These are the best Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies! Sweet and salty and filled with crunchy pretzels, potato chips, M&M's, white chocolate chips and holiday sprinkles. These cookies are completely customizable, so use your favorite mix-ins to create the perfect cookie.
Kitchen sink Christmas Cookies are soft and chewy and packed with whatever delicious ingredients you have in your pantry. Red and green M&M's and colorful sprinkles make them extra festive and perfect for your holiday table.
For more holiday cookie recipes, make sure to try Gingerbread Latte Cookies, Hershey Kiss Sugar Cookies and Mini M&M Cookies.
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Why Is It Called Kitchen Sink Cookies?
You know the saying "everything but the kitchen sink"? Well, that's pretty much how these cookies got their name. They are loaded with all you can imagine that could make a cookie taste delicious. They can be sweet, salty or a combination of both.
Why You'll Love These Christmas Cookies
- Salty & Sweet- These cookies are filled with salty pretzels and potato chips, along with chocolate M&M's and white chocolate chips for the best sweet and salty combo.
- Best texture- These cookies are soft and chewy, but still have some added crunch from mix-ins.
- Festive and fun- I use colorful sprinkles and Christmas M&M's to give these kitchen sink cookies a holiday twist.
- Customizable- The beautiful thing about these cookies is you can add whatever you have on hand.
- No mixer- These cookies are made in one bowl. No mixer needed!
Ingredient Notes
- Sugar- I use both brown sugar and white granulated sugar.
- Butter- Use unsalted butter and make sure it's softened at room temperature.
- Eggs- Pull from the refrigerator 2 hours before mixing.
- Vanilla- Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- White chocolate- I recommend using a high quality white chocolate, like Ghirardelli.
- M&M's- I use red and green to make these cookies extra festive. Feel tree to use other varieties like peanut, mint, minis or birthday cake.
- Pretzels- Break them into bite size pieces and add them into the dough as well as on top of the cookies once they finish baking.
- Chips- Crush them into small pieces. You can use Ruffles or Kettle chips.
- Sprinkles- I recommend using jimmies since they hold their shape and color the best when baked.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Dairy-free- Use your favorite dairy-free butter and chocolate to make these cookies dairy-free.
- Chocolate Chips – Feel free to use dark or milk chocolate chips. You can also use chocolate chunks in place of chocolate chips.
Step By Step Instructions - Everything But Kitchen Sink Cookies
STEP 1: Melt the butter. Melt butter and let it sit for 20 minutes. Make sure the butter is at room temperature and not warm.
STEP 2: Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
STEP 3: Mix wet ingredients. First, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract.
STEP 4: Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
STEP 5: Add mix-ins. Stir in the M&M's, white chocolate chips, pretzels, crushed potato chips and holiday sprinkles.
STEP 6: Scoop. Use a 1 ½ oz ice cream scoop to scoop the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
STEP 7: Chill. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 1 hour. Alternatively, if you are in a hurry you can freeze the dough for 30 minutes.
STEP 8: Bake. Preheat oven to 350°. Place 6 cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes; turning the sheet pan halfway through baking. This will help the cookies brown evenly.
STEP 9: Cool. Once the cookies are done, remove them from the oven and use a large cookie cutter to "scoot" the cookies to give them a perfectly round shape. While they are still hot, add additional mix-ins on top of each cookie.
Expert Baking Tips
Measure flour correctly. Always spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Scoop directly from the container packs the flour, leading to excess and affecting your recipe, like cookies not spreading properly.
Once the cookies have finished baking, use a cookie cutter (slightly larger than your cookie) to scoot the cookies into a perfect circle. In order for this to work correctly, you need to do this immediately after you pull the cookies from the oven, while they are still warm.
When the cookies are still warm, top with extra mix-ins. This will give your cookies the same look seen in my pictures.
Mix-in Variations
Feel free to use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here are some ideas below.
- Butterscotch chips
- Graham crackers
- Toasted coconut
- Dark chocolate chips
- Heath bar
- Peanut butter chips
- M&M's variations (peanut, mint, mini, birthday cake)
- Oreo cookies
- Chopped candy bar
FAQ
Absolutely! I use a 1.5 oz ice cream scoop (about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie) but you can make them smaller. Baking times will vary depending on the size cookie. A good starting point is 8-10 minutes.
The edges should be crisp and lightly golden brown and the center will be slightly puffed. I like to underbake my cookies by just a minute or so. They will continue to cook as they cool on the baking sheet. This gives you the chewiest cookie.
I do not add nuts in my recipe, but you certainly can. Chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, or peanuts are all great options.
