Grab your sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy mix-ins of choice to stir into the ultimate recipe for soft and chewy Kitchen Sink Cookies.
These cookies have got it all. In fact, they’ve got everything but the kitchen sink, hence the recipe name! Consider this your ultimate cookie template and raid your pantry for any mix-ins you desire. A few ideas:
- Chocolate chips, chunks or candies
- Pretzels of all shapes and sizes
- All varieties of nuts
- Dried fruit
- Potato chips
Ready to get started? Preheat your oven and let’s kick things off!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Unsalted butter: I bake with unsalted butter 99% of the time. Using unsalted butter allows you to easily control the salt level of any recipe.
- Sugar: You need both regular white and packed brown sugar for this cookie recipe. Granulated sugar adds structure to the cookie, whereas brown sugar gives you a soft and chewy texture.
- Eggs: This recipe calls for cold eggs because the dough is not chilled before baking. The eggs help keep the dough cool enough so that the cookies don’t overspread while baking.
- Vanilla extract: Have homemade vanilla extract? Use it!
- Flour: You’ll need all-purpose flour. Swapping in a different flour will alter the texture and density of the cookies. Check out my simple tip for how to accurately measure flour to guarantee successful, consistent baking results every time.
- Baking soda and baking powder: It’s essential that these two ingredients are fresh for the cookies to properly rise. Test the freshness of your baking soda by adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to a small dish, then mix in a teaspoon of baking soda. If the mixture fizzes, it’s good! Repeat the process with hot water (not vinegar) and baking powder. If it bubbles, it’s good!
- Kosher salt: I prefer a fine grain over coarse because it quickly gets dispersed into ingredients.
- Mix-ins of choice: Anything sweet, salty and/or crunchy!
How to Make Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine wet ingredients. Cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can use a whisk and do it by hand, too.
- Add the dry ingredients. Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add the mix-ins. Beat in the chocolate chips, crushed pretzels, chopped nuts and toffee bits.
- Scoop the dough. I like using an ice cream scoop to ensure all cookies are the same size and bake evenly.
- Bake the cookies. These cookies bake for 9 to 12 minutes but it’s important to rotate the baking sheets halfway through to ensure even cooking.
- Let the cookies cool. For soft and chewy cookies, remove them from the oven while they’re still underbaked then let them cool on the baking sheets for a minimum of 5 minutes.
Pro Tips for Recipe Success
- Balance Sweet with Salty: Use a mix of both sweet and salty mix-ins for the best cookie flavor.
- Underbake the Cookies: For soft and chewy cookies, it’s essential to remove them from the oven before they’re fully baked and then let them cool on the baking sheets.
- To Salt or Not to Salt?: I rarely skip the sea salt on cookies containing chocolate, but if you’ve been heavy-handed with salty mix-ins (like pretzels, salted nuts and potato chips), skip the large-flake sea salt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Cookies can be frozen baked or unbaked (see below). Baked cookies should be cooled completely then wrapped securely in plastic wrap before being frozen.
Absolutely! Scoop the dough into mounds and freeze them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Once they’re frozen solid, transfer them into an airtight bag or container and freeze.
Anything sweet, salty or crunchy, including chocolate chips or chunks, pretzels, potato chips, toffee bits or nuts.
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Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and beat just until combined. Add the chocolate chips, crushed pretzels, chopped nuts and toffee bits and mix until combined.
Scoop 2-tablespoon mounds of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing each mound at least 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 9 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until they are slightly crispy around the edges and barely set in the centers. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
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