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Kitchen Sink Cookies

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Sweet, salty, crunchy and soft, these kitchen sink cookies have it all.  Full of caramel, chocolate and even bits of crunchy pretzels. They are based off the popular Panera Bread cookies and they are delicious.

close up stack of copycat panera kitchen sink cookies with pretzels, chocolate chips and caramel.

These chewy cookies are loaded with all of the good stuff. They are sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy.  They are based of the Panera kitchen sink cookies.

Enjoy them with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.  Whip up a batch today and see for yourself just how good they are!

About the Recipe

As cold as it’s been, turning to baking for that warm and cozy feeling was definitely welcome. I wanted to make something easy and far away from the holiday flavors.

Plus they had to be made from ingredients I had in the house. These sweet and salty drop cookies were just the thing.

This recipe is based on the famous Panera kitchen sink cookies. They are a great mix of textures and flavors.

sketch of ingredients needed to make kitchen sink cookies.

Little Dude and I had these whipped up in no time. He loved crunching up the pretzel bits. I loved starting with melted butter, so I didn’t have to plan ahead and soften anything.

The results were delicious. They had a nice buttery flavor and texture with crisp edges and soft centers.

scoops of kitchen sink cookies on silicone mat lined baking sheet.

The chewy of the caramel, crunch of the pretzel and creamy chocolate were delicious together. Of course that sweet and salty combination is always a winner too!

If you are looking to change up your cookie routine, these are a fun way to do it! The salty pretzels are definitely unexpected and fun. What are your favorite off the beaten path cookie stir-ins?

Tips and Tricks for Making Great Cookies:

If you don’t have caramel bits you can chop caramel candies or use caramel or butterscotch baking chips.

Using melted butter means the dough comes together really easily. It also makes for yummy chewy cookies.

You can scoop and bake the dough right after you mix it up. For a more developed flavor, chill it overnight or up to a couple of days before baking.

hand holding a kitchen sink cookie with bits of pretzel, chocolate and caramel.

For perfectly round cookies, use the TikTok hack of using a glass or round cookie cutter to shape the cookies when they are fresh from the oven. Just make sure the circle you are using is bigger than the cookie and swing it around a bit to help shape the cookie.

If you have trouble with your cookies baking flatter than you would like, I made a guide to keep your cookies from spreading too much. Hopefully that will help.

Storing Homemade Cookies

To store, put in airtight container at room temperature for up to a couple of weeks. To keep them extra soft, put a slice of sandwich bread in the container.

You can put baked cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.

stack of kitchen sink cookies in front of bottle of milk.

Yes, just freeze balls of cookie dough for several hours in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, place the balls of dough in a freezer bag.

When ready, pull a few balls of dough out of the freezer and bake them from frozen. Just add a minute or two to the bake time.

Why are They Called “Kitchen Sink” Cookies?

Because they have everything but the kitchen sink in them! It’s as if you walked around the kitchen and through in a handful of everything you could find.

You can change up the mix ins if you want. Try subbing in bits of potato chips instead of pretzels. Or try using butterscotch chips or toffee bits instead of caramel bits.

inside of a kitchen sink cookie with melted chocolate chips.

Feel free to use milk chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips. You can even use peanut butter chips if that is your preference.

As long as you keep the proportions close, the cookies are sure to be delicious. The great thing is almost anything goes.

If you are a fan of loaded cookies, you may also like 7 cup cookies. They are a crispy cookies loaded with all of the good stuff.

Monster cookies are always a favorite as well. They are full of peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips and M&Ms.

kitchen sink cookies with caramel, chocolate chips and pretzel bits on cooling rack.

Grandma’s potato chip cookies are another great sweet and salty option. The shortbread style cookies are the perfect way to use up the crumbs at the bottom of a potato chip bag.

Or make some kitchen sink cookie bars for a traybake version of these delicious cookies!

Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!

close up stack of copycat panera kitchen sink cookies with pretzels, chocolate chips and caramel.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Carlee
Sweet, salty, crunchy and soft, these kitchen sink cookies have it all. Full of caramel, chocolate and even bits of pretzel. They are based off the popular Panera cookies and they are delicious.
4.62 from 80 ratings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 30 Large Cookies
Calories 203 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup butter melted
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • cups light brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • cups all purpose flour
  • teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup bits of broken pretzels
  • 1 cup caramel bits
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper
  • Beat together the melted butter, sugars and vanilla until the butter is cooled and the mixture is lightened a bit.
    1 cup butter, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1½ cups light brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar
  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated.
    2 large eggs
  • Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture until just incorporated.
    2½ cups all purpose flour, 2½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
  • Fold in the broken pretzels, caramel bits and chocolate chips.
    ¾ cup bits of broken pretzels, 1 cup caramel bits, 1 cup chocolate chips
  • Using a large cookie scoop (about 3 Tablespoons), scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets. Leave at least 2 inches between cookies. Flatten slightly and top with a few additional chocolate chips, pretzel or caramel bits if desired. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of sea salt.
  • Bake for about 10 minutes. The edges should be just starting to take on color and the centers should still be soft and puffy looking. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
  • Best served warmed with a glass of milk or cup of coffee.

Notes

For thicker cookies, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips. We usually use semi-sweet, but milk chocolate are also delicious.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 203kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 210mgFiber: 1gSugar: 22g
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Recipe Rating




Donna A Pollock

Friday 10th of March 2023

What a delicious cookie. I love sweet and Salty anything, and these cookies hit the spot. I always make 2 batches of them because every time my boys come into the kitchen they grab 2 or 3 at a time. I love all of your Recipes and I have made several of them. Thank you so much

Carlee

Friday 10th of March 2023

That makes me so happy, thank you so much!

Sheree

Sunday 18th of December 2022

I love using your recipe as a base. So versatile. I make my husband cappuccino cookies I add 1/2 cup hot chocolate powder, mini chocolate chips and expresso chocolate chips. Everyone loves them.

Carlee

Sunday 18th of December 2022

Oooh, that sounds so good!

Connie

Wednesday 7th of December 2022

Cookies took almost 25 minutes at 350, instead of the 10 in the instructions. Frustrating that I couldn't complete the batches due to having to go to work. But they tasted nice.

Mindee

Friday 24th of June 2022

My cookies went completely flat!! I’ll try again.

Carlee

Friday 24th of June 2022

I'm really sorry that happened. If you still have dough, try chilling it for a bit before baking it (or add a few Tablespoons more flour). The other thing to keep in mind is you want to use sticks of butter, not butter spread or margarine. Hopefully you can salvage the batch.

JWKing

Sunday 30th of January 2022

Best recipe I have found for kitchen sink cookies.