Kitchen Sink Cookies (Panera Copycat)

stack of kitchen sink cookies on a white plate

4.72 from 142 votes

Kitchen Sink Cookies (Panera Copycat)

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!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 9

Total Time 24

Servings cookies

Author Melissa Williams

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