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.

Can I freeze cookie dough?
Yes, 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.
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!
Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!
Kitchen Sink Cookies

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.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup bits of broken pretzels
- 1 cup caramel bits
- 1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
- 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.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture until just incorporated.
- Fold in the broken pretzels, caramel bits and 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.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please view my disclosure page for more information.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 203Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 210mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 2g
All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

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!
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.
Whitney
Sunday 19th of December 2021
How long do you bake them? Cook time says 30 min but in the instructions it says 10 🤷🏼♀️
Carlee
Sunday 19th of December 2021
30 minutes is to get all the trays through the oven, each tray only takes 10 minutes.
Jessica H.
Tuesday 7th of December 2021
I wonder how these would taste with browned butter!
Carlee
Tuesday 7th of December 2021
Ooooh, that would be so good!