Kitchen Sink Cookies are a chewy, sweet and salty brown butter cookie that’s easy to make and loaded with everything but the kitchen sink!! I’ve added chocolate, pretzels, and toffee bits…but get creative!
You know I love an easy cookie recipe…and make it sweet and salty, plus add in a little brown butter I’m sold! These are soft and chewy cookies with a buttery edge…my favorite kind! I first had a Kitchen Sink Cookie at Panera so many years ago, and of course I loved it…so I knew I had to make a copycat version here on my site. While the Panera Kitchen Sink Cookies are great, my recipe is incredible! I hope you make these and love them as much as I do!
Why Are They Called “Kitchen Sink” Cookies?
It’s a pretty easy explanation…because they have everything but the kitchen sink added in! Of course that’s an exaggeration, but the mix-ins in this recipe is what sets them apart form a typical chocolate chip cookie.
Beyond semi-sweet chocolate chips, you also add in milk chocolate, toffee bits, and pretzels…plus a sprinkle of sea salt for that extra sweet/salty combo.
But Are Kitchen Sink Cookies Good? Well I say yes! They’re basically a chocolate chip cookie with some more treats added in. If you don’t like salty/sweet this might not be the recipe for you, but since you can control what you add in, you’re the captain!
What You Need to Make This Recipe/Ingredients:
The full recipe is at the bottom of the post, but I want to go into a few items a little more in depth to make sure to cover all the bases!
Butter. I use salted butter in this recipe because I really want to amp up the sweet/salty taste. I also brown the butter in this recipe which is an easy step to really amp up the flavor. And yes you can absolutely use unsalted butter if you prefer.
Sugars. There is a combo of both granulated and light brown sugar in this recipe. You could also use dark brown sugar as well to deepen the flavor.
Eggs. I use large eggs in this recipe, as I do all my baking recipes. It’s also best if they are room temperature so everything bakes evenly.
Vanilla Extract. This should go without saying, because I use vanilla in almost all my cookie recipes!
Dry Ingredients: All purpose flour and baking soda the basics in most cookie recipes!
Salt. I use coarse sea salt in this recipe because I really love the salty little nuggets in the dough. You can also use kosher salt in its place if you don’t have coarse sea salt. I also use some flaked sea salt on top of the cookies as a garnish, but only add this if you want a little extra salt, it’s totally optional!
Mix-Ins: I use coarsely chopped pretzels, toffee bits, milk chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate! But you can really get creative with whatever you want to add in!
Can’t Find Toffee Bits?
I’m going to give you a full list of other ideas to add in below, but if you can’t find those bagged Toffee Bits (aka “Bits O’ Brittle”) you can use Heath Bits, or chop up a Heath bar, which is a toffee candy bar coated in chocolate.
More Mix-Ins for Kitchen Sink Cookies
The beauty of this recipe is that you can add just about whatever you like into them, just try to get a nice sweet/salty balance. Here are a few ideas beyond what I’ve use in my full recipe listed at the bottom of the post.
Potato Chips. This is a great alternative to the pretzels. I would use a thick chip, like a Kettle cooked, so you get that crunchy texture as well as the salt!
Candy Bars. You could mix in just about any chopped candy bar!
M&M’s. Minis or regular sized would work great in this recipe, as well as giving them a pretty pop of color.
Butterfinger Bits. If you have trouble finding toffee bits, I have found bags of crushed Butterfinger bars in the baking aisle, and that would be fantastic in this recipe.
Caramel. You could use the Caramel bits that Kraft make, or chop up some soft caramels. Werther’s makes my favorite caramels to bake with.
Chocolate Chunks or chopped chocolate. If you have a big bar of chocolate to use up, chop that up or use chunks in place of the chocolate chips!
Peanut Butter Chips or Butterscotch Chips would be great in place of the milk chocolate, or even white chocolate chips!
Nuts. Chopped walnuts, pecans, peanuts, or even pistachios would be delicious!
Sweetened Flaked Coconut would be delicious, just 1/2 cup. You could even go the extra mile and toast the coconut for a deeper flavor.
Dried Fruit. You could add in raisins, dried cranberries (Craisins), or dried cherries if that’s your thing!
How To Brown Butter:
Browning butter is an easy step in most cookie recipes to really add flavor. In my opinion it ALWAYS works. You absolutely don’t have to brown the butter for this cookie recipe, but I really urge you to try if you haven’t. It’s a super easy process:
Place the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
Melt the butter and then continue cooking it until it comes to a boil.
Swirling the pan, or stirring very frequently allow the butter to cook until it becomes a deep amber color.
Once the butter is browned, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool.
How To Make Kitchen Sink Cookies/Instructions:
Brown the Butter and let it cool for 20 – 25 minutes. You want it to be warm, so you can mix everything in, but not too hot that the chocolate chips will melt when you add them.
Mix all the ingredients into the brown butter: Light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and flour until combined.
Stir in all your add-ins. You can do this by hand or in your mixer.
Scoop out the dough using a large cookie scoop. You will be using 1/4 cup of cookie dough.
Place the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 12 – 14 minutes in a 350°F oven until the edges are golden and the tops are just set.
Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to set, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
This is a very easy cookie recipe to make, but I do have a few tips to make them perfect!
Since you’re browning the butter and using it in its melted form you won’t have to use a mixer. BUT since there are a lot of mix-ins in this recipe, it can get pretty thick and hard to stir, so you can absolutely transfer the ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment to aid in the stirring!
Use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough. This ensures even baking and also helps them keep their perfect shape!
If the cookies aren’t perfectly round when they come out of the oven use a spatula to simple reform them back into shape. This only works as soon as they come out of the oven before they set.
Press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies when they come out of the oven to give them that bakery-style look!
Storing Homemade Cookies
These cookies are best if stored airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. I keep them in a zip-top bag or airtight container.
Can You Freeze Them?
You can freeze baked cookies easily in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 30 days for best freshness. You can also freeze the cookie dough as well before baking. Check out my whole article on How To Freeze Cookie Dough for all the tips and tricks!
optional – flaked sea salt to sprinkle on top after they’re baked
In a large saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Stirring very frequently, bring the butter to a boil and continue cooking until it becomes a golden amber color. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 25 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the pan with the butter, stirring to combine. Stir in the vanilla, eggs, baking soda and salt until evenly incorporated. Add the flour and mix to combine.
Stir the chocolate chips, pretzels, and toffee bits into the dough. *see note
Using a large cookie scoop (1/4- cup) portion out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
Bake for 12- 14 minutes until the edges are golden and the tops are just set.
Sprinkle the cookies with a little flaked sea salt if desired.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*if the mixture is too thick for you to stir, you can transfer it to a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to mix everything together.
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Keywords: cookies and cups, kitchen sink cookies, cookie recipe
