If you’ve been following my blog, you know how much fun I’ve had creating crazy cookie flavors inspired from simple boxes of instant pudding mix! If you’re new to my site, welcome, make yourself at home, and you can check out the previous concoctions right here! 😀

Though Margaritas took the country by storm and became all the rage, I’ve been a closet Pina Colada fan all these years, myself! 😉 I’ll take a nice rum over tequila any day! (Though I do enjoy Margaritas, too, they just take third chair to coladas and daiquiris for me, personally.) And I just can’t seem to get past that worm thing….

Anyways, I wanted to enjoy my favorite creamy cocktail in a cookie! And we’ve had quite a wonderful off-and-on “Indian Summer” with surprisingly warm sunny days again lately! And looking out at the lake, just put me straight in the mood for some last of the warm weather “beach food”!

So for this cookie, I started with a plain ol’ box of French Vanilla instant pudding, but you could easily use the Coconut Cream for these as well. I didn’t want coconut-overload and have the coconut overpower the rest of the flavors.  I thought that “French Vanilla” would create a nice “creamy” base, and this flavor actually worked out quite well! So, I’m sure that either flavor of pudding mix will work beautifully.

After adding the basic cookie dough ingredients that you’ll find listed in my recipe below, I debated on whether or not a little real rum might be fun in the cookie. But I just didn’t think that it would have enough flavor, and I would have to add too much to actually taste it and ruin the dough. So I decided that a nice Butter Rum extract would work much better. 😉

Besides rum, classic Pina Coladas also have flavors of pineapple and coconut. Coconut was easily added, I always have sweetened flaked coconut in my “baking goodies” basket!

And I also had some dried sweetened pineapple, too! I thought that would work much better than the fresh diced pineapple that I had in the freezer. I was afraid that the fresh would be too juicy after thawing, and the dried worked out VERY well. I didn’t really have as much of it left as I would’ve liked, and so I adjusted the recipe below to contain a nicer amount.

I finished these off on the baking sheet with a light sprinkling of kosher salt to bring out the flavors, and these were looking fantastic before they even went into the oven! 😀

The one thing that I did forget to do, that I had planned on doing, was to top each cookie with a signature garnish of half of a maraschino cherry.

But they really weren’t missed at all!

These turned out DELICIOUS!

They really were reminiscent of a Pina Colada, but without the “beating of the drums” a few hours later. 😉

A little taste of the tropics in each and every soft and chewy bite. 😀

I think that you’re really going to enjoy this one! 😀

Yield: 28-30 cookies

Pina Colada Pudding Cookies

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Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 sticks real butter, softened
• 1/2 cup regular sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, (can sub light brown), packed
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar, scoop and level method (don't sift before measuring)
• 1 (3.4 oz.) box French Vanilla instant pudding mix, (can also try instant Coconut Cream)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. butter rum extract
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup each: white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips (I was a little heavier handed on the white chocolate ones and less on the butterscotch)
• 1 cup dried sweetened pineapple, chopped
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, lightly packed
• kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F (175º C).

Whisk together the flour and baking soda, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, dark brown sugar, regular sugar and powdered sugar. Beat in instant pudding mix until blended. Mix in the eggs, and extracts. Blend in the flour mixture.

Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips, pineapple and coconut.

Drop cookies by large rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. (*The size of a large walnut.) Lightly press cookies flatter with palm of hand.

Lightly sprinkle tops with kosher salt as desired.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven. Edges should be lightly browned. Don't over bake.

Remove from baking sheet carefully to a rack to cool.

*They will look like they aren't done, but they will set up as they cool.

Store in an airtight container on the counter.

Notes

The trick to these is to never over beat the eggs and wet ingredients. You want this to be well mixed on a low speed, but not whipped. Over beating will result in domed, cake-like cookies and they won't be as dense, moist, chewy and delicious.
Be careful NOT to over bake these, either. 10-12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned is all it takes.