Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with a rich blend of butter, sugar, and sour cream, with instant vanilla pudding mix for extra softness and flavor. Fluffy cookies that taste like mint chip ice cream!
In our family, these Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies are always a favorite, especially because they’re made with simple ingredients like butter, sugar, sour cream, and instant vanilla pudding mix that give them such a soft, fluffy texture. The mix of mint extract and chocolate chips (sometimes with a few Andes mint pieces tossed in) makes them taste just like mint chip ice cream, which we all love.
We look forward to making these around St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas, but they honestly don’t last long any time of year. They’re one of those recipes everyone gets excited about, and they disappear almost as fast as we can bake them!
Recipe Highlights
- Soft, Bakery-Style Texture – Thanks to the instant vanilla pudding mix and sour cream, these cookies turn out incredibly soft, fluffy, and stay moist longer than your average cookie.
- Mint Chip Ice Cream Flavor – The combination of mint extract, chocolate chips, and optional Andes mint pieces gives these cookies that nostalgic, creamy mint chocolate chip taste in every bite.
- Fun & Festive Look – The light green color makes these cookies perfect for holidays like St. Patrick’s Day or Christmas, adding a playful and eye-catching touch to any dessert spread.
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip and Mint Cookies
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps create a soft, tender texture.
Butter: Provides rich flavor and contributes to the cookies’ soft, melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
Egg: Binds the ingredients together and helps give the cookies structure.
Sour cream: Adds moisture and a slight tang, keeping the cookies soft and fluffy.
Vanilla pudding mix: Enhances flavor while creating an extra soft, thick, and tender texture.
Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the flavors.
Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise and achieve a light, airy texture.
Flour: Forms the base of the dough and gives the cookies structure.
Mint extract: Infuses the cookies with that classic, refreshing mint flavor.
Food coloring: Gives the cookies their fun, signature green color.
Chocolate chips: Add bursts of rich chocolate flavor that perfectly complement the mint.
Tips for making Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Don’t overdo the mint extract – Mint can quickly become overpowering, so stick to the measured amount; a little goes a long way and keeps the flavor balanced with the chocolate.
- Mix the pudding in dry, not prepared – Be sure to add the instant pudding mix as a dry ingredient, which is what gives these cookies their signature thick, soft texture.
- Watch the bake time closely – These cookies are best when slightly underbaked; pull them out when the edges are set but the centers still look soft so they stay fluffy and don’t dry out.
- Customize your chocolate mix-ins strategically – Andes mint pieces add amazing flavor but tend to melt into the dough, so pair them with regular chocolate chips or chunks to keep that classic chip texture.
How long are these Mint Chip Cookies good for?
These cookies stay soft and fresh for about 3–4 days at room temperature when stored in an airtight container, or up to a week in the fridge (just let them come to room temp before serving for the best texture).
Yes, you can absolutely freeze them! Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 month, or freeze the dough by scooping it into balls and placing them on a baking sheet until solid—then transfer to a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 1 month. This way, you can bake a few at a time whenever you’re craving warm, fresh cookies!
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter softened (1 stick)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding mix
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp mint extract
- drop blue coloring + 7-10 drops green coloring
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
- Begin by creaming together the sugar and butter, in a large bowl, until nice and fluffy. Add in the egg, sour cream and dry pudding mix, stir well to combine.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Incorporate the flour mixture into the butter and pudding mixture and stir until well combined.
- Now add the mint extract and food coloring until desired color is achieved.
- Lastly, add in the chocolate chips. I used ¾ cup chocolate chunks, ¾ cup regular chocolate chips and ½ cup Andes baking bits. Any combination is wonderful, but note that while the Andes mint baking pieces add an incredible flavor, they kind of disappear in the cookies. So add them in addition to the 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, if you opt to put them in!
- Start dropping the cookie dough by the rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. When done baking, transfer to a cooling rack. Serve fresh and warm, enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I use yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes! Plain yogurt works just as well and will still give you that soft, moist texture.
Why add pudding mix to the dough?
The dry pudding mix is the secret to these cookies staying extra soft, thick, and flavorful.
Do I have to use food coloring?
No, it’s completely optional—it just gives the cookies that fun minty green look.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes! You can refrigerate the dough for a day or freeze dough balls for up to a month and bake when ready.
Check out some of our other favorite cookie recipes to try:
- Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies are tiny, bite-sized treats packed with big flavor! Perfect for snacking, sharing, or sneaking straight from the cookie sheet!
- These Chocolate Mint Cookies are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth treats dipped in rich chocolate with a cool minty twist—basically holiday magic in every bite.
- Double Chocolate Mint Cookies are rich, chewy, and loaded with deep chocolate flavor, then topped with melty Junior Mints for that perfect cool-mint finish. If you’re a mint chocolate lover, these fudgy cookies are about to be your new obsession.
- Our Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are made completely from scratch with simple ingredients. Adding chocolate chips to peanut butter cookies elevates them to a new level!
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies mix buttery dough with sweet maraschino cherries and rich chocolate chips—a colorful, fun twist on a classic favorite!
- Bursting with sweet, juicy raspberries and melty chocolate chips, these Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies are a fresh twist on a classic favorite! Perfectly irresistible—one bite and you’ll be hooked!
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, fluffy, and packed with flavor, thanks to butter, sugar, sour cream, and a bit of instant vanilla pudding. Every bite tastes just like your favorite mint chip ice cream!
Rod says
Felt obligated to give you a review as I’ve made these numerous times, as well as just 5 mins ago.
Perfect mint flavor contrast to the chocolate chips, exactly like mint chocolate chip ice cream in cookie form!
I don’t usually put the andies candies, but I do stick a junior mint into the cookie as it comes out of the oven.
