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Picture a giant, vanilla and brown sugar cookie base stuffed with all of your chocolatey, salty, crunchy favorites AND a gooey caramel core. These Caramel Kitchen Sink Cookies are everything you could ever want from a cookie.
Caramel Kitchen Sink Cookie Recipe
These cookies are the epitome of customizable! Swap any of the mix-ins for the mix-in of your choice to create a cookie you love. The base for this cookie is brown sugar and vanilla forward baked big and ooey-gooey. It is of course stuffed with lots of types of chocolate (my preference), some toffee, and some salty/crunchy bits in the form of pretzels and potato chips. But what really sets these over the edge is the melty soft caramels you’ll find in the center of the cookie. In a word: remarkable. You are going to absolutely fall in love with these cookies. And if you don’t? Well, that’s kind of your fault because you’re in charge of the mix-ins, remember?
Oh, and if hot fudge is more your speed, I also have a kitchen sink-esque cookie that is filled with hot fudge instead of caramel. Find them here: Fudge Trash Cookies.
Ingredients
*You can find instructions and exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Salted butter, softened – I always use salted butter, but you can sub in unsalted butter if you’d like! I just recommend adding an extra pinch of salt to the dough if you make the swap.
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract – This gives the base cookie such a yummy, rich flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Crushed pretzels – I use the small regular pretzels and just top them into my mixer and let it break them up!
- Thick ripple potato chips – The extra saltiness and crunch from these chips really make the cookie.
- Mini chocolate chips – You can swap these for mini m&m’s if you want to.
- Toffee pieces – I used the chocolate toffee pieces, but there’s plenty of chocolate in these cookies so you can totally do plain, too.
- Chopped milk chocolate – Use whatever type of chocolate bar here that you’d like!
- Soft Werther’s Caramels – Unwrap and place these in the middle of the cookie and it tastes UNREAL.
How to Make Kitchen Sink Cookies (+ a Caramel Center!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a bowl, add all your mix-ins and toss together. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture. You will want to mix for about 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.
- Next, add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Add your mix-ins and mix on low until evenly distributed.
- Portion out your dough using a #12 scoop.
- Create a crater in the center of each dough ball and place 2 unwrapped soft caramels inside the dough. Form the dough around the caramels, sealing them in. Stud the tops with a few extra pretzel and chip pieces for more texture and visual appeal.
- Arrange 6 dough balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes or until the tops no longer look glossy and start to brown slightly.
- Once removed from the oven, allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How should I store these cookies?
Once cooled, store your cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3-5 days!
Can I freeze these cookies?
Yes! You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months! I recommend placing all of your cooled cookies onto a cookie sheet. Place the entire cookie sheet into the freezer and ‘flash freeze’ until they start to harden slightly. Move the cookies to a ziptop bag or airtight container, with parchment between layers of cookies and freeze.
Karli’s Kitchen Faves
Here are a few of my favorite kitchen tools that I used to make this recipe!
- Kitchenaid Mixer – I really love this thing. It’s not necessary for making good cookies, but I love the size of the bowl and the power. A Hand Mixer is also an excellent option for when you don’t want to mix things by hand.
- Cookie Sheet – These cookie sheets have put in WORK in my kitchen. If you’re looking for a brand that will stand the test of time (and cookies), this is my recommendation.
- Silicone baking mat – I love using this or parchment paper to line my cookie sheets to make it easy-peasy to get cookies off of the pan without sticking.
- Cookie scoop set – These are sturdy and won’t break when it, you know, scoops dough. I love these for making pretty + even cookies! I used a #12 scoop for these cookies.
- Spatula – I love these silicone spatulas for scraping down the sides of the mixer.
- Bowl – I love how giant these are! They’re perfect for mixing up the mix-ins before adding to the dough.
Sweet + Salty Faves
Caramel Kitchen Sink Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (222g) salted butter, softened
- 1 cup (246g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (342g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (45g) crushed pretzels
- 3/4 cup (30g) thick ripple potato chips
- 3/4 cup (150g) mini chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup (132g) toffee pieces
- 3/4 cup (150g) chopped milk chocolate
- 30 soft Werther’s Caramels
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a bowl, add all your mix-ins and toss together. Set aside.3/4 cup (45g) crushed pretzels, 3/4 cup (30g) thick ripple potato chips, 3/4 cup (150g) mini chocolate chips, 3/4 cup (132g) toffee pieces, 3/4 cup (150g) chopped milk chocolate
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture. You will want to mix for about 2 minutes.1 cup (222g) salted butter, softened, 1 cup (246g) brown sugar, 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Next, add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.2 1/4 cups (342g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- Add your mix-ins and mix on low until evenly distributed.
- Portion out your dough using a #12 scoop.
- Create a crater in the center of each dough ball and place 2 unwrapped soft caramels inside the dough. Form the dough around the caramels, sealing them in. Stud the tops with a few extra pretzel and chip pieces for more texture and visual appeal.30 soft Werther’s Caramels
- Arrange 6 dough balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes or until the tops no longer look glossy and start to brown slightly.
- Once removed from the oven, allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What kind of milk chocolate did you use? And if it’s a bar could milk chocolate chips be used instead?
You can definitely use chocolate chips instead.