Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies Recipe

The Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies Recipe is your holiday delight! Packed with festive mix-ins, these cookies are a joyful treat.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup red and green M&M's
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup pretzel pieces
• 1/3 cup potato chip pieces
• 2 tbsp red and green jimmies

Instructions

Step 1: Beat the Base Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened salted butter with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar until the mixture is visibly lighter in color and fluffy to the touch. Use an electric mixer on medium speed and stop once the ribbon-like texture forms and the sugar is fully incorporated; you should see tiny air pockets and a satiny sheen on the surface. This is the foundation for a tender cookie, so be patient and scrape the sides once or twice as needed.

Step 2: Add the Essentials

Add the two room-temperature egg yolks and the vanilla bean paste (or extract) and continue mixing until the batter becomes pale, smooth and even more aerated—about another two minutes. The batter should look unified and slightly glossy, with a soft, billowy texture that still holds gentle peaks when lifted with the paddle. At this point the wet base is ready to meet the dry flour mixture and becomes the creamy backbone of your kitchen-sink dough.

Step 3: Combine Dry Ingredients

Spoon in the all-purpose flour plus the baking powder, baking soda, and salt gradually, folding or mixing on low until everything is just incorporated. The dough will transition from a glossy batter to a thicker, slightly tacky cookie dough that still yields to the spatula. You want a cohesive mass without overworking; small streaks of flour should vanish and the surface should show a matte, pliable texture with soft ridges where the spatula passed.

Step 4: Fold in the Festive Add-Ins

Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the red and green M&M’s, white chocolate chips, broken pretzel pieces, potato chip fragments, and holiday jimmies until the colorful mix-ins are evenly distributed. The dough becomes studded with bright pops of candy color, creamy white chips, and irregular crunchy bits that create a high-contrast, multi-textured surface. Take care to keep some mix-ins visible on the surface so every cookie will wear a festive, textured crown when baked.

Step 5: Shape and Bake

Divide the dough into twenty equal portions and roll or scoop into uniform balls, arranging them about two inches apart on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheets. If you like, press a few extra M&M’s or chips gently into the tops so the cookies bake with vibrant faces. Place the tray in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 10–12 minutes until the edges are set, the tops are lightly golden, and characteristic tiny cracks start to appear—knees of shine breaking to reveal a tender, chewy interior.

Step 6: Cool and Perfect

When the cookies come out of the oven, gently run a cookie cutter around each warm cookie to nudge the edges into perfect circles and reveal a clean rim; let them rest on the baking sheet for five minutes to finish setting, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. As they cool the textures settle: glossy pockets dull slightly, chips firm up, and crunchy inclusions contrast with the soft, chewy base. Arrange and serve once fully cool, with a scattering of extra M&Ms, white chips, and broken pretzel pieces for a final festive flourish.

Notes

• Measure flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it with a knife.
• Customize with your favorite mix-ins like nuts or dried fruit.
• Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature to mix together easily.