Fireworks Pudding Cookies

We have many opportunities to work overtime on Saturdays at my job. This year I started working the occasional Saturday (between season tickets to The 5th Avenue Theatre and to the Seattle Mariners, I need the extra cash for meals). I've noticed on Mondays that food is usually brought in on Saturdays (start time is 7 a.m. after all) so I decided to do that too. For a late June Saturday overtime, I figured patriotic cookies for the upcoming 4th of July holiday would be perfect. I searched my Patriotic/4th of July Pinterest board and found a recipe similar to what I made two years ago. I even bought the ingredients the week before so I didn't have to rush to the store after work on Friday then rush home.

And then Saturday overtime was cancelled.

So after spending a few days trying to figure out what to do with the ingredients (specifically the pudding mix - I'm not really a pudding eater), I decided to still make the cookies. Like two years ago, we had a work day between the 4th and the weekend. Cookies seemed like the perfect thing to make up for it (again). The recipe is from Crazy for Crust.

Fireworks Pudding Cookies (source)

Ingredients

•  1/2 cup unsalted butter — softened
•  3/4 cup brown sugar — packed
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1 egg
•  1 box — 3.4 ounces INSTANT Vanilla Pudding Mix (just the mix, don't make the pudding)
•  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
•  1/4 cup red and blue sprinkles — or any colors
•  3/4 cup 4th of July M&Ms — or any color of M&M

Directions

1. Note: This dough requires chilling.
2. Cream butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (You can also use a hand mixer.) Mix in egg and vanilla until smooth. Add pudding mix, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Mix in flour, then stir in sprinkles and M&Ms.
3. Scoop 2 tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment or a silpat baking mat. There’s no need to space them out, you’re going to chill them. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. (I didn't do this as I skimmed the directions and only saw the "cover and chill" part. So I just assumed that it was the usual "chill the dough before scooping" baking tip. Plus I went to the Mariners game that afternoon and needed to leave as soon as I made the dough. Didn't have time to scoop first.)
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats. Place chilled cookie dough balls 2” apart on cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until the edges just start to turn brown. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to one month.

I kinda screwed up. Not sure if I didn't look hard enough or I wasn't paying attention but I ended up buying the cook-and-serve type of pudding mix instead of instant. The cookies still seemed to bake OK. And they were nearly gone by lunchtime!