In a large mixing bowl add butter (1 cup) and both sugars (3/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup white sugar) and cream together. Add instant pumpkin spice pudding (1 package), eggs (2 large), and vanilla (1 teaspoon) and mix. Add flour (2 1/4 cups) and baking soda (1 teaspoon) and mix until well combined. Stir in white chocolate chips (2 cups) until evenly distributed.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on a Silpat lined or greased cookie sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes.
Notes
Mixing: When it comes to adding the flour and baking soda, it helps if you thoroughly combine the two together first. This helps evenly distribute the leavening agent and ensures you don’t have to mix as much.
Overmixing strengthens the gluten in the flour and breaks the little air pockets created in the creaming process. That’ll give you tough chewy pumpkin cookies that don’t rise properly (although, remember these cookies don’t rise a lot). Instead, mix just enough to gently incorporate ingredients before rolling them into little cookie balls for the baking sheet.