Filled with chocolate, caramel, and crushed pretzels, these Kitchen Sink Cookies are a Panera Bread copycat and the perfect blend of salty and sweet. One of these jumbo cookies is plenty to share, but you probably won’t want to!
Panera’s Kitchen Sink Cookies
You know I’m a big cookie lover. BIG fan. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Double Chocolate Cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies…I like them all. But I was missing a recipe.
One of my favorite places to get lunch on-the-go is Panera Bread. I usually get a Greek salad…and follow it with one of their massive Kitchen Sink Cookies.
For years I’ve been meaning to make a copycat version of that cookie for my arsenal and I finally did it. And guys? It’s good. REALLY good.
It’s the perfect blend of salt, caramel, and chocolaty goodness.
Why you’ll love these cookies
- One bowl
- No mixer
- No waiting for the butter to soften
- No chilling of the cookie dough
- Full of chocolate, caramel, and pretzels
Why are they called Kitchen Sink Cookies?
Because they have “everything but the kitchen sink in them”! Panera’s version has milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, caramel pieces, pretzels, and topped with salt.
You can really grab anything from the pantry to balance salty & sweet. I like to sub out the caramel for Heath pieces sometimes. And I use chopped dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate chips.
Below is an overview of the key ingredients, some helpful tips, and possible substitutions. Scroll down for the full recipe card with instructions.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- BUTTER – I use salted butter because I prefer a sharp salt to sweet contrast. You can use unsalted.
- SUGAR – Light brown sugar to make the cookies nice and chewy with a deep caramel flavor.
- EGGS – You’ll use one whole egg and one egg yolk. The additional egg yolk also adds to the chewiness of these cookies.
- VANILLA EXTRACT – Vanilla extract enhances the flavor of the cookies. Try to use real vanilla extract instead of imitation. I know it is pricey but I buy it in bulk at Sam’s or Costco or you can make your own.
- BAKING SODA – Baking soda adds rise to the cookies.
- FLOUR – I’ve only tested this recipe with all-purpose white flour.
- DARK CHOCOLATE – You can use a chocolate chip, but I recommend chopping your own chocolate. It distributes the flavor much better throughout the cookie. I buy a Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Bar, which is scored into 1 oz squares that make it easy to portion.
- CARAMELS – I used Werther’s Chewy Caramels and chopped them up into small bits (Kraft makes a soft caramel as well). It is honestly the most time consuming part of this recipe. You can also use Caramel Bits but I don’t find them to melt as well. Alternatively, you can skip the caramel and add toffee bits (Heath) for another great flavor. I actually prefer that option, but Panera uses caramel in their cookie.
- PRETZELS – I crushed up Pretzel Snaps. If you like more texture in your cookie, just break the pretzels into pieces (putting them into a ziplock baggie and crushing with a rolling pin would work well). I like a finer crumb so I chopped mine in my veggie chopper. I use that thing for everything!
- SEA SALT – A light sprinkle of sea salt on the top of the cookies is a great balance of salt to sweet. A little bit goes a long way.
Helpful Tools
- Baking Sheets – I like a baking sheet with a lip on it so the dough balls don’t roll off.
- Silicone Mats – Because we’re dealing with sticky caramel and melty chocolate, you’ll want an easy cleanup. Silicone mats or parchment paper help cookies to bake evenly and protects your baking sheets.
- Cookie Scoop – This is a medium cookie scoop (1.5 Tb). You’ll use one scoop for “regular” sized cookies or two scoops for jumbo cookies.
- Veggie Chopper – This thing isn’t just for veggies! I used it to easily crush the pretzels for these cookies.
How to make Kitchen Sink Cookies
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
JumpThis copycat Panera Everything But the Kitchen Sink cookies recipe is really easy. You don’t need to wait for butter to soften, you don’t need to chill the dough, and you don’t even need to get out the mixer.
- STEP ONE: In a medium microwave safe bowl, add the cubed butter and brown sugar. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until fully combined. Let stand for about 5 minutes to cool down.
- STEP TWO: While the butter is cooling, I like to chop up the caramel, pretzels, and chocolate.
- STEP THREE: Once the butter mixture has slightly cooled, stir in one egg, one egg yolk, and the vanilla until fully combined. Add in the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, salt – and stir until fully combined.
