Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies
Soft, chewy, and loaded with everything but the kitchen sink — marshmallows, pretzels, M&M’s, and chocolate chunks come together in one irresistible holiday cookie.
Introduction
If there’s one cookie that captures the spirit of the holidays, it’s the Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookie. The name says it all: everything goes in — marshmallows, pretzels, M&M’s, and chocolate chunks — creating a sweet-and-salty masterpiece that’s soft, chewy, and utterly addictive. These cookies are the perfect answer to holiday baking fatigue. No delicate decorating, no chilling dough for hours, no fussy techniques. Just dump, scoop, bake, and watch them disappear. Whether you’re baking for a cookie exchange, a Christmas party, or a cozy night by the fire, these cookies deliver maximum festive flavor with minimum effort. The magic lies in the contrast: gooey marshmallows melting into brown-sugar dough, crunchy pretzels cutting through the sweetness, and colorful M&M’s making every bite a little celebration.
History
The “kitchen sink” cookie gets its name from the old idiom “everything but the kitchen sink” — meaning you throw in whatever you have on hand. The concept has roots in Depression-era baking, when home cooks stretched limited ingredients by adding oats, nuts, raisins, and whatever else was in the pantry. Over the decades, the idea evolved into a beloved American comfort cookie, and bakeries like Panera made it famous with their own version.
The Christmas twist came naturally. Holiday kitchens are overflowing with leftover candy, marshmallows from hot cocoa season, and pretzels from party snack bowls. Bakers began combining these festive odds and ends into one glorious cookie, and the Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookie was born. Today, it’s a staple of holiday cookie platters — a deliciously chaotic symbol of the season’s abundance.
Benefits
· Crowd-pleaser: One cookie satisfies every craving — sweet, salty, chewy, and crunchy.
· No chilling required: Unlike many gourmet cookie recipes, this dough goes straight from bowl to oven.
· Flexible: Perfect for using up leftover holiday candy and pantry odds and ends.
· Kid-friendly: Fun to make and even more fun to eat — kids love the colorful mix-ins.
· Gift-worthy: Beautiful on cookie trays and in festive gift bags.
· Texture variety: Each bite offers a different combination of soft, gooey, and crunchy.
· Foolproof: Simple creaming method with no tricky steps — great for beginner bakers.
Ingredients
· 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
· ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· 2 eggs, plus 1 extra yolk
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 3.4 oz box vanilla pudding mix (instant, dry)
· 2½ cups all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon salt
· ¼ cup chocolate chunks
· ¼ cup mini marshmallows
· ¼ cup M&M’s
· ¼ cup pretzels, roughly crushed
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, extra yolk, and vanilla until fully combined and glossy.
- Mix in the pudding. Add the dry vanilla pudding mix and beat until incorporated — this is the secret to an ultra-soft, chewy texture.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Bring it together. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Fold in the mix-ins. Gently stir in the chocolate chunks, marshmallows, M&M’s, and crushed pretzels with a spatula.
- Scoop. Drop rounded tablespoons (or a cookie scoop) of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Method
This recipe uses the classic creaming method: butter and sugars are beaten together first to incorporate air, which gives the cookies lift and a tender crumb. The addition of instant pudding mix is the signature trick — it absorbs moisture and creates that soft, bakery-style chew that stays fresh for days. The extra egg yolk adds richness and fat, keeping the centers gooey. Mix-ins are folded in last so they don’t break apart during mixing, and the slightly underbaked centers are key — they finish setting on the hot baking sheet as the cookies cool.
Formation
The dough should be thick, scoopable, and studded evenly with mix-ins. If it feels too soft, chill for 15–20 minutes. For uniform cookies, use a 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop. For extra festive flair, press a few extra M&M’s and marshmallows onto the tops of the dough balls before baking — this ensures the colorful bits are visible rather than buried inside.
Nutrition (per cookie, approximate — based on 24 cookies)
Nutrient Amount
Calories ~210
Total Fat ~10g
Saturated Fat ~6g
Cholesterol ~40mg
Sodium ~150mg
Total Carbohydrates ~28g
Sugars ~16g
Protein ~2g
Values are estimates and will vary based on exact ingredients and cookie size.
Lovers
These cookies have a devoted fan base for good reason. Chocolate lovers get rich chunks in every bite. Salty-sweet fans adore the pretzel contrast. Kids gravitate toward the colorful M&M’s and gooey marshmallows. Busy bakers love that there’s no chilling or rolling required. Cookie exchange hosts love how they stand out on a platter. And holiday traditionalists love that they taste like Christmas in a single bite. Once you bring these to a gathering, expect the recipe to be requested by name — every single year.
Conclusion
The Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookie is more than a recipe — it’s a celebration of everything the season offers. Sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy, colorful, and completely forgiving, it’s the kind of cookie that brings people together around the kitchen counter. With its soft pudding-enhanced dough, gooey marshmallows, and irresistible pretzel crunch, it earns its place on every holiday cookie tray. So preheat the oven, raid the pantry, and throw in everything but the kitchen sink. These cookies are proof that the best things in life — and in baking — are a little bit of everything, all at once.
Happy baking, and Merry Christmas!