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.

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!

 It is that time of year. The festive Christmas decorations are put away.

The cozy glow of the tree is gone. It is still dark and freezing outside and the holiday cheer isn’t there to make it tolerable.

The Christmas cookies have been gone for at least a week. Sad stories all the way around!

 Some good friends of ours were blessed with a baby girl a few days after Christmas and they were feeling up for visitors. I had plans to make them a pan of baked ziti they could heat when they were ready.

Of course they would need a sweet treat as well.  I love to bring cookies to new parents because they don’t take a plate or silverware. They are perfect to grab and go and easy to eat with one hand.

A couple of weeks ago I thought I’d be perfectly happy not seeing another cookie for a few months. After baking and decorating all of the sugar cookies, gingerbread men, peanut butter blossoms, peppermint mocha shortbread cookies and the like it seemed like a break was in order. But it turns out I was happy to be digging out the cookie sheets at the first hint of an excuse!

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.

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.

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!

We took half of the batch to our friends and I got to soak up some baby cuddles and watch the boys play. They seemed to go over well there.

We took the other half to my parents’ house where everyone enjoyed them, but one brother liked them particularly well and nearly finished them off!

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 o days before baking.

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.

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.

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.

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.

More Great Cookie Recipes

If you are a fan of loaded cookies, you may also like coconut oatmeal 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.

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!

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