- STEP FOUR: Add in the chopped chocolate, chopped caramels, and crushed pretzels and stir until evenly distributed.
- STEP FIVE: To make jumbo cookies, scoop approximately 3 Tablespoons of dough into a ball and place on silicone or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Four will fit per sheet. Sprinkle with flake salt and bake for 9 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are set. Remove from oven and let fully cool on the pan.
To make regular size cookies, scoop approximately 1.5 Tablespoons of dough into a ball and place on a silicone or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Twelve will fit per sheet. Sprinkle with flake salt and bake for 8 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are set. Remove from oven and let fully cool on the pan.
How many calories in a Panera Kitchen Sink Cookie?
According to Panera’s nutrition info, their Kitchen Sink cookie has 800 calories in it. That is….a lot. They are huge and intended for sharing, but according to my calculator, my jumbo version, as written below, comes in at 481 calories.
How to store them
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can you freeze them?
Yes, this dough freezes beautifully.
To freeze dough, prepare as directed, and place on a baking sheet. Wrap baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until frozen through (I usually let them freeze overnight). Once fully frozen, move the dough balls to freezer bags. They will keep well for up to 3 months frozen. To bake from frozen, add an additional minute to bake time.
Need more cookie recipes? Try these:
Sriracha Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies
Amish Sugar Cookies
Fudge Marble Cake Mix Cookies
Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Click here for my entire collection of cookie recipes.
Kitchen Sink Cookies (Panera Copycat)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter cubed
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces dark chocolate chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup Werther's original chewy caramels chopped into small pieces
- ¾ cup crushed pretzels
- sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl, add the cubed butter and brown sugar. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat until fully combined. Let sit for approximately 5 minutes to cool.¾ cup unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- While you're waiting for the mixture to cool, chop the caramels, pretzels, and chocolate.
- Once the butter mixture has slightly cooled, stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to fully combine – no streaks of flour should be visible. It is a dense dough.2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Pour in the chopped chocolate, chopped caramels, and crushed pretzels and stir to evenly distribute.6 ounces dark chocolate, ½ cup Werther's original chewy caramels, ¾ cup crushed pretzels
- To make jumbo cookies, scoop 3 Tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, place on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt – 4 cookies per baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes or until edges are browned and centers are set. Remove from oven and let fully cool on the pan.sea salt
- To make regular sized cookies, use a medium (1.5 Tb) cookie scoop, roll into a ball, place on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt – 12 cookies per baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are browned and centers are set. Remove from oven and let fully cool on the pan.
Notes
- I use a Trader Joe’s 72% Pound chocolate bar to chop up. Chocolate chips can also be used.
- I used Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels and chopped them up. Kraft also makes a chewy caramel. Caramel Bits can also be used but they don’t melt as nicely.
- Instead of caramels, you can also use toffee bits (Heath).
- This recipe will make 12 jumbo cookies (3 Tb of dough) or 24 regular sized cookies (1.5 Tb of dough).
- Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
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If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
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How am I not supposed to eat all these in one sitting?! These cookies are so easy to make. I love that you don’t have to refrigerate or even use a mixer. I made the jumbo size and they are 100% delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Julie! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
These were worth the little bit of extra work in chopping! They are dangerously delicious!
The chopping is the hardest part! Thanks 🙂
Love the flavor! I wish the cookies (1.5T) didn’t come out quite so flat. The bigger ones (3T) were really spot. I used caramel morsels and tempted to add peanuts next time!
Chilling would help with flatness…but I am impatient lol
The change in butter totally made the difference! And I agree, waiting for dough to chill is not in my skill set.
P.S. I added peanuts and it tastes like a candy bar!
Ridiculously good. The kids love them too. Chocolate, caramel and crunch. Yum!
And I reduced the butter by 4 Tbsp. Beautiful cookies.
Yay ❤️ I adjusted the recipe card to show 4Tb less than originally written.
