Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies Recipe hits that sweet and salty spot with chewy centers, crisp edges, pretzels, chips, toffee bits, and pools of chocolate. It suits holiday bakers who want a crowd favorite, and you can pull off a batch in about 1 hour 10 minutes including a quick chill. I baked these after a gift-wrapping sprint and ate the broken pretzel pieces as baker’s tax.
Why This Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies Recipe
Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies Recipe stays easy because you mix a simple dough and fold in whatever festive bits you have. The base uses pantry staples and two bowls, so cleanup stays painless. A chill in the fridge does the hard work and keeps the cookies thick and chewy.
You control the mix-ins instead of hunting for special ingredients. Toss in pretzels, potato chips, toffee bits, and holiday candy, or use what your pantry offers. The dough stays sturdy and flexible, so it handles generous add-ins without crumbling.
Ingredients You Need
- Unsalted butter, 1 cup, softened to cool room temp
- Dark brown sugar, 1 cup, packed
- Granulated sugar, 1/2 cup
- Large eggs, 2
- Vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
- All-purpose flour, 2 1/2 cups
- Sub: use a cup-for-cup gluten-free blend if needed
- Baking soda, 1 teaspoon
- Baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon
- Kosher salt, 3/4 teaspoon
- Old-fashioned rolled oats, 1/2 cup, optional for extra chew
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks, 1 cup
- Brand note: Ghirardelli chips or chopped baking bars melt smoothly
- Holiday M&M’s, 3/4 cup
- Toffee bits, 1/2 cup
- Pantry shortcut: Heath or Skor bits work great
- Crushed pretzels, 3/4 cup
- Crushed ridged potato chips, 1/2 cup
- White chocolate chips, 1/2 cup, optional
- Sweetened shredded coconut, 1/3 cup, optional
- Chopped pecans or walnuts, 1/2 cup, optional
- Festive sprinkles, 2 to 3 tablespoons, optional
- Flaky salt, for sprinkling, optional
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Two mixing bowls
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper or silicone mats
- Cookie scoop, 1.5 tablespoon size
- Cooling rack
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Rolling pin or the bottom of a measuring cup to crush pretzels and chips in a bag
How to Make Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies
- Prep Time 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes chill time
- Cook Time 12 minutes per tray
- Total Time About 1 hour 10 minutes
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or mats. Set your cookie scoop nearby.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and oats in a medium bowl. Keep it airy and lump free.
- Cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, then mix until smooth and glossy.
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix. Mix on low just until the flour disappears.
- Fold in chocolate chips, M&M’s, toffee bits, pretzels, potato chips, and any optional add-ins. Save a small handful of mix-ins to press on top of the scooped dough for a bakery look.
- Chill the bowl for 30 minutes. This step firms the dough and keeps the cookies thick.
- Scoop 1.5 tablespoon mounds onto prepared sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Press a few extra chips or M&M’s on top.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. Pull the cookies when edges set and centers still look pale and soft.
- Sprinkle flaky salt while hot if you like a sweet-salty pop. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Snack on the crumbly pretzel bits while you wait.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Measure flour with the scoop and level method to avoid dry, cakey cookies.
- Use cool room temp butter, not melted, to prevent flat cookies.
- Keep total mix-ins to about 2.5 to 3 cups so the dough holds together.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes to reduce spread and boost chew.
- Reserve some chips and candy for the tops to get that bakery look.
- Do not overmix after adding flour or you build tough gluten.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for even browning.
- Pull cookies when centers look slightly underdone, they finish on the sheet.
- Crush pretzels and chips into small pieces, not dust, for the best crunch.
- If the dough feels greasy, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour and fold gently.
Variations I’ve Tried
- Peppermint crunch: swap 1/2 cup M&M’s for crushed candy canes and add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Espresso dark chocolate: add 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder and use 70 percent chocolate chunks.
- Browned butter toffee: brown the butter, cool it to room temp, and lean into toffee bits and pecans.
- S’mores: add mini marshmallows, graham cracker bits, and milk chocolate chips.
- Cranberry pistachio: use white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and chopped pistachios for red and green cheer.
- Peanut butter twist: replace 1/2 cup butter with 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter and use peanut butter chips.
How to Serve Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies
Serve warm so the chocolate stays melty and the salty bits pop. Pair with cold milk, hot cocoa, or a strong coffee. Build festive platters with a mix of sizes, then tuck a few into lunchboxes for bonus points. Crumble leftovers over vanilla ice cream and drizzle with hot fudge for an instant sundae.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Chill the dough in the fridge for up to 72 hours. The flavors deepen and the texture stays chewy.
- Scoop balls and freeze on a sheet, then stash in a bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes.
- Store baked cookies airtight at room temp for 4 to 5 days. Slip in a slice of sandwich bread to keep them soft.
- Reheat on a sheet at 300°F for 3 to 5 minutes or microwave one cookie for 8 to 10 seconds.
Nutrition Information
Per cookie, based on a 1.5 tablespoon scoop: about 210 calories, 10 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 28 g carbs, 18 g sugar, 2 g protein, 150 mg sodium. Numbers change based on your mix-ins and cookie size.
Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
- Gradually blend in the flour mixture.
- Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, oats, coconut, dried cranberries, and M&Ms.
- Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are nicely browned.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.