Baking · American
Kitchen Sink Cookies
Sweet, salty and crunchy: chocolate, chips, pretzels and cranberries in one big cookie.
- Hands-on
- 15 min
- Hands-off
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 h
- Makes
- 18 large cookies
- Serves
- 18
Preheating overlaps the 15 minutes of mixing. Bake 16-18 minutes, rest 5 minutes on the sheets, then cool on a rack; about 45 minutes hands-off in all. Total 1 hour including cooling. If your oven only fits one sheet at a time, add a second bake of 16-18 minutes.
Oven 180 °C · 160 °C fan (350 °F)
Pan 2 baking sheets lined with parchment (US: 2 baking sheets lined with parchment)
- easy
- vegetarian
- cookies
- sweet-and-salty
- bake-sale
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Each cookie is a big 71 g (2 1/2 oz) scoop spaced 7.5 cm (3 in) apart, so a double batch needs extra sheets or extra rounds in the oven, not a longer bake. Halving needs half an egg: beat it and use half. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: 2 baking sheets · parchment paper · medium bowl and whisk · electric mixer (a stand mixer with the paddle is ideal) and large bowl · medium cookie scoop, 71 g (2 1/2 oz) · wire cooling rack · oven mitts
Contains: milk · egg · wheat
Method
Heat the oven, line the sheets
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Ready when: The oven has fully reached 180°C (350°F) before the first sheet goes in.
Whisk the dry mix
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 270 g (2 1/4 cups) flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Set aside.
Ready when: The flour, soda and salt are evenly mixed.
Cream butter and sugars
Beat the 227 g (1 cup) soft butter with the 213 g (1 cup) brown sugar and 99 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar on medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Ready when: Light and fluffy, and noticeably paler than when you started.
Add egg and vanilla
Beat in the egg and 1 tsp vanilla on low until you can't see any yolk. Scrape down the bowl.
Add the flour
Add the flour mixture and beat on low just until no dry flour is left.
Fold in the kitchen sink
Set aside a small handful each of the chocolate chunks and white chips for the tops. Stir the rest of the 128 g (3/4 cup) chunks and 128 g (3/4 cup) white chips into the dough with the 180 ml (3/4 cup) crushed potato chips, 57 g (1/2 cup) cranberries and 120 ml (1/2 cup) crushed pretzels.
Otto tried this firstOtto tips the whole snack drawer in: a family bag of chips, gummy bears, cereal. The dough can't hold it and the cookies fall apart. Stick to the measured amounts.Scoop and top
Scoop golf-ball-size portions of 71 g (2 1/2 oz) onto the sheets, 7.5 cm (3 in) apart. You should get 18. Press the reserved chocolate pieces into the tops.
Bake
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes.
Ready when: The edges are crisp and golden while the centres still look soft. They firm up as they cool.
Salt and cool
While they're still warm, sprinkle the cookies with the 1/2 tsp flaky salt if using. Leave them on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack to cool completely.
Swaps
- Instead of 57 g (1/2 cup) dried cranberries: chopped nuts, about 120 ml (1/2 cup) Nuts are a common kitchen-sink mix-in. They add a tree-nut or peanut allergen.
- Instead of 128 g (3/4 cup) white chocolate chips: chopped mini peanut-butter cups or toffee bits, 180 ml (3/4 cup) Any chocolate or candy mix-in works. Peanut-butter cups add peanuts.
- Instead of crushed pretzel twists: thin pretzel sticks, broken into short pieces, same volume Thin sticks work just as well as twists.
If something goes wrong
- Flat cookies that spread into each other Why: The butter was too warm or partly melted, or the dough balls were too close together.
Use butter that is soft but not melted, and if the dough feels very soft, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep the balls 7.5 cm (3 in) apart. - Hard, dry cookies Why: They baked until the centres looked done.
Take them out when the edges are crisp but the centres still look soft; they keep cooking on the hot sheet.
Good to know
- Pressing a few chocolate pieces onto the tops before baking makes the cookies look as loaded as they taste.
- Aim for a mix of sweet, salty and crunchy mix-ins.
- Crush the chips and pretzels into small pieces so the scoop doesn't snag on big shards.
Safety
- Don't taste the raw dough: it contains raw egg and raw flour, and only the baked cookies are safe to eat. Wash your hands after handling it.
- The oven, the baking sheets and the melted chocolate get very hot. Use oven mitts, and kids should let an adult move the sheets.
- Check labels: pretzels contain wheat, chocolate often contains soy and milk, and chips and pretzels may be made where nuts are handled.