Gluten Free Lemon Cheesecake Pudding Cookies

These Gluten Free Lemon Cheesecake Pudding Cookies are soft and chewy gluten free cookies flavored with lemon pudding mix and a mix-in of white chocolate chips.

You cannot, I mean CAN NOT, go through the summer without making these Gluten Free Lemon Cheesecake Pudding Cookies.

Why, you ask???

Well let me tell you. They scream sunshine, and picnics, and little kids’ hands sneaking in the cookie jar.

Plus, they’re made with Jell-o’s lemon instant pudding mix and we all remember those cute commercials with Bill Cosby and the kids (before he went all creepo) which makes Jell-o pudding look like the funnest thing ever in the whole wide world to eat.

Which actually, I HATE Jell-o and pudding and jelly and anything of that nature or texture. But put a pack of pudding mix into a cookie??? Well, now that’s a different story. It adds flavor, texture, and helps with the binding of gluten free cookies from the gelatin.

I made these Lemon Cheesecake Pudding Cookies a few months ago when I was visiting my family out here in Utah. They were everyone’s favorite. In fact these and my Fudgy Brownie Cookies tie for the best gluten free cookies I have ever made…according to my dad. Apparently his opinion matters the most. I must be a daddy’s girl.

I do have to agree with him, though. These cookies are quite amazing. They are super soft and full of lemony cheesecakey goodness. The lemon flavor obviously comes from the lemon pudding mix, but the hint of cheesecake comes from the softened cream cheese I add into the cookie dough.

Adding cream cheese to cookies not only helps with structure, but it adds another layer of flavor and creates a fluffier cookie. Ever since making this recipe, I’ve been adding cream cheese to my cookies here and there. I think the first time I thought to use cream cheese in a cookie was after seeing one of Averie Cooks’ posts for a cream cheese chocolate-chocolate chip cookie. Let me just say, Averie is a genius when it comes to cookies!

Instead of going the chocolate route, I thought lemon and cream cheese would pair nicely. Boy was I right! And with a toss of white chocolate chips into the batter…MAJOR HAPPY DANCE!

So if you are a lemon, cheesecake, or white chocolate fan like me, you NEED to make these cookies. They would make a delightful addition to your next summer picnic or barbecue. Yum yum!

To see the full recipe, head over to GoodLife Eats.