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
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
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!
Mary Motyka says
I made these to add to my Christmas cookie trays and also to create a stash for my mint chocolate loving husband. I followed the recipe exactly and they are delicious! My only comment would be that the recipe made WAAAAYYYYY more than the 3 dozen cookies stated. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 150 cookies rather than the 70-ish I expected. I am not complaining but thought it might be helpful for someone concerned with the batch size.
Anita says
Best freezing tips?
Jessica says
CAN Mint Chocolate Chip COOKIES BE FROZEN?
Yes, you can freeze chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Another option is to shape the dough into round balls and then freeze them all on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, toss the dough balls in a ziplock freezer bag and store up to 1 month. That way you can bake them as you’d like and enjoy warm cookies!
Abigail Wallinga says
I love mint anything so these cookies were a hit at my house! We even made little ice cream sandwiches with them!
Lisa says
I just tried this recipe tonight, and it’s definitely 5 star worthy. I used to buy pre-made mint chip cookies, but they stopped selling them in the stores. These homemade ones blew them out of the water! I also love the fact that you’re able to modify the types of chocolate you want to use, how much mint extract, and the food coloring etc.
Lillian says
They looked good. They did not even smell good when taking the first dozen out of the oven. The mint taste is almost not even there. Something very artificial about the flavor, and I suspect it’s the pudding mix. Will never make this again. Waste of good butter and other ingredients.
Jessica says
What kind of mint extract did you use?
peggy says
very good cookies!
the first time i made them, they were perfect! second time, the dough started getting too stiff before i could get all the ingredients mixed together. i followed the directions accordingly. so i added a 1/4 cup of water. the cookies are too wet. i let them sit out overnight and they are still to wet.
cannot figure out why the second batch, got too stiff to mix up.
Jessica says
Next time add 2 TBSP milk to stiff dough. I have that issue too with any cookie recipe- I just add milk until they’re perfect! If you added too much milk, add 2 TBSP flour.
Nancy says
Hello! I made a batch of these and they taste delicious 🙂 mine are just a little doughy on the inside – now i’m not much of a Baker so I was just wondering if this was normal or if I maybe just made mine too big?
Jessica says
Personally, they sound wonderful to me- I prefer my cookies to be super soft on the inside. That being said, yes, if you made bigger cookies, increasing the baking time will lessen the doughiness of the inside of the cookie.
Chitra says
Can I use gel food coloring? If yes, what amount? Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Chitra
Jessica says
Yes, you can! start with a small amount on the tip of a toothpick and add more from there.
Barb C says
I made these and they taste great and I’m not even a mint fan. I didn’t have any mint extract so just used vanilla. I used a combo of Hershey’s mint/chocolate chips, white chips and choc.chips. they were minty and delicious.
Chris says
This cookies are amazing !!!
Linda Kniss says
Do these need refrigerated since sour cream ingredient?
Linda
Jessica says
Nope, no need to refrigerate after they’re baked!
Barb Colgrove says
They do not require refrigeration. They kept pretty well in my cookie jar. I did forget a tin of them in my car that i meant to give to someone. They were there for several winter daeys and held up good cold also.
KD says
These cookies are so yummy. I used vanilla Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and peppermint instead of mint. We put them out in the snow (in a container) to freeze up a little and it was just like eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. 😍
Amy says
Can you make this recipe with almond flour? I can’t eat gluten
Alison says
Amy, I haven’t tried it myself but a lot of people have tried it with our recipes and enjoyed it! Let me know what you think if you do!
Nicholas Boldt says
Really good. I used half chocolate, half vanilla pudding mix, with maybe 5 tbs of mint extract.
Carly says
Does 5 tbs mean tablespoons? That seems like a lot of extra mint extra compared to the 2 tsp that the recipe calls for.
Jessica says
I’m confused- where do you see 5 tbs?? It’s 2 teaspoons mint extract.
Carly says
It’s in the comment by Nicholas Boldt said – which is who I was replying to.
ChristinaW says
Made 12 dozen of these for a weekend dog agility trial…they disappeared practically as fast as I could put them out. The 12 dozen was supposed to last three days, but I used them up in two and had to go home the second night and make another 9 dozen!! (And brought copies of the recipe to share). I followed the recipe exactly, including the 1.5 cups of chocolate chips and added 1/2 cup of chopped up Andes Candies. Highly recommend!
Alison says
Christina, I’m so glad this was a success for you!
ST says
I was so excited to make these since I love chocolate and mint…but the 2 tsp of mint extract was WAY WAY too much! Maybe the extract I used is stronger than most, not sure, but it left a very unpleasant after taste. Wished I would have tried the recipe first before taking them to a big get together…
Jessica says
I tested it with 3 different types of mint! I’m sorry yours was too strong. : (
Alicia says
Did you happen to test peppermint extract? That’s the only mint extract I have and was hoping to make these tonight!
Nellie says
You can use peppermint extract, but they will have a very different flavor than if you use mint extract. Just a matter of preference!
Susie says
I could have used more mint extract but I did throw the whole bag of mint baking bits in and loved it! Not too strong for me, I like to taste the mint!
Robin says
I made these and they are absolutely amazing. Thank you for the great recipe
Alison says
Thanks so much Robin, Enjoy!
Joan Belsky says
I, too, followed the recipe to a tea – wound up with “haystacks, as well. After first sheet of cookies – I added 2 tbsp. milk as you suggested. They still didn’t flatten out to look like yours in the pictures. So could you please give us all of your secrets, so ours will look like your pictures. Ten minutes is too long to bake because they start to brown at eight minutes. Or 375 degrees is too high. I used cookie scoop one and a half tbsp. Sorry, I don’t think I can trust your recipes to turn out as shown.
Jessica says
Add milk as needed! It’s incredibly difficult to mimic every single household that could possibly want to make a recipe. I add milk to cookie recipes all the time- because I live in a dry state. Adjust as needed!
Jerilyn Ediger says
I am working on it now but having some trouble getting everything mixed. It is very dry and stiff. Wondering if I was supposed to mix the milk with the pudding powder as a regular pudding before I added it to the other ingredients.?????
Jessica says
I tend to add milk to most cookie recipes whether it calls for it or not, just to get the right consistency! There are so many factors that contribute- add 1-2 TBSP and go from there!