Kitchen Sink Cookie Recipe
This kitchen sink cookie recipe has chewy centers, crisp edges, melty chocolate, gooey caramel, and salty pretzels in every bite.
Servings: 21 -23 cookies
Equipment
- Large pan plus silicone baking mats
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons Kerrygold unsalted butter cold, see note 1
- 1 cup (208g) dark brown sugar lightly packed
- 2/3 cup (142g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract I use double-strength
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (475g) all-purpose flour weigh it! See note 2
- 1 cup (185g) mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup (157g) chocolate melting wafers or baking bar, coarsely chopped
- 22 Werther's soft caramels each unwrapped and cut into 3 pieces
- 22 pretzel twists
- Flaky sea salt optional, for topping
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line a metal sheet pan with a silicone baking mat.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes. Add butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until creamy and smooth, with a consistency similar to peanut butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Add the cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined. Add the flour (weigh for accuracy if possible) and mix just until the dough comes together. Avoid overmixing. Add both types of chocolate chips and mix briefly to distribute.
- Portion the dough into 65-gram balls, about 1/4 cup packed dough each. Place only 6 dough balls at a time on the prepared pan, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven. Working quickly, use the back of a metal spatula to gently press in any edges that have spread outwards unevenly. For each cookie, cut 1 unwrapped caramel into 3 pieces. Press the pieces into the top center of the cookie, keeping them away from the edges so the caramel doesn’t melt down the sides. Break 1 pretzel into pieces and gently press them into the top as well.
- Return the cookies to the oven for another 1–3 minutes, or until the tops no longer look wet or gooey. Don’t overbake. These cookies are best slightly under-baked and will firm up significantly as they cool.
- Remove from the oven and immediately press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops, if desired. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the pan for a full 10 minutes. They are very delicate while hot. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Note 1: Use cold butter straight from the fridge. Softened or melted butter won’t cream the same way and can change how the cookies spread and bake. Butter quality matters here, so use one with 82–83% milkfat. I use Kerrygold unsalted butter.
Note 2: For the best results, use a food scale. Weigh the flour (475g) as well as the 65-gram dough balls for the most consistent cookies.
Storage: These cookies are best the day they’re baked. Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freezing Dough: Shape the dough into balls and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding about 2–3 minutes to the baking time. Add the caramel and pretzels toward the end of baking as directed in the recipe.