Super thick and chewy kitchen sink cookies loaded with chocolate, pretzels, toffee bits, and more. With tasty crispy edges and an irresistible gooey center, these cookies are perfect for Christmas and year-round!
A cookie packed with whatever crunchy, salty, chocolaty goodies I have in my pantry - count me in! These cookies are a Christmas tradition in our home and are always the most requested cookie of the year.
These cookies are similar to the kitchen sink cookies served at Panera but packed with even more goodies! For more mouthwatering cookies, check out our Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Pecan Sandies, and Cookies and Cream Cookies next!
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
- All-purpose flour. For tender, chewy cookies. Use good-quality flour for the best texture.
- Baking soda. To help the cookies rise.
- Salt. To enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Unsalted butter. For moist, chewy cookies. Soften your butter to room temperature by leaving it out on the counter for at least an hour.
- Brown sugar. For caramel-like sweetness and moisture.
- Granulated sugar. For additional sweetness.
- Egg. To bind the ingredients.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor and depth. Use good-quality vanilla for the best flavor!
- Mix-ins. Throw in whatever makes you happy! About 3 ½ cups of mix-ins are the perfect amount for this recipe. This recipe includes:
- Milk chocolate chips
- Chopped dark chocolate
- Pecans
- Pretzels
- Toffee bits
How To Make This Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set it aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt, whisk until combined, and set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-high (6-8 on a stand mixer) for 3 to 4 minutes until light and creamy. Add both sugars and mix for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix until no more streaks of dry flour are visible. Start on low speed (2-3) then gradually increase to high (7-9). Do not overmix the dough.
- Add the chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, pretzels, pecans, and toffee bits to the bowl and mix on medium until evenly incorporated.
- Using a 2 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies on a middle oven rack for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown and the centers are still gooey. Bake the cookies in batches if needed.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Why Are They Called Kitchen Sink Cookies?
These cookies got their delightful name because they have "everything but the kitchen sink" in them! You may have heard that term used before to describe a dish or recipe that has a ton of ingredients, and these cookies certainly do!
You essentially raid your pantry for whatever crunchy, salty, chocolaty goodies you can find and throw them right into your cookie dough!
What Other Mix-Ins Can I Add?
Here's where the fun comes in! Try throwing in some ingredients you have never thought to pack a cookie with like:
- Potato chips
- Dried fruit
- Chopped candies such as snickers, Twix, Butterfinger, or Rollo
- Peanut butter chips
- Butterscotch chips
- Marshmallows
- Coconut
More FAQs
If your cookies turn out hard or tough the dough was probably overmixed. Overmixing the dough activates the gluten in the flour, causing your cookies to turn out tough. Only mix until no more dry flour is visible.
Absolutely! The best way to freeze this cookie dough is to portion out the individual cookies, place them on a baking sheet, and place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once the cookies are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and store them for up to 6 months.
Kitchen sink cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Tips For The Best Cookies
- Weigh your flour properly. Use the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale. Too much flour can result in dense, dry cookies.
- Use softened butter. Cold butter will take forever to cream and butter that is too warm causes the cookies to spread too much while baking.
- Add extra mix-ins to the cookie tops. Press a few extra pretzel pieces and chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies before baking them. This gives you those pretty, Instagram-worthy cookies!
- Underbake the cookies. Yep, you read that right. The trick to getting soft, chewy cookies with gooey centers is to underbake them slightly. They will continue to set while cooling and the centers remain gooey.
- Sprinkle them with flaky salt. Flaky salt makes your cookies extra swoon-worthy and adds the most delicious sweet and salty bite!
Recommended Tools For This Recipe
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📖 Recipe
Kitchen Sink Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour - (315g) weighed or spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter - unsalted, softened, 2 sticks
- 1 cup brown sugar - light or dark, packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup crushed pretzels
- ½ cup chopped dark chocolate
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup toffee bits
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set it aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt, whisk until combined, and set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-high (6-8 on a stand mixer) for 3 to 4 minutes until light and creamy. Add both sugars and mix for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix until no more streaks of dry flour are visible. Start on low speed (2-3) then gradually increase to high (7-9). Do not overmix the dough.
- Add the chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, pretzels, pecans, and toffee bits to the bowl and mix on medium until evenly incorporated.
- Using a 2 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies on a middle oven rack for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown and the centers are still gooey. Bake the cookies in batches if needed.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Soften butter to room temperature by leaving it out on the counter for at least an hour.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough. Doing so activates the gluten in the flour which can cause your cookies to turn out tough.
- Crush pretzels by placing them in a gallon zip-top bag and hitting them with a rolling pin a few times.
- Get perfectly round cookies by placing a glass that is larger than the cookies over each hot cookie as soon s they come out of the oven and swirling it around in a circular motion a few times. The cookie will bump up against the edge of the glass causing it to form a perfectly round circle!
- Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Marlon Boyd
These look so good! I can’t wait to try these!
Ashley Boyd
I hope you love them! Thank you!