The key to chewy cookies is brown sugar. I use more brown sugar than granulated sugar which gives them a great chewy texture.
Over-measuring flour can make the dough too dry and stiff, preventing it from spreading. Always spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Avoid scooping the flour directly with your measuring cup-it can pack the flour, leading to dense, dry cookies.
Storing and Freezing
Store these kitchen sink Christmas cookies inside an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
To freeze cookies, place them onto a parchment lined sheet pan and flash freeze for 1 hour or until they are firm. Then, transfer the cookies to a freezer bag and freeze for 3 months.
Thaw the cookies inside the refrigerator overnight or place them on the counter at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
More Cookie Recipes To Try
Try These Holiday Recipes Too!
- Mini Basque Cheesecakes
- Rich & Fudgy Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies
- Apple Crumble Cheesecake
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
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📖 Recipe
Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cup All purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 8 oz Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 ¼ cup Dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup White granulated sugar
- 2 Large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup M&M's red and green, plus more for topping
- ½ cup White chocolate chips plus more for topping
- ½ cup Pretzels broken into small pieces, plus more for topping
- ⅓ cup Potato chips, salted crushed, plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoon Holiday sprinkles jimmies works best
Instructions
- Melt butter and let it sit for 20 minutes. Make sure the butter is at room temperature and not warm.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- First, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
- Stir in the M&M's, white chocolate chips, pretzels, crushed potato chips and holiday sprinkles.
- Use a 1 ½ oz ice cream scoop to scoop the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough for 1 hour. Alternatively, if you are in a hurry you can freeze the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Place 6 cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes; turning the sheet pan halfway through baking. This will help the cookies brown evenly.
- Once the cookies are done, remove them from the oven and use a large cookie cutter to "scoot" the cookies to give them a perfectly round shape. While they are still hot, add additional mix-ins on top of each cookie.
Ashley says
Hi! Are there any adjustments for high altitude? Thank you!
Kristen Espino says
Hi Ashley, I haven't tested this recipe for high altitude baking, so I don't want to suggest any measurements. But there are a lot of resources online that can help guide you in the right direction!
Mel says
I added caramel and toffee bits. Won our cookie exchange!
Kristen Espino says
Hi Mel! Yay, congratulations on winning your cookie exchange. Caramel and toffee bits sound amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Amanda says
Is there any harm in refrigerating for longer than 1 hour but less than 6? Thinking about prepping in the morning and then baking in the afternoon
Kristen Espino says
No harm at all! Feel free to bake them later in the day. They will be fine 🙂
Emily says
Can I freeze the dough and bake at a later date from frozen? If so, at what temp and how long?
Kristen Espino says
Hello Emily,
Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough and bake at a later day. I would add a couple minutes to the baking time (at 350 degrees) if you're baking them straight from the freezer.
Lauren says
Hi! I can’t wait to make these. Just wanted to clarify - the butter should be totally melted (liquid) and then sit for a half hour? And do I refrigerate the dough or put them in balls on the cookie sheet and then refrigerate that? Thanks!
Kristen Espino says
Hi Lauren,
Yes, the butter should be completely melted and allow it to cool down at room temperature for about 30 minutes. I scoop the cookies onto a parchment lined baking pan and refrigerate for 1 hour. When you're ready to bake, place 6 cookies (if you're using a large scoop like I did) and bake them as directed in the recipe. Make sure to check out the recipe tips (especially about measuring the flour) so you don't run into any problems. Happy baking 🙂 Please let me know how they turn out!
Claudia says
My daughter followed this recipe but unfortunately the cookies came out very thin and spread out so much. We followed the recipe (also refrigerated them) but they looked like pancakes.
Kristen Espino says
Hi Claudia,
I'm not quite sure what happened. I haven't had any other users say that they had a problem with the cookies spreading like you described. Did you allow the melted butter to cool completely at room temperature before adding the sugar and eggs? Did you scoop and level the flour into the measuring cup? Maybe check the expiration of the baking powder and baking soda (sometimes this can affect the way the cookies spread). Sorry, the cookies didn't come out the way they should have.
Nancy says
I was getting ready to make these and I was reading through the directions and I’m kind of confused. After I get them on the cookie sheet, I have to put them in the refrigerator.? Then bake?
I’m going to make these today hopefully I will hear from you soon .
Kristen Espino says
Good morning Nancy,
Yes, the cookie dough is scooped onto a baking sheet and refrigerated for 1 hour. Once they are chilled, I place 6 cookies on a baking sheet to bake. If you're using a smaller scoop than I did, you can fit more. I typically space them about 2 inches apart. Feel free to message me with any other questions.