Preheat The Oven & Prep The Pans. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine The Dry Ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.

Cream Butter & Sugars. Add softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and cream 2-3 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and fairly smooth.

Add Eggs One At A Time, mixing to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next one.

Mix In Vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla extract. Mix to combine.

Add Pudding Mix and stir until fully combined.

Mix In Half Of The Dry Ingredients at a time (this prevents the flour from flying everywhere!), then add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix until they're almost fully mixed in, with just a few dry patches left.

Add Chocolate Chips & Sprinkles, and mix until well distributed and no dry patches remain in the dough.

Scoop & Bake. Use an ice cream scoop (4 Tablespoons) or a 1/4 cup to scoop cookie dough balls. Smooth them lightly between your palms, then add 6 cookie dough balls to one of your prepared pans. Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers look just underdone. (I pull mine out at 10 1/2 minutes) 

Shape & Finish. If desired, use a large circular cookie cutter, a glass, or the back of the spoon to coax the cookies into perfect circles. Fill in any empty spots with a few extra chocolate chips or sprinkles.

Cool & Repeat. Let the cookies cool 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat the baking steps with the remaining cookie dough, alternating baking sheets with each batch so you don't put cool dough on a hot baking sheet. 

Serve & Store. Enjoy the cookies right away or store in an airtight container or bag at room temperature 1-2 days. Or, freeze baked cookies up to 2 months.