Banana pudding cookies are soft, tender, and loaded with old-fashioned flavor!

If you’re as obsessed with banana pudding as I am, you just found your new favorite cookie recipe.

stack of Banana Pudding Cookies with bite on top

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Best Banana Pudding Cookies

Perfect for parties or bake sales, these banana pudding cookies are a must-make.

These heavenly morsels taste just like the classic dessert recipe – only in cookie form.

If you’re on the hunt for something sweet and addictive, you’ll go bananas for these.

White chocolate chips give them a sweet, creamy, and milky flavor, and the Nilla wafers are the perfect finishing touch.

One bite, and you’ll go weak in the knees.

Ingredients

Butter – it has to be softened, not melted! Melted butter yields too soft dough that’ll spread too much as it bakes.
Sugar – use a combination of white and brown sugars to give the cookies a deep, caramel-like taste.
Eggs – for binding the ingredients and adding richness.
Vanilla Extract – every baked good’s best friend. It enhances every sweet flavor you can imagine.
Instant Banana Cream Pudding – aside from the banana flavor, pudding also helps make the cookies super soft.
- Use instant, not cook-and-serve. The latter contains a lot more cornstarch which will negatively impact the cookies’ texture.
All-Purpose Flour – the base of the cookie dough.
Baking Soda – without this, your cookies won’t rise.
Salt – a touch of saltiness to contrast the sweetness.
White Chocolate Chips – these sweet and milky morsels complement bananas well. Though feel free to use chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips.
Crushed Nilla Wafers – sprinkled on top of the cookies before baking for a crunchy finish.

Banana Pudding Cookies with a bite taken

How to Make Banana Pudding Cookies

If you’ve never baked with pudding before, don’t worry – there’s nothing to it!

1. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Creaming is a baking method in which you beat ingredients for several minutes to incorporate air bubbles into the mixture.

This technique is the key to light and fluffy baked goods.

It’s best done in a mixer with a paddle attachment, as it takes 5-7 minutes. Though you can use a handheld mixer if that’s all you have.

Next, add the eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and dry pudding. Beat well after each addition.

2. Add the dry ingredients slowly.

To the creamed mixture, sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt.

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Once the dry ingredients are in the bowl, I suggest mixing on low with a paddle or using a spatula and doing it by hand.

That way, the dough won’t become tough (which leads to dry cookies).

Stop mixing just before the flour is completely incorporated, and add the chocolate chips.

Then, mix until you no longer see streaks of flour.

3. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

I know it sucks, but you have to do it. Chilling the dough will allow the flavors to marry and result in more delectable cookies.

4. Shape and bake.

Form the dough into balls and pop them in the oven. They’ll be ready in about 8-10 minutes.

5. Cool and enjoy.

Let them rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Or, just enjoy them warm! Either works.

Tips & Tricks for the Best Banana Pudding Cookies

Precision is key! Weigh the flour with a kitchen scale to get the most accurate measurement. Using more flour than needed will result in dry cookies.
Don’t have a kitchen scale? No worries! Use a spoon to place the flour in the measuring cup. Don’t just scoop it, or you’ll get more flour than you need.
Mix but don’t overdo it! Overmixing is the enemy of moist cookies. Stop mixing as soon as streaks of flour disappear.
Skip the real bananas. They’ll make your cookies too cakey. Stick to instant pudding, and your cookies will be nice and chewy.
Add some crunch! Walnuts or pecans add the perfect amount of crunch. Toast the nuts beforehand to deepen their flavor.
Use a cookie scoop. This ensures the cookies are the same size. Not only will they look better, but they’ll bake evenly.
Golden edges are the key. Remove from the oven as soon as the edges start to turn golden brown. Not overbaking is one of the keys to cookie perfection.

How to Store Banana Pudding Cookies

Store banana pudding cookies in an airtight container and enjoy them for 3 to 4 days.

Or, freeze them in freezer-safe bags for up to 2 months. Then, allow them to come back to room temperature and enjoy again!

You can also warm them for a few seconds in the microwave for that freshly-baked vibe.

Make Ahead Banana Pudding Cookies

Just like most cookies, banana pudding cookies can be prepared in advance. In fact, they’ll taste even better if you refrigerate the dough overnight.

Here’s what you need to do:

Shape the dough into balls and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Wrap the sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 day before baking.
Remove the tray from the fridge, remove the plastic, and bake as instructed.

You can also freeze the dough balls and bake for another time!

Freeze the balls for 1-2 hours on a tray – or until they’re rock solid. Then store them in freezer-safe bags, and they’ll keep well for up to a month.

You can even bake them without thawing! Just add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.

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