Kitchen Sink Cookies are big, sweet and salty cookies loaded with a little of everything: semi-sweet chocolate chips, toffee bits, crushed potato chips and chopped pretzels folded into a buttery brown sugar dough. They bake at 350°F in 10 to 12 minutes, with crisp edges and soft centers. The recipe makes 20 cookies in about 35 minutes, with no chilling.
How to make them: Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat softened butter with brown and white sugar until fluffy, add the egg and vanilla, then mix in the flour on low. Stir in the chocolate chips, toffee bits, potato chips and pretzels. Roll golf ball-size balls, space them well apart on lined pans and bake until the edges are crisp. Tap the pans on the counter, sprinkle with flaky salt and let them cool.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Sweet and salty: chocolate and toffee against salty pretzels and potato chips.
- Crisp edges, soft centers: pulled from the oven while the middles are still soft.
- No chilling: the dough goes straight from the bowl to the pan.
- Use what you have: swap in whatever chips, candy or snacks are in the pantry.
Why Are They Called Kitchen Sink Cookies?
The name comes from the saying “everything but the kitchen sink.” These cookies are made to hold a bit of everything you have in the pantry, from chocolate chips and toffee to pretzels, potato chips and candy.
Ingredient Notes
Flour, baking soda and salt: 2 cups all-purpose flour gives the cookies structure, 1 teaspoon baking soda helps them rise, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt balances the sweetness.
Butter: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, for rich flavor and a tender cookie.
Sugars: 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar adds moisture, chew and a caramel-like flavor; 1/2 cup granulated sugar helps give the edges their crispness.
Egg and vanilla: 1 large egg and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
Chocolate chips: 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chips. Mixing in some milk chocolate chips works too.
Toffee bits: 1 cup, for sweet caramel flavor and crunch.
Potato chips: 1 cup, crushed, for extra salty crunch.
Pretzels: 1/2 cup, chopped. Any salty pretzels work.
Flaky sea salt: about 1/2 teaspoon for sprinkling on top, if you like.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup toffee bits
- 1 cup potato chips, crushed
- 1/2 cup pretzels, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for topping (optional)
How to Make Kitchen Sink Cookies
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line the pans. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat, which makes the cookies easiest to remove after baking.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and kosher salt. Set aside.
4. Beat the butter and sugars. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy.
5. Add the egg and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on low, scraping down the bowl as needed.
6. Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture and mix on low just until everything is combined.
7. Stir in the mix-ins. Stir in the chocolate chips, toffee bits, crushed potato chips and chopped pretzels.
8. Shape the dough. Roll the dough into golf ball-sized balls, rolling them in extra mix-ins if you like. Set them on the prepared pans, leaving about 6 inches between them.
9. Bake. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the centers are still soft.
10. Tap the pans. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, firmly tap the baking sheets on the counter to deflate the cookies, which makes the centers soft. Sprinkle the cookies lightly with flaky sea salt, if using.
11. Cool. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
What Goes in a Kitchen Sink Cookie?
Start with a plain butter, sugar, egg and vanilla cookie dough, then load it with mix-ins. The trick is balance: pair sweet things with salty, crunchy ones so every bite has both. This recipe uses about 4 cups of mix-ins for 2 cups of flour: chocolate chips and toffee for sweetness, pretzels and crushed potato chips for salt and crunch.
Want to change it up? Mix and match with what’s in your pantry:
- Sweet: milk or white chocolate chips, butterscotch or peanut butter chips, caramel bits, chopped peanut butter cups, chopped candy bars or mini marshmallows.
- Salty and crunchy: more pretzels or potato chips, or chopped nuts.
- Chewy: raisins or other dried fruit.
Whatever you choose, fold the mix-ins in gently so they don’t break down too much.
Tips for Soft Centers
- Soften the butter. Room-temperature butter creams properly with the sugars.
- Beat until fluffy. Give the butter and sugars a few minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice.
- Mix gently after the flour. Stir just until combined, and don’t overwork the dough when you add the mix-ins.
- Give them room. About 6 inches between balls leaves space to spread.
- Pull them early. Take them out when the edges are crisp and the centers still look soft; they finish setting as they cool.
- Tap the pans. A firm tap on the counter right out of the oven deflates the cookies and keeps the middles soft.
- Let the potato chips crisp. The chips feel chewy while the cookies are hot and turn crisp once they cool completely.
Storage
Room temperature: Once they’re completely cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Freezer: Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 month, and let them thaw before eating.
What to Serve With Them
Serve them with a cold glass of milk or a cup of coffee. For a dessert tray with variety, add chocolate toffee thumbprints, Baileys Irish cream chocolate chip cookies and air fryer peanut butter cookies.
Prefer bars? Try 4-ingredient turtle bars or oatmeal raisin cookie bars. No oven? Make no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do they call it a kitchen sink cookie?
From the saying “everything but the kitchen sink”: the dough is packed with a little of everything from the pantry.
What is usually in a kitchen sink cookie?
A butter and brown sugar dough with sweet and salty mix-ins, usually chocolate chips, pretzels, potato chips and toffee or caramel.
Can you put potato chips in cookies?
Yes. Crushed potato chips add salty crunch. They’re chewy while the cookies are warm and crisp up once they cool.
Do I need to chill the dough?
No. This dough goes straight from the bowl onto the baking sheets.
How do I keep the centers soft?
Take the cookies out while the centers still look soft, tap the pans on the counter right away and let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes.
Final Notes
A sweet dough, a pile of salty and sweet mix-ins and a quick bake give you cookies with a little of everything in each bite. If you make them with your own pantry mix-ins, tell me in the comments what you put in.
Kitchen Sink Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup toffee bits
- 1 cup potato chips crushed
- 1/2 cup pretzels chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt for topping; optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat, which makes the cookies easiest to remove after baking.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on low, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low just until everything is combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, toffee bits, crushed potato chips and chopped pretzels.
- Roll the dough into golf ball-sized balls, rolling them in extra mix-ins if you like. Set them on the prepared pans, leaving about 6 inches between them.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the centers are still soft.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, firmly tap the baking sheets on the counter to deflate the cookies, which makes the centers soft. Sprinkle the cookies lightly with flaky sea salt, if using.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