I initially had trouble finding the chewy Werther’s caramels so at Melissa’s suggestion I got some Heath bars. I found the caramels yesterday and decided to use caramels in half the batch and the chopped Heath bars in the other half of the batch. I loved the caramel ones along with my daughter and my son and husband loved the Heath bar variations more. I tried them before they were completely cool and was initially like these are ok but once they were totally cooled down and all the flavors commingled together better, they were definitely a fantastic cookie. I used Maldon salt flakes on the top before baking because I like how they set on cookies better. I’ve never had the Panera one, but not sure I need to! I might add more pretzels next time or just put a couple pieces on the top before baking but otherwise thought they were some tasty cookies and definitely worth making!
Thanks! We’re still divided on our favorite version over here 🙂
These cookies were amazing! I have made them twice now. I sampled around a little bit by adding some corn starch just a teaspoon just to see how long they would stay soft. They did stay soft for days. I did notice mine were a little bit greasy on the bottom, could be the brand of butter but certainly did not mess up the taste. I just made them tonight for the second time I put 20 g additional flour and so far they don’t seem to be as greasy but they taste amazing. I will be making them again and again I’m certain of that. thanks for sharing your recipe, , this is a keeper.
Thanks so much for the feedback! So, I don’t know the time between you making the batches but when I first published the recipe, it called for more butter. After making it a few more times, I scaled back the butter by 4TB because I found them a bit greasy too & they have been much better. Thank you again & I’m so glad you like them =)
The texture of your cookie looks so divine. Could I leave out the caramels and pretzels or would it change the texture?
It would change the texture but I think they’ll still be good 🙂
These are amazing. I had them at Oanera and became obsessed with making them myself. My cookies are always flat. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t throw away my chocolate chip cookies. So I added a quarter cup more flower and 2t cornstarch to this recipe and they’re beautiful. I also added milk chocolate chips. So good!
That makes me happy. Thanks for reporting back!
I have made these cookies twice now. Both times I did both the smaller size and larger size.. However, neither size spread at all, they stayed in the same ball shape that I put them in… I followed the recipe exactly so I am confused where I went wrong
That is strange. It is hard to troubleshoot without being in the kitchen with you. Did you use butter? Did you line your pan with parchment or a mat or directly on the pan?
Same thing happened to us- cookies didn’t spread out much. We used butter and parchment as directed… ?
I’m wondering if you measured the flour correctly? I’ve tested these so many times & they turn out perfectly (there are videos of me making them on my IG/TikTok so you can see the consistency).
I was a baker at Panera for quite awhile and I have to say these are pretty spot on for Paneras version. The only tiny difference I do is use flaked sea salt instead of normal sea salt. Chopping the chocolate is definitely the way to go, along with using soft caramels. It’s totally worth it to make these instead of spending the $5 on it at panera. Good job!
Yay! I love hearing that, thank you for letting me know!
These were good but not great. They were a little dry. We tried to follow the recipe exactly but may have missed it somewhere. Great flavor though
“Original” being whose? Panera’s doesn’t have nuts or Heath.
Sooo good! — with dark OR semi-sweet chocolate chips. And I got lazy and kept the caramel whole, in the center of the ball of dough, and it came out great! Thanks for the recipe.
I love that caramel idea. Thanks for reporting back!
Is 3/4 cup butter the new and improved amount of butter to use? I see comments to reduce butter by 4TBSP
Yes, recipe card has been adjusted.
Can’t wait to make them!
Do I use hard crunchy werthers candies or soft caramel chewy wethers Candy?
soft & chewy is what I used 🙂
Very good cookie. The recipe did not say to press down or flatten cookie dough , then sprinkle with salt. My first pan looked like muffins. Lol, Still very tasty. I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate premium baking bar.
Lol glad you like them! I never press mine down & they flatten 🙂
Made them once using toffee chip. Delicious, but I did not know there was such a thing as soft Werthers, I was dreading chopping werthers hard candy. Now I know better. Using a scissors I cut up the soft candies and tossed with a little flour to keep from sticking together in a big blob. Just a FYI. Thought I would do that step a day ahead. Can’t wait for the second batch.
Good idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I use milk chocolate in my cookies.
Omg I love these from Panera. Can’t wait to make these myself. Thank you ☺️
I have never tried Paners Breads version. I would always use dark chiocolate and Heath Bits. Will be mnaking a batch this afternoon
I hope you like them!