If you want an easy, yet impressive festive Holiday cookie, look no further than these Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies! Biting into the chewy brown-sugar based cookie is a total experience, with a combination of flavors and textures that can’t be beat.
As the name implies, these simple cookies get their uniquely delicious taste from adding “everything but the kitchen sink” to the dough! They’re packed with gooey caramel, crunchy, salty pretzels, and green and red M&M’s to bring chocolatey flavor and merry color.
Plus, the dough requires no chilling time and only one bowl to make, for a foolproof cookie that comes together in less than 30 minutes start to finish. As a busy mom and joyful baker, this is just the kind of recipe I love to whip up during the busy Holiday season.
And after the success of my original Kitchen Sink Cookies, I just knew I had to make a kid-approved Christmas version!
Red and Green M&M Kitchen Sink Cookies Ingredients
I like using unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt I’m adding to the cookies. If you want to use salted butter, you definitely can, just omit the added salt.
Make sure your butter is softened (not melted!) in order to get the perfect consistency in your dough. For more info, check out my article on How to Quickly and Easily Soften Butter.
This cookie recipe uses just brown sugar to give it more of that caramelly flavor that you look for in a classic cookie recipe.
You’ll need only red and green M&M’s for these easy Holiday cookies! You can usually find a bag of red and green around Christmastime, but you can also buy a family size bag and sort them out (my 5-year old loves to do this with me!).
Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies Tips and Tricks
How to Make Loaded Cookies with Holiday Mix-Ins
As with almost all of my cookies, this easy cookie recipe requires just one bowl to make. This just means we have to add the ingredients in a very specific order.
Start by creaming the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer on high until well-combined and fluffy. This may take up to 3 minutes, but is imperative for the best-textured cookies as this process will aerate the dough.
Next, add the egg and vanilla extract and use the hand mixer on low until just combined. Then, add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix again. You’ll have a thick dough.
Grab a rubber spatula and use it to push down any dry ingredients stuck to the sides of the bowl into the dough and fold to intergrate.
I like to leave a handful of caramel bits, M&M’s, and pretzel chunks out to push into the top of the cookies once they are formed, but it’s up to you if you want to take this extra step!
Fold the rest of the add-ins into the dough with your spatula. Use a large cookie scoop or 4 tablespoons of dough to form each cookie, placing them on a lined baking sheet with plenty of room for spreading.
I usually only bake 6 cookies at a time on a 9×13-inch cookie sheet. Press those conserved add-ins into the top of each cookie (optional). It’s best to encase the caramel bits in the dough, but you can also press one caramel into the top at the very center of the cookie.
Caramel that is poking out of the bottom or sides of the cookie may melt onto your baking sheet. If this happens, don’t fret! Use a cookie cutter or a spoon to push the melty caramel back into the cookie right when they come out of the oven and are still hot.
Allow them to cool before attempting to pick them up. They need a little time to solidify. If you really wanna dive in while they’re still hot, just use a fork or spoon to eat the cookie!
You can also opt to add a little bit of flaky salt on top of your baked cookies for that salted caramel taste.
How I Store Christmas Cookies with Everything but the Kitchen Sink
I usually only bake a few cookies at a time and freeze the rest of the dough so that I can bake them whenever I want fresh cookies! I simply shape the cookie dough so it’s ready to bake and store it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
You can bake them straight out of the freezer, just add a few minutes to the baking time.
As for leftover baked cookies, it’s best to store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days or in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Pro tip: To keep homemade cookies nice and chewy, you can store a piece of bread with them (perfect use for the end piece!). The bread creates a humid environment and keeps your cookies moist.
Easy Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
- Large Cookie Scoop optional
Ingredients
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter (½ cup butter = 1 stick)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup red and green M&M's
- ½ cup chopped chewy caramels (½ cup = ~15 chewy caramel candies)
- ½ cup chopped pretzels (½ cup = ~20 mini pretzels)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat.
- To a large mixing bowl, add softened butter and brown sugar. Use a hand mixer on high to cream together until light and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).½ cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and use your hand mixer on low to combine.1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix to combine, careful not to overbeat. Use a spatula to scrape any flour off the sides of the bowl and integrate it into your dough.1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Chop your pretzels down the middle, leaving some halves and some smaller chunks. Slice the caramel candies in thirds. Add the pretzel bits, caramels, and M&M's to your dough and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine. I like to keep a small handful of each out to place on top of the cookie dough once it's formed into cookies.1 cup red and green M&M's, ½ cup chopped chewy caramels, ½ cup chopped pretzels
- Use a large cookie scoop or 4 tablespoons of dough to form your cookies, adding them to the prepped baking sheets. Leave at least an inch of space in between each cookie for minor spreading. Push any add-ins you kept aside into the top. Avoid having any caramel bits on the sides or bottom of the cookie dough if possible (on top and enveloped by the dough is best!).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes on the top rack. It's okay if they are slightly underdone. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet so they continue to bake as they cool. If any caramel spills out the sides, use the curved part of a spoon to push the melted caramel back into the edge of the cookies while they are still hot. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Make sure to use plain chewy caramels instead of caramel sauce, caramel hard candies, or cream-filled caramels. If you’re having trouble finding them for baking, you can use individually wrapped chewy caramels (usually the Werther’s brand is widely available in the candy aisle).
- You can freeze excess cookie dough before baking it to give you fresh baked cookies every time when the craving hits! Just bake them as normal straight out of the freezer.
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