Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies, an easy-to-make chocolate chip cookie recipe that brings smiles to young & old. The perfect recipe for Christmas Eve!
For as long as I can remember we have spent Christmas Eve baking goodies. The thought is always that we need to leave goodies out for Santa. The only thing is, we haven’t done the Santa thing in our house in SOOOOO many years.
This post contains some affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
The kids are older & we have since moved past all that. But we still make treats. In fact, we make way more treats than we can reasonably eat.
I can never decide & in my mind, it all has to happen on Christmas Eve (I don’t know why).
I usually make 5-7 recipes, some of the favorites get axed towards the end when my energy is waning. But one thing we ALWAYS make is Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
I have to say, it does get a bit ridiculous. I start off Christmas Eve thinking, “these are all my favorites & we NEED THEM ALL”. But since this particular recipe requires a little planning ahead it’s always first.
You see, the dough needs to chill overnight. I know, I know- that can be a total bummer.
a recipe for chocolate chip cookies
But it is absolutely essential for these cookies because it helps them keep their shape. Otherwise, they spread out too far & lose all that beautiful volume in the center.
best chocolate chip cookies
So what I like to do is whip up the dough the night before. Then I start my Christmas Eve morning with getting these baked.
Then we have them to snack on while we make all the other goodies.
best recipe chocolate chip cookies
I have to say though, these babies are so soft & chewy – they are usually gone in a flash. I’ll admit there have been a few occasions where we only had but a couple left to leave out for the jolly old guy.
Now that the kids are older, it doesn’t matter so much. But when we were leaving out the plate of cookies & milk I made sure to set those aside ahead of time so we didn’t find ourselves with an empty cookie jar at the end of the night. ๐
best ever chocolate chip cookies
Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did I mention that this is actually an award-winning recipe?? Oh yeah- these are the most buttery, soft & chewy cookies.
Made a batch for a bake-off at my son’s work & brought home the top prize. Everyone who eats these always goes back for another & another.
Definitely a hit at every party! You will fall in love- I’m sure of it.
Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here are some commonly asked questions
Why do I have to chill the dough?
This is REALLY important. Chilling the dough makes it easier to roll the cookies because the dough is less sticky.
Chilling the dough also helps to keep the cookies from spreading too much when they are baked. Please do not skip this step.
How soft should my butter be?
So, when we are talking about softened butter, it is important that it not be so soft (or nearly melted) that it wonโt hold the dough together.
The butter should be cool to the touch, as close to room temperature as possible โ definitely not hard as a rock & unable to be blended easily with the sugar. You should be able to press your finger in it but it should still hold shape.
Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies
What is the best way to store leftover cookies?
The easiest way is to place in a large airtight container & store at room temperature. I like a large plastic bowl with a lid or a zip-top bag works great too.
How do I properly measure the flour?
The official way is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup & level off. This makes sure the flour isnโt packed tightly into your measuring cup, adding more than you need, as that will make your recipe too dry.
However โ if you fluff your flour with a spoon, then gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup, taking care to not pack the flour โ that should work for this recipe.
Christmas M&Ms
How many does this serve?
This recipe makes about 28 regular-size cookies. Feel free to cut this recipe in half if you want a smaller batch.
Why do the ingredients need to be at room temperature?
Room temperature ingredients help to ensure that everything blends together perfectly. You donโt want any pockets of unblended butter. You want everything evenly disbursed for the perfect texture.
When your dairy products are at room temperature, they can create an emulsion. It’s essential to have an emulsion because air gets trapped, so the baked goods expand and get fluffy as it bakes.
Santa Christmas Treats
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes, you can double the dough on this recipe if you need to. That will make a WHOLE LOT of cookies – which is great if you are having a bake sale or need to take these cookies to a potluck or holiday party. I guarantee they will be gone in a flash.
Tips for Making the Best Cookies
- Make sure the butter is room temperature for the dough to be the right consistency.
- The original recipe uses both butter and margarine. I use margarine and butter in these โ so they hold together like a cakey cookie but also stay super buttery. You can use all butter โ but the cookies might spread a bit more when baking.
- Press extra M&Mโs and even more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven for added visual appeal.
- Donโt overbake the cookies. They will set as they cool โ you donโt want them to lose what makes them chewy โ you want those soft centers.
- Make the dough balls large and tall so they bake up nice and thick.
- If you notice they are spreading too much on the first batch โ it is possible that the flour measurment was off or the butter was too soft โ make sure that dough is chilled and cold before baking the remaining dough.
- Make sure you are placing the unbaked dough on cool baking sheets. Donโt place it on the baking sheets coming right out of the oven โ that will change the way the cookies bake. Try to have a roation of baking sheets so each one is room temperature before placing the dough on them.
MM Christmas Cookies
HOW DO YOU MAKE Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- In a mixer bowl – beat butter, margarine, sugar & brown sugar together until fluffy.
- Add egg & vanilla – beat well.
- Add in flour, pudding powder mix, baking soda & salt – slowly stir first & then beat until all ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Slowly stir in chocolate chips.
- Fold in 1/2 the M&M’s.
- Remove the beater, cover & refrigerate overnight.
- The next day preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll dough into balls – it will be firm.
- Place dough balls on baking sheet & bake cookies for 9-12 minutes (mine were perfect at 11).
- Remove & immediately top each cookie with a few white chocolate chips & M&M’s before they cool.
- Leave cookies on a baking sheet to cool.
- Start with a cold cookie sheet with each batch to ensure that the cookies bake consistently.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
I personally use whatever I have on hand. But if you are watching your salt intake, stick with the unsalted butter for these cookies.
