Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended.
Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; stir in just until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop cookies by 1.5 tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 8-12 minutes or until edges are set and the centers still look soft. Do not over-bake.
Video
Notes
Butter: I like to use salted butter in this recipe. The butter should dent when pressed but shouldn't be warm or smooshy. Letting the butter sit out for 30 minutes is usually about right for these cookies.
Pudding mix: You will want the vanilla instant pudding mix, not the cook and serve. Also, you're using only the dry mix, not making the pudding and then using it.
Flour: To properly measure flour, be sure to sift or fluff your flour prior to measuring to avoid getting too much flour in the dough. Too much flour will make for crumbly or doughy cookie without much flavor.
Chocolate chips: I use semisweet, but you could use milk, bittersweet, or even white chocolate chips.
Baking: The cookies should look soft and slightly underdone when you take them out. This helps to keep the cookies soft.