Chunky Monkey Pudding Cookies

These Chunky Monkey Cookies are tender and delicious bakery-style cookies inspired by the famous Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and loaded with banana flavor, chocolate chunks, and chopped walnuts! Ready in under 30 minutes!

Recipe Details For These Yummy Chunky Monkey Cookies

These Chunky Monkey Cookies are the baked treat version of your favorite Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream flavor! Made with instant banana cream pudding, crunchy walnuts, and dark chocolate chunks to create the same flavor you lick off of your spoon!

If you’ve been around here for long, then you know my love for this Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream flavor runs deep! Deep enough that I even have a Chunky Monkey Cupcakes recipe as well that’s also made with chocolate chunks and walnuts.

So, whether you taste the chunky monkey flavor in these cupcakes or in these big and soft cookies, it’ll certainly be a flavor you reach for over and over again!

Ingredients For Chunky Monkey Cookies

• Salted Butter
• Light Brown Sugar
• Granulated Sugar
• Large Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour
• Instant Banana Cream Pudding
• Malted Milk Powder
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Chopped Walnuts
• Bittersweet Dark Chocolate

Ingredient Notes

As you can see, the bulk of this Chunky Monkey Cookie Recipe comes together with pantry staple ingredients. However, one that you may not have on hand is the malted milk powder.

Malted milk powder can be found in the baking aisle of your grocery store. This ingredient isn’t necessary for the structure of the cookie; however, it does add a stand-out depth of flavor to them that helps to make them unforgettably delicious!

The next ingredient you may need to grab is the instant banana cream pudding (affiliate link)! When grabbing a box, be sure only to get instant and not cook & serve, as the two are different, and cook & serve won’t work in this recipe.

Step-By-Step Instructions To Make Chunky Monkey Cookies

1. Cream the salted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer on medium-high speed.

2. Add one egg at a time, mixing after each addition. Afterward, add in pure vanilla extract and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.

3. In a separate bowl, add all-purpose flour, instant banana cream pudding, malted milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk these ingredients together thoroughly.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time and mix the dough until combined.

5. Stir in the bittersweet dark chocolate and chopped walnuts. You’ll also want to reserve some or set some extra aside to press into the top of the dough for a bakery-style finish.

6. Portion out the dough onto a prepared baking sheet using a #10 cookie scoop (affiliate link). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, and then allow the cookies to cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Serving Chunky Monkey Cookies

Feel free to enjoy these cookies as a grab-and-go treat! But if you have the extra time, I’d suggest popping a cookie in the microwave for 15 seconds to warm it up and enjoy it with an ice-cold glass of milk!

Substitutions & Variations

• Butter – Though this recipe calls for salted butter, you can replace it with unsalted butter if you have that on hand. To make this substitution, you’ll need to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
• Malted Milk Powder – This can be swapped out for powdered milk or coffee creamer if needed.
• Bittersweet Dark Chocolate – I prefer chopping up a dark chocolate bar when baking these cookies to give them their chocolate chunk effect. However, if you prefer, you can use dark chocolate chips instead. Though for a sweeter cookie, you can also make these with semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips if you’d like.
• Banana Flavoring – To increase the banana flavor in these cookies, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of banana emulsion to the dough.

Storing Chunky Monkey Cookies

Store these homemade cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can also store these baked cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Freezing Cookie Dough To Bake And Enjoy Later

Learning How To Freeze Cookie Dough is the perfect way to enjoy warm, freshly baked cookies anytime the desire for one hits! Even if it’s at 10 pm since there’s no measuring or kitchen mess to clean up afterward!

To freeze these Chunky Monkey cookies to enjoy later, simply follow the recipe right up until baking. Then instead of sliding the baking sheet of portioned dough into the oven, put it in the freezer instead.

Once the portioned dough is frozen, pop them into an airtight container or a Ziploc bag with the excess air squeezed out of it. Store the frozen dough for up to 3 months.

More Delicious Cookie Recipes:

• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – Perfectly chewy cookies that have a deep, nutty flavor!
• Chocolate Caramel Cookies – A gourmet bakery-style treat that’s stuffed with caramel candy!
• Butter Pecan Cookies – Big, buttery, rich cookies studded with lots of mix-ins!
• Compost Cookies – Inspired by the Popular Milk Bar recipe!
• Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies – Made with Oreos and pantry staple ingredients!

This recipe was originally published in June 2014 and was updated in April 2023 with fresh content, photos, and an improved recipe.