Cranberry White Chocolate Pistachio Pudding Cookies

Quite a mouthful to say, right?

Every Wednesday is cheat day for my husband and I where we get to cheat on our diet and eat whatever we want for lunch (well, as long as it's reasonable of course). Today we had homemade hamburgers and fries. And I also decided I wanted to bake some cookies since I haven't baked since we started this diet. It's our 8th week on the diet-- the 2 month mark-- so it's cause for celebration, you know?

This recipe is a mix of a couple of recipes I came across on the web. I've never tasted this combination of flavors before and I wanted to give it a try. This is the first time I've ever used pudding mix in my cookies, and let me tell you- I'm a huge fan now!

These cookies taste so good. The flavors of the cranberries, pistachio pudding and white chocolate chips go together really well. It's like a combination made in heaven. The sweetness of the pudding + white chocolate chips + the tartness of the cranberries= really yummy! These cookies are extra soft and the texture is just right- not too cakey and not too dense-- I'm sure the pudding mix has something to do with that.


Here's the recipe that I slightly adapted from Eclectic Recipes:

Cranberry White Chocolate Pistachio Pudding Cookies
{Printable Recipe}

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 package instant pistachio pudding mix (3.4oz sized box)

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350degrees F. Line your cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Put the eggs in and mix until well-combined. Then add in the pistachio pudding mix and combine until the batter becomes one uniform color.

3. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together. Add to the butter/sugar/pistachio mix. Use a spatula to mix together. Then mix in the vanilla, cranberries and white chocolate chips until everything is evenly distributed in the batter.

4. If you have time (and/or patience) put the dough in the fridge for at least half an hour.

5. Drop the cookie dough by the spoonful onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet(s). Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned (for me- it was 11 minutes).

6. Remove cookies from the oven. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack.

7. You can store any leftovers in an air-tight container. (I only baked 4 cookies, so I froze the rest of the dough by making them into balls, putting them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour, took them out, then covered the balls in plastic wrap and into a ziplock bag back in the freezer.)

I think if you make these, you'll become a pudding-mix-in-your-cookie-dough fan, too! There are a ton of recipes out there. This one is my new favorite. Hope you enjoy!