I follow your recipe exactly and they come out perfect every time!
Thanks Nicole
Nicole says
That sounds so yummy!
Cassidy Benard says
Made these multiple times exactly like the recipe using just chocolate chips. My school friends and gaming club friends loved these!! they were so good It is totally a keeper!
Jessica says
So glad to hear Cassidy! WE love them too.
Brenna says
I followed the instructions, but could never get the dough green. The cookies did not flatten and they were not done after 10 min.
The flavor was excellent, but the color was an important part of the presentation.”
Jessica says
What kind of coloring were you using? It’s usually very easy to color food green, I’m guessing you were using some type of natural food coloring. If that’s the case, you’ll have to use a lot more as natural colors are much weaker.
Also- and this is true for any cookie recipe- if your dough is too thick, add 2 TBSP milk. Happy baking!
Mary Joy says
This would be a great treat to serve at our St. Patrick’s Day party or to give away as gifts to friends and family – it is such an easy and unique recipe. I can’t wait to try these cookies. I’m sure they will love it! Do you think it will be okay If I will add some dried fruits like cranberry for a pop of color and texture?
Kourtney says
Delicious. I found that OliveNation’s chocolate chips and mint extract made this recipe extra delicious. They also have large chocolate chunks which could also be a nice choice if you prefer those in your cookies.
Jessica says
Thanks Kourtney!
Meredith M. says
I was shopping today looking for these ingredients and I absolutely could not find a 3.4 ounce box of pudding. They had 1.5 and 5 ounce boxes but nothing in between. I’m considering doing 1.5 of the recipe to share with a bunch of my volunteer coworkers so maybe the 5 ounce box is ok? Can someone give me a bit of advice here? Otherwise all of the ingredients are ready to go.
Jessica says
That’s so odd- the 3.4 oz is the most common, standard size. Usually the 1.5oz boxes are sugar-free. You can use the 5 oz box, just add more liquid as it will thicken up the batter too much.
Paige says
I tried to make this recipe sugar free for my mom as she’s diabetic and the consistency was almost like a bread dough, after baking I had to bake a little longer but the bottoms were starting to burn while the inside remained very doughy. Smelled amazing and I’m sure it would have turned out right had I actually used real sugar ingredients. I also just realized that the box of pudding mix I used was only 1.7oz. I didn’t even realize I just bought the “small box” cause that’s what someone else in the comments said to do and to not buy the big box 🙁 although the dough was already so thick I think having a bigger pudding mix would have made it even thicker!
Emma says
I desperately want to make these cookies but, I’m clueless with cups in a recipe, (we don’t use cups in the UK) so do you know a way in which it can be changed to grams, please?
Sandra Johnson says
I hope this helps you
1/2 a cup of sour cream is equal to 125 grams of sour cream
2 cups of all purpose flour is equal to 240 grams of flour
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips is equal to 255 grams of chips
1 cup of sugar is equal to 200 grams of sugar
1/2 cup of butter is equal to 113 grams of butter
That’s all the cup conversions. I’m not sure but I think teaspoon and tablespoons are measured the same in the uk and drops of food coloring is the same. The vanilla pudding is in ounces 3.4 ounces it calls for that would be 96 to 97 grams. I hope your able to make the cookies and enjoy them now❤️
Jessica says
thank you!!
Rosie-ann says
These are THE best cookies EVER! Can this recipe be made without eggs? Eggless recipe? Or maybe a substitute for egg.
Jessica says
Glad you like it Rosie! I’ve never tried it without eggs…
Maura Kenny says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter? Can’t wait to make these for Christmas party!!
Nellie says
I use salted butter for everything, but I know many bakers only use unsalted. They should turn out great either way!
Karen says
I was looking for a recipe for a cookie to take to a St. Patrick’s Day event, and since these cookies are green, they sounded like a good possibility. Fortunately, I made them in advance without the food color just to be sure they would be a good choice. They are not! I guess I should have guessed or understood from the description, but they are way too soft and cloyingly sweet. I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because my husband ate one and thought they were okay. Unfortunately, he doesn’t eat sweets and will not eat more than the one, so I am giving away as many as I can and will toss the rest. And hopefully, I’ll find a better choice for St. Patrick’s Day.
Jessica says
Sorry you didn’t care for them Karen, but I guess everyone has different tastes!
Maureen K says
Hi , can I add white cho Chips and the baking marshmallows.
Jessica says
You’re welcome to add what you’d like! I’ve never tried it with those, but it sounds super fun!
Jane K. says
All I have on hand is a pkg of 1 oz. zero sugar vanilla pudding (eh, shrinkflation has even hit pudding mix!). Would that work, or do I need to use the heavier regular sugar variety?
Jessica says
I’ve personally used a variety of different types of pudding – it’ll be fine!
Elly says
The first time I made these cookies was December of 2019 for my boyfriend! We make them every year for Christmas & they’ve become our favorite tradition. These cookies are soft and minty(he describes them as mint chip ice cream in cookie form) & SO FREAKING GOOD. I love when people ask for the recipe because I point them straight to this page. We’re now married and making these for our first Christmas together as husband & wife 💕
Nellie says
So glad you love them! And congrats on getting married!
Linda H Dukes says
Could I substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream? If so, the same amount? And can I reduce the amount of sugar?
Nellie says
Yes, you can swap out the sour cream with plain yogurt (same amount). You can definitely reduce the amount of sugar if you prefer your cookies to be less sweet.
Linda says
I used half the sugar and cut the chocolate chips (total) to 1 cup, and they were still sweet. I plan to make them in a few days with some 5-6th graders. I figure they will like them, even though they are not my favorite!