✔ Updated · rebuilt copycat card: chocolate, caramel, pretzels + flaky salt
These copycat Panera kitchen sink cookies are big, chewy and loaded with everything: two chocolates, caramel bits and salty crushed pretzels. One batch makes 16 bakery-size cookies, and the flaky salt on top is the bit everyone in my house fights over.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Chill the dough 30 minutes and bake tall mounds at 350°F. Pull the cookies while the centers still look a little soft.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Sweet, salty and crunchy in every bite, from chocolate, caramel and pretzels.
- Bakery-size cookies with golden edges and soft, chewy middles.
- Clean-out-the-pantry friendly, so any leftover chips, candy or nuts can join in.
What Makes These Taste Like Panera's?
Panera's kitchen sink cookie is famous for being huge, with salty-sweet chunks in every bite. This copycat-style recipe gets close with a brown-sugar dough, two kinds of chocolate, chewy caramel bits, crushed salted pretzels and a finish of flaky sea salt.
My test for any copycat is simple: does it taste like the memory, and can you make it reliably at home? Big 1/4-cup scoops, a short chill and pulling the cookies early tick both boxes.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Crush the pretzels roughly. I put them in a zip-top bag and give them a few whacks with a rolling pin. You want pea-size pieces, not dust, so they stay crunchy.
- Chill before baking. All those mix-ins weigh the dough down, and 30 minutes in the fridge keeps the cookies thick instead of spreading into puddles.
- Keep caramel off the pan. Tuck any caramel bits on the outside of the dough balls back in. Exposed caramel melts onto the parchment and burns.
- Salt them hot. Flaky salt sticks best while the tops are still glossy. Lucy has claimed the salt pinching job in our kitchen, and she takes it very seriously.
- Pull them early. Golden edges and soft-looking centers is the moment. They keep cooking on the hot sheet, and an overbaked kitchen sink cookie turns hard once the caramel sets.
Panera Kitchen Sink Cookies (Copycat)
16
large cookies20
minutes14
minutes390
kcal1
hour5
minutesCopycat-style Panera kitchen sink cookies: big brown-sugar cookies with crisp edges and soft centers, packed with semisweet and milk chocolate, caramel bits and crushed pretzels, then finished with flaky sea salt.
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients
280 g all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups, spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- Wet Ingredients
227 g unsalted butter, softened (1 cup / 2 sticks)
200 g light brown sugar, packed (1 cup)
100 g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Mix-Ins and Topping
170 g semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (1 cup)
85 g milk chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
120 g caramel bits (3/4 cup)
1 cup salted mini pretzels, roughly crushed
1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
- Make the Dough
- Whisk the flour, baking soda and fine salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until creamy and lighter in color.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, scraping down the bowl.
- Mix in the flour mixture on low speed just until no dry streaks remain.
- Fold in the semisweet and milk chocolate, caramel bits, crushed pretzels and toffee bits, if using. Cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Bake
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop 1/4-cup mounds of dough, about 70 g each, and set 6 per sheet, 3 inches apart. Keep them tall rather than flattening them.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly soft. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt as soon as they come out.
- Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. The caramel firms up as they cool.
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Mix-In Ideas
Kitchen sink cookies are made for using up the pantry. Keep the total mix-ins to about 3 1/2 cups so the dough still holds together.
- Nutty: swap the toffee for 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans.
- Salty crunch: add 1/2 cup lightly crushed potato chips with the pretzels.
- Coconut: fold in 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut.
- Candy drawer: chopped candy bars, M&Ms or butterscotch chips all work.
- Fruity: 1/2 cup dried cranberries cut through the sweetness nicely.
Storing and Freezing
Cool the cookies completely, then keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. A slice of bread in the container keeps them soft.
Freeze baked cookies in a freezer bag for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature, or warm them for 5 minutes in a 300°F oven. Frozen dough balls bake straight from the freezer at 350°F with 2 to 3 extra minutes.
More Cookies to Bake
- Our soft McDonald's chocolate chip cookies copycat.
- Buttery white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.
- Chewy peanut butter cornflake cookies.
- Fudgy buckeye brownie cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories are in a Panera kitchen sink cookie?
Nutrition trackers that cite Panera list its Kitchen Sink Cookie at about 800 calories, since it's a very large cookie. Check Panera's own nutrition info for the current figure. One of these homemade copycat cookies, made 16 to a batch, is about 390 calories.
Does the Panera kitchen sink cookie have nuts?
Panera's version is described as chocolate, caramel and pretzels with sea salt, with no nuts listed as an ingredient. Bakeries handle nuts, though, so anyone with an allergy should check Panera's current allergen guide. My copycat is nut-free unless you add them.
What is in a kitchen sink cookie?
A kitchen sink cookie is a brown-sugar cookie dough loaded with a bit of everything, as in everything but the kitchen sink. This copycat uses semisweet and milk chocolate, caramel bits, crushed pretzels and optional toffee, with flaky salt on top.
Can I add other mix-ins?
Yes, that's the whole point. Keep the total mix-ins to about 3 1/2 cups. Chopped walnuts or pecans, shredded coconut, potato chips, butterscotch chips, M&Ms or dried cranberries all work.
How do I store and freeze these cookies?
Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, or freeze scooped dough balls and bake from frozen at 350°F, adding 2 to 3 minutes.
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