Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies

These Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies are packed with festive M&M’s, semi-sweet chocolate, pretzels, and sprinkles. They’re made with a sugar cookie dough that includes brown sugar, which helps keep the cookies chewy and moist. They taste great and are perfect for cookie trays, especially when made in smaller sizes!

Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies are the perfect holiday treat, combining the fun of a classic sugar cookie with the excitement of adding your favorite mix-ins. Imagine a cookie dough filled with festive M&M’s, semi-sweet chocolate, and crunchy pretzels, all topped with colorful sprinkles. These cookies are not only fun-looking with all the Christmas colors but also incredibly easy to make. There’s no need to chill the dough, and they’re simple drop cookies, meaning you just scoop and bake!

Why We Love This Recipe

1. Customizable Fun: You can add almost anything you like to these cookies. Whether it’s white chocolate, butterscotch chips, nuts, or even potato chips, the possibilities are endless.
2. No Fuss, No Wait: Without the need for dough chilling, these cookies go from mixing bowl to oven quickly, making them perfect for last-minute baking.
3. Festive and Flavorful: The combination of holiday M&M’s, chocolate, and pretzels not only makes these cookies look festive but also creates a delicious mix of sweet and salty flavors and different textures.

Key Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: This forms the structure of your cookies. I only tested this recipe with AP flour, but I’m pretty sure that it will work with a 1:1 gluten-free blend.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These help your cookies rise and become fluffy.
• Salt: Just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
• Unsalted Butter: Softened butter makes your cookies tender and buttery, if you only happen to have salted butter that will work fine but I mostly bake using unsalted butter.
• Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: A mix of these sugars gives a nice balance of sweetness and moisture.
• Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds richness. Make sure that it’s at room temperature, it blends in with the rest of the ingredients better.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds a classic, sweet flavor. Do not skip it!
• Holiday M&M’s, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, and Mini Pretzels: These add-ins bring the festive look and a mix of textures and flavors. Feel free to add your favorites!

How To Make Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies

1. Start with Preheating: Get your oven ready by setting it to 350°F (180°C, or 160°C if you’re using a fan oven). Prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a Silpat silicone baking mat. This helps prevent the cookies from sticking.
2. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together your all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. This ensures these ingredients are evenly distributed throughout your dough.
3. Cream Butter and Sugars: In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the softened butter with granulated and light brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This step is key for getting that perfect cookie texture.
4. Add Egg and Vanilla: To your creamy mixture, add the egg and vanilla extract, then beat again. These ingredients add richness and flavor to your cookies.
5. Combine with Flour Mixture: Gradually add your flour mixture to the creamy mixture, mixing a little at a time. If your dough becomes too thick for the mixer, don’t hesitate to mix by hand to get everything well combined.
6. Fold in the Fun Stuff: Now for the exciting part! Add in your holiday M&M’s, chocolate chips, and lightly crushed mini pretzels. Give it a quick mix to evenly distribute these tasty add-ins.

1. Scoop and Place on Baking Sheet: Using a medium cookie scoop, drop the dough onto your prepared baking sheet. Remember to leave about two inches between each cookie for spreading.
2. Bake to Perfection: Pop them in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes, or until you see the edges turning a lovely golden brown.
3. Cool and Enjoy: Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 2 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. This step is crucial for achieving the perfect texture.

Top Tips

• Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your butter and egg are at room temperature before you start. This helps the butter cream more easily and ensures the egg mixes in smoothly, resulting in a better cookie texture.
• Measure Flour Correctly: Avoid packing the flour into the measuring cup. Instead, spoon it into the cup and level it off with a knife, or use a kitchen scale (I provide the quantities in metric measurements too!). This prevents the dough from becoming too dense.
• Don’t Overmix the Dough: Once you add the flour, mix just until it’s combined. Overmixing can lead to tough cookies.
• Customize Your Add-Ins: Feel free to experiment with the mix-ins. You can substitute any of the M&M’s, chocolate chips, or pretzels with similar quantities of your favorite ingredients like nuts, other candies, crushed potato chips, or dried fruit.
• Watch the Baking Time: Keep an eye on your cookies as they bake. They’re done when the edges are just turning golden. Overbaking can make them too hard.
• Let Them Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. This helps them set and makes them easier to move without breaking.

Storing and Freezing

Storing Your Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies

To keep your baked Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies fresh, first ensure they are completely cool. This prevents any moisture build-up which can make them soggy. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature, ideally in a single layer. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking. Properly stored, these cookies will stay fresh and delicious for up to a week, ready for you to enjoy whenever you like.

Freezing Your Cookies and Dough

For freezing, you have two options: freeze the baked cookies or the unbaked dough. For baked cookies, freeze them individually on a baking sheet before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag. This keeps them from sticking together. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and thawed at room temperature when you’re ready to eat them.

If you choose to freeze the unbaked dough, scoop it into balls and freeze them the same way. When you’re ready to bake, you can bake them straight from the freezer, just adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time. This way, you can enjoy freshly baked cookies without the prep time.

That’s a wrap on our Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies! If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it goes. Please leave a rating and review, and feel free to share any fun twists you added. Don’t forget to pin this recipe to easily find it later. Happy baking and enjoy the delicious festive cookies!