Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grab a baking sheet, lining it with parchment paper.

Using a mixer begin to beat together your butter and sugars, creating a creamy and indulgent base for your cookies.

Add in the pudding mix, the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix together until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt and flour together. This will add structure and balance to your cookies, ensuring they come out perfectly chewy and delicious.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing together until just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and add the nilla wafers if desired.

Using a medium or large cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough scoops onto the prepared baking sheet.

For medium-sized cookies (about 2 tablespoons) bake cookies 10-12 minutes.

For ¼ cup cookies, bake cookies 13-15 minutes.

When they're ready, pull the golden-brown cookies out of the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for two minutes. This allows them to set and ensures they maintain their chewy texture. Then, with a spatula, transfer them to a cooling rack, to cool completely.