Sweet, salty, chewy and ready in less than 20 minutes! These cookies are bursting with toffee, caramel, chocolate and pretzel bits! They’re the ultimate copycat Panera kitchen sink cookie recipe!
Why This Recipe Works
In my opinion, Panera Bread arguably has the BEST cookies… I mean, I’m not wrong, right?! They’re so perfectly chewy and have the BEST chunks of chocolate. And the Panera Kitchen Sink Cookie?! To. Die. For.
A kitchen sink cookie is basically a delicious, chewy cookie PACKED to the brim with mix-ins including:
- milk chocolate chips
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- toffee bits
- pretzel pieces
- caramel bits
Mmmmhmmmmm. Yum, right? I know it can seem tedious to round up all of these mix-ins but, guys? DO IT. Those toffee bits melt so perfectly into the cookie dough and the bursting bits of caramel are straight up heaven! Plus? There is nothing as amazing as that sweet and salt-y combo.
I don’t like to play favorites with recipes but these might be a fave! But I mean, I do also love a good almond flour peanut butter cookie or chewy candy cookie too! Def wouldn’t turn that down!
Ingredients Needed
- Optional: You can totally add flaky sea salt on top, like I like to do!
How To Make This Recipe
First preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with spill mats or parchment paper. (I love using a spill mat, personally. They’re reusable, work better in my opinion and are so affordable! Check them out here.)
In a medium sized bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well and set aside.
Next, you are going to cream together the butter and sugars. This will take 1-2 minutes. Make sure it’s nice and smooth!
Then, add in the eggs and vanilla. Mixing until just combined.
Add the flour mixture and again mix until well combined. The cookie dough will be pretty thick at this point. That’s good!
Now, fold in all of your mix ins: the chocolate chips, toffee, pretzels, and caramel. Get in there and use your hands if need be!
Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop cookies onto the cookie sheet and press down on them gently to flatten. These won’t really spread a bunch so ~1″ apart is fine.
Optional: Top them with a sprinkle and flaky sea salt!
Bake your cookies at 375 for 9 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool entirely- enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
These cookies are PACKED to the brim with mix ins. Essentially, they’ve got “everything but the kitchen sink”!
Absolutely not! I hate recipes that require dough to be chilled… nothing worse than getting SO excited to bake and then… ya gotta wait two hours! These babies are read to bake the minute you’re done mixing the dough!
Adding cornstarch is the best little party trick! It keeps your cookies soft and tender while also adding some height. It also allows your cookies to have a touch of a crisp on the outside, while keeping that center still soft. That is one thing my husband always looks for in a cookie- a little crisp to the bottom!
If you prefer to use shortening in your cookies you totally can. There are some differences between butter and shortening that may affect the texture of your cookies, though. For instance, butter has more water content. So, if you do decide to use shortening you will likely result in a slightly more firm cookie with even more height to them. But, they’ll still turn out if you sub shortening for the butter in this copycat Panera kitchen sink cookies recipe!
This post has some really good info on subbing shortening for butter and vice versa!
You COULD… but I wouldn’t recommend it! The flavor combo of the mix in is AMAZE. However, if you don’t like caramel (sorry but I just can’t relate to that! haha) you could leave those out and add extra toffee or maybe some butterscotch chips. Get creative and make it your own!
Expert Tips
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure your cookies are even sizes. If you don’t have even sized cookies you can have some that will either be over or under cooked- no good! (This is a solid cookie scoop option!)
- Add some extra mix-ins on top so they’re pretty pretty pretty!
- Take your cookies out before they look cooked! My father-in-law has a trick that he says to take them out when “they still look wet”. Let me tell ya, Tom is right!
Other Cookie Recipes You Might Like:
If you love this recipe, be sure to leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below!
Don’t forget to pin it on your Pinterest board for later, or tag me on IG @no.food.rules if you try the recipe and love it!
XOXO
-Colleen
Copycat Panera Kitchen Sink Cookie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup caramel bits
- 1/2 cup crushed pretzels
- 1/2 cup toffee bits
- 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ~1-2 tbsp flaky sea salt
Instructions
- First preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with spill mats or parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well and set aside.
- Next, you are going to cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl using electric beaters or a stand mixer. This will take 1-2 minutes. Make sure it’s nice and smooth!
- Then, add in the eggs and vanilla. Mixing until just combined.
- Add the flour mixture and again mix until well combined. The cookie dough will be pretty thick at this point. That’s good!
- Now, fold in all of your mix ins: the chocolate chips, toffee, pretzels, and caramel. Get in there and use your hands if need be!
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop cookies onto the cookie sheet and press down on them gently to flatten. These won’t really spread a bunch so ~1" apart is fine.
- Top them with a sprinkle and flaky sea salt!
- Bake your cookies at 370 for 9 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool entirely- enjoy!
Notes
May sub whole wheat flour for up to 1/2 of the flour.
Jamie says
Man love these cookies
Katherine says
Brought these into work, everyone loved them! I love all the different textures and flavors packed into one small punch.
Alyssa says
These cookies are amazing!! Make them right now, you will not regret it!!