I wrote my original recipe using unsalted butter but then tried it with salted butter & liked them just the same.
How can I make my cookies thicker?
If you want bigger, thicker cookies, make the size of the dough larger before baking. I recommend 2 tbsp or more, which should yield a ball of dough that should be larger than a golf ball. This will make the cookies spread slower & hold their shape better, keeping them thicker overall.
MM Chocolate Chip Cookies
How to soften the butter to room temperature?
First
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first being that you can take the butter (& any other ingredients that need to be at room temperature) out, leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prep for baking.
I usually start with all my chilled ingredients and pull everything I need out onto the counter before getting started – so I know for sure I have everything before I’m mid-way through I realize I’m out of something.
But sometimes it’s winter and that isn’t enough time to get the ingredients warmed up – OR – I’m just not that organized to plan ahead. It happens. So I have another couple of tricks.
Second
I place the butter in the microwave – wrapped in the paper. (don’t do this if it is wrapped in foil) Then I microwave for 2 seconds – flip – go another 2 seconds – flip again – and continue for 2 seconds on each side.
This is usually enough to get it perfect – sometimes stopping before if it feels soft enough. Take care when doing this method – overly softened butter from the microwave WILL ALTER the end result of the recipe. Don’t over-do it.
Third
My third method is to place the wrapped butter sticks in a zip-top bag and place it in a bowl of warm water. I do this with the eggs too. If the water isn’t too hot it can be THE PERFECT way to get “room-temperature” ingredients.
Santa Themed Christmas Treats
Ingredients
- butter-room temperature
- margarine
- packed brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- egg
- all-purpose flour
- instant vanilla pudding – Just the powder
- baking soda
- salt
- sweet chocolate chips
- white chocolate chips
- red & green- M&M’s
Donโt Miss These Other M&M Recipe Favorites
- Christmas M&M Sprinkle Cookies
- M&M Cookie Recipe
- Patriotic M&M Cookie Bars
- M&M Slice & Bake Cookies
- Minty Shamrock M&M Popcorn
- M&M Cookie Dough Bites
- Frosted Holiday M&M Brownies
- Captain America M&M Cookies
- M&M Sugar Cookie Bars
Products I love when making Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies…
This Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe is so EASY – and if you’re like me, then you probably already have all of these items on hand!
OR maybe you have never made pudding cookies before, & you might be a bit nervous – but youโre going to love how simple this is.
I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this cookie recipe.
- parchment paper
- this metal baking pan
- mixing bowl
- spatulas
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Definitely the cutest cookies for Christmas!!
DON’T MISS MY HOLIDAY E-BOOK!
If you love this Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, youโre going to love these other easy cookie recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Donโt Miss These Favorites
Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream
Christmas M&M Sprinkle Cookies
CONNECT WITH YUMMI HAUS!
Be sure to follow me on my social media, so you never miss a post!
Don’t miss these other fantastic recipes…
- Holiday Ginger Cookies
- Haystack Cookies
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Swedish Christmas Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chai Spiced Gingerbread Stars
- Dark Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies
- Raspberry Thumbprints
Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ยฝ cup butter (1 stick) room temperature
- ยผ cup margarine
- ยพ cup brown sugar packed
- ยผ cup granulated sugar
- 1ยฝ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour scooped lightly – not spooned into your measuring cup
- 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding 1 box (not cook & serve) – Just the powder – don't prepare the pudding
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ยฝ tsp salt
- ยพ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1ยฝ cups M&M's holiday red and green – divided
Instructions
- In the mixer bowl – beat the butter, margarine, brown sugar, and sugar together until fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla – beat well.
- Add in the flour, pudding powder mix, baking soda, and salt. Slowly stir first and then beat until all ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Slowly stir in the chocolate chips.
- Fold in ยฝ of the M&M's.
- Remove the beater, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Don't skip this step.
- The next day preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll the dough into balls – it will be quite firm.
- Place the dough balls on a baking sheet and bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes. (mine were perfect at 11)
- Remove and immediately top each cookie with a few white chocolate chips and M&M's before they cool.
- Leave the cookies on the baking sheet to cool.
- Start with a cold cookie sheet with each batch to ensure that the cookies bake consistently.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Thanks for the recipes.
Family favorite!
Have you tried freezing these ? Wanted together jump on all the Christmas cookies
I have tried freezing the dough both after mixing and after rolling – but before baking. The dough does get a little dry this way. I found that rerolling it between my hands to soften the exterior prior to baking did help with the overall texture of the baked cookies. I have not tried freezing the cookies once baked. I am not a fan of the color bleed with the M&M’s when they start warming to room temperature. They tend to sweat and become unappealing. I’m definitely a freshly baked cookie person though. That said, these cookies will keep in an airtight container for several days and still be soft. But there’s nothing like them fresh.
Hi there Iโm really confused bc you said in the above tutorial that thereโs no margarine here so not to use it but you have it as one of the ingredients do we use it?? Or was it added by mistake? Iโve made these the past 2yrs and I honestly donโt remember putting 2 different butters in it lol sorry ๐ฅด so now Iโm curious
Good catch – those tips were added years after the original post. Original recipe uses both. I use margarine and butter in these – so they hold together like a cakey cookie but also stay super buttery. You can use all butter – but the cookies might spread a bit more when baking.
These were a hit hadโฆ to make more because my husband and kid ate so many.
I the second time around I rolled the the dough balls directly after making the dough then refrigerated the balls. It was much easier!
I have made these cookies for several years now. They are delicious! Seem to get better every year. I also make them at Easter changing the M&Ms to pastel colors. Thanks for the recipe!