, and full of pumpkin and Fall spices.

So, it’s been a minute.

I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without posting something. I’m pretty sure I baked these cookies back in September… I even missed out on A Nerd Cooks’ birthday in August (the blog turned 6!!). In my defense, lots of things have been happening! To give you a little taste:

• I/we have been doing a bit of traveling and have had friends and family visiting us.
• I was promoted to Assistant Professor at Duke!
• We bought a house!!

We moved in last weekend, and are so happy here already. I’ll likely share some photos of the kitchen at some point, because it is GORGEOUS. But only after the inside of the house stops looking like a tornado passed through.

As for the cookies? Well, they’re pretty fantastic. Unlike many pumpkin cookies (like these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies), these are chewy, not cakey. You have the oats and drained/blotted pumpkin (see instructions below) to thank for that. Beyond that, these cookies are full of pumpkin spice flavor as well as chocolate chips.

This recipe comes from the blog Sally’s Baking Addiction.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

13 mins

Total Time

28 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 cups + 1 tbs all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 3 tbs pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for pressing into the top

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Line a medium-sized bowl with paper towels. Add the pumpkin puree to the lined bowl. Using the paper towels, squeeze a bit of the moisture out of the canned pumpkin. Check out Sally's blog for a visual. Removing some of the moisture from the pumpkin helps produce a less cake-like cookie. Which is what we're going for here.

3. In another medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and oats together. Set this aside.

4. In yet another medium-sized bowl, whisk the melted butter, maple syrup, sugars, egg yolk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Using a cookie scoop, scoop ~1.5 tbs-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Smoosh the dough balls down slightly with your fingers. They don't spread much on their own, so they need some help in this department. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.

7. Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies while they are still warm. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

These Confetti Pudding Cookies are super soft, full of sweet vanilla flavor, and covered in colorful sprinkles!

I originally intended to cover these cookies in red, white, and blue sprinkles for the 4th of July, but after trips to 2 different grocery stores, couldn’t find sprinkles in those colors. Very disappointing. They were going to be Firecracker Pudding Cookies.

Once I resigned myself to using multicolored sprinkles, I really debated calling them Funfetti Pudding Cookies. But I feel like they’re not technically Funfetti since the sprinkles are only on the outside and not the inside, too.

Anyway, I settled on Confetti Pudding Cookies. Still an okay name, right? At least the cookies are cute. And they taste great. The sprinkles make the outside a bit crunchy, while the cookies themselves are soft and tender.

The original recipe for Pudding Cookies comes from Crazy for Crust; I’ve also shared Lemon White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies and Chocolate Cookies and Cream Pudding Cookies, too.

*dough requires ~1 hour of chilling*

These Chocolate Cookies and Cream Pudding Cookies include a beloved flavor combination baked into super soft pudding cookies.

Honestly? I’m not sure what to say about these cookies. What is there to say, really? They’re super soft, chocolate pudding cookies studded with white chocolate chips and chunks of Oreo cookies.

In my opinion, cookies get no better than this. Then again, I’m fairly obsessed with cookies and cream, well, everything. Check out the bottom of this post for more cookies and cream-flavored recipes!

The original recipe comes from Crazy for Crust; I’ve also shared Lemon White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies, too.

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Chocolate Cookies and Cream Pudding Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

11 mins

chill the dough

1 hr

Total Time

26 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3.4 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup  white chocolate chips, plus more for pressing into the tops of the cookies
• 12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

2. Add the pudding mix, baking soda, and kosher salt. Mix until combined. Add the flour. Mix again until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. 

3. Add the white chocolate chips and chopped Oreos and mix on medium-high speed until they are well distributed throughout the cookie dough.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop ~2 tbs balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Yes, this step is necessary.

5. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the chilled balls of cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn brown.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven and press additional white chocolate chips into the warm cookies, if desired. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Need more cookies and cream-flavored desserts? I got you.

• Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cake (my birthday cake from last year!)
• Malted Milk Cookies and Cream Cookies
• Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
• Oreo Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These Lemon White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies are super soft and packed with bright, zingy lemon flavor.

It’s official: pudding cookies are my new go-to cookie. They addition of pudding mix ensures that they are super soft, bake up perfectly every time, and can be flavored however you like. Want a more traditional chocolate chip cookie? Use vanilla pudding + chocolate chips. Is pistachio your jam? Use pistachio-flavored pudding. You get the idea.

Beyond being delicious, lemon and white chocolate strike me as being a perfect flavor pairing for spring time. The sweet and tangy flavor combination is also a refreshing alternative to all-sweet cookies.

In the mood for more lemony treats? Check out these Pink Lemonade Cupcakes and Whole Lemon Bars!

These cookies are adapted from the recipe found on Crazy for Crust.

*Before we dive into the recipe, know that this dough will need to be chilled for at least 1 hour before baking.*

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Lemon White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

11 mins

chill the dough

1 hr

Total Time

26 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 3.4 oz instant lemon pudding mix
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, plus more for pressing into the tops of the cookies

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed. Mix in the egg and lemon extract until smooth.

2. Add the pudding mix, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Add the flour. Mix again until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. 

3. Add the white chocolate chips and mix on medium-high speed until they are distributed throughout the cookie dough.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 2 tbs balls of dough onto the cookie sheet. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Yes, this step is necessary.

5. When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two additional baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the chilled balls of cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn brown.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven and press additional white chocolate chips into the warm cookies, if desired. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.