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.
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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!
Table of Contents
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.
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!
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.
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.
Can I freeze cookie dough?
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.
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 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.
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
Servings: 30 Large Cookies
Author: 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
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 45 minutes mins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 2½ 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
Nutritional Disclaimer
“Cooking With Carlee” is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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