Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies
If a good chocolate chip cookie is a thing of beauty, then these Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies are gorgeous!
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Like most siblings, my sister and I
fought didn’t see eye-to-eye as kids. Looking back, I have no idea why we fought. She accused me of letting her pet turtle out of his cage. I accused her of going into my room. Sound familiar? Anyone with multiple kids can probably identify with the silly bickering that comes with multiple kids in the house. But we also had many good times together, too. We watched reruns of Saved by the Bell together every single night. We sold lemonade outside of our house together. I even helped her organize her Troll collection one time.
Now that we are older, my sister and I get along great! Gone are the days of Saved by the Bell and Trolls, though. Those have been replaced with phone conversations about raising kids. (It’s funny how life is cyclical, right?) My sister and niece came up to visit over the holidays last year, and we realized our kids are seriously mini versions of us. Her daughter looks and acts like her. My son looks and acts like me. It’s both funny and a bit disconcerting at the same time.
When not talking about the latest escapades of our mini-me’s, my sister and I now bond over food. Remember those Pizzazz Cookies I mentioned above? Yeah, those cookies are insanely delicious! A number of years back, she decided to create the ultimate cookie. She wanted to create that cookie that had everyone craving more. That cookie with crispy edges and a chewy center. That cookie with a delicious combination of salty and sweet. And I must admit that she nailed it. Those cookies are a thing of legend, and I’ve made countless batches over the years.
Well, guess what, sis? I took your cookies and made them better! *boom* *mic drop*
The original recipe called for half butter and half shortening. I’m not a huge fan of baking with shortening. I know it has some desirable properties like extending shelf-life and whatnot, but I’m just not a fan. (It’s the same reason why I use an all-butter pie dough now.) Shortening is great for greasing cake pans, though! So I took my sis’s recipe and changed it to all butter. I mean butter has more flavor anyways. Oh, and I made one other tiny but not so tiny change. Pretzels. I crumbled up several cups of pretzels into the cookies. These Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies are seriously stuffed with everything but the kitchen sink. Although, at one point, I looked over at the kitchen sink and contemplated tossing that one into the dough, too. Hah!
I know chocolate chip cookie recipes are more than plentiful out here on the webs, but these Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies are seriously the end all-be all of cookie recipes. Crispy edges, chewy center. 2 types of chocolate chips. Nuts. Pecans. Oats. Shredded coconut. Pretzels. There are seriously so many things stuffed into these Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies! Honestly, there’s just barely enough cookie dough to hold together all of the other ingredients. Oh, and this recipe makes a lot of cookies. Like 3½ dozen large cookies. My sister and I were both born in Texas, and everything is bigger in Texas. Of course, you could easily cut the recipe in half, too. But I say bake up the whole recipe and then just freeze some of the cookies for later. Or maybe give them to friends. Actually, on second thought, just freeze ’em. You’ll want ’em later. (These cookies freeze beautifully! Laura and I often just pull out 2 cookies for dessert on the weekend.)
I’m sure you have at least one if not several recipes for chocolate chip cookies in your recipe box, but I promise these Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies are worth adding to the list! Bookmark this page. Print it out. Save it however you save it. Then go make a gigantic batch of cookies and share them with no-one. 🙂 Happy baking, my friends!
Also, for the record, I never let Fred the Turtle out of his cage.
Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3.4-oz. package vanilla instant pudding mix
- 1½ tbsp vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
- 8 oz. milk chocolate chips
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 1½ cups pecans chopped
- 1½ cups pretzels crushed
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Using an electric mixer, add butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar; beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Add eggs; beat on low until well combined.
- Add pudding mix and vanilla extract; beat on low until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing after each addition.
- Stir in both types of chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, pretzels and oats.
- Shape dough into 2” balls and place on a parchment-lined sheet pans. Flatten each dough ball slightly with the heel of your hand. (Note: I placed 12 cookies per sheet pan, so I baked these in 2 rounds.)
- Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn golden brown. (Tip: Make sure not to overbake the cookies or else they will be too crispy!)
- Let cookies fully cool before serving.
Haha – I think we’ve all been there arguing or not getting along with our siblings when we were younger. And I completely know what you mean about your sibling thinking one thing that just was not true (like your turtle situation, lol). These days, my brother and I get along great! I think that’s all about growing up, especially when it’s brother and sister. But saying these cookies are better than your sisters, she might not agree with ya…hehehe. I love how you used a whole bunch of ingredients to make one flavour packed cookie. I always have odds and ends floating around in the pantry, little bits of this and little bits of that. Just show happens that I think I have all the ingredients on hand to make these 🙂 Yay me!! Happy Friday to ya!
Yeah, growing up is funny like that. One day, you just realize that your sibling(s) aren’t actually the devil. 🙂 So I recognize that I am throwing down the gauntlet with my sister over her cookies, but I’m doing it! These cookies are freakin’ phenomenal! There’s seriously barely enough cookie dough to hold all of the other stuff together. Hope you had a great weekend, Dawn!
What would we do without siblings to keep us on our toes? I used to offer to sell my sister to anyone willing to pay me a stick of gum and a tootsie roll. These days the price has gone up; if you’re in the market for another sister you could have mine for a batch of these cookies. . .OK maybe not. I like her a little more than when we were 1 and 3 :). But I’m loving the sound of these cookies! The more stuff packed into a cookie the better! Happy weekend, David!
Haha…I love that you would sell your sister for a tootsie roll! I’m not sure I need another sister. And I’m not sure I could part with a batch of these cookies…I mean if you’re ok that some of them have nibbles taken out, then ok we can talk. 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend, Kelsie!
When I was small I would always fight for comics. And it used to be a silly thing like who would read the comics first. Hahaha
BTW David these chocolate chip cookies sound tasty. My daughter’s favorite recipe.
Happy weekend David. 🙂
Yes! I totally remember fighting for the comics, too, Puja. I don’t think my sister even liked comics, but she wanted them just because she knew I wanted them. But now we’re good friends. Funny how that works out, right? 🙂 These cookies are super delicious…give ’em a shot sometime! Thanks so much, and I hope you have a great week ahead, my friend!
I used to kidnap my sister’s dolls and hold them for ransom. With cut out letters and the whole nine yards. She used to spy on me and tell my mom everything I was doing. We get along like besties now. I should bake her a batch of these cookies!
Wow, you were intense, Jeff! Cut out letters and everything? That’s how I like to roll whenever I kidnap someone, too. You should bake your sis a batch of these cookies, but make her pay a ransom fee to get ’em. 🙂
I know all about fighting with siblings. I come from a large family and have a sister that is 2 years younger than me and we fought all the time, now we are the best of friends. Wow! These cookies sound amazing! I love desserts with that combine a variety of ingredients. Delicious!!
It’s funny how you become friends with your siblings over time. When you’re younger, you think you have nothing in common with them. (I swore my sister was adopted.) But then when you get older, you realize how much you actually do have in common. Also, I have to give my sis credit for this recipe…even if I did go and make it better. Haha! 🙂 Thanks, Dawn!
These cookies are seriously delicious, David! No wonder – nuts, oats, coconut, spices…I indeed don’t use shortening in baking either. Only butter. However, I’ve recently read that shortening results in cookies having that amazing texture, both chewy and crispy. I’ll probably try it once to compare. Also, there are so many questions after reading this post. Is your sister a blogger as well? How many people from your family are also food bloggers? When Robbie gets his food blog? Do the different recepe names make the difference? Sink cookies vs Pizzazz cookies – who’s the winner? And finally, who let Fred the Turtle out of his cage? I won’t be able to sleep until I get all the answers 😉
You’re right about shortening, Ben. It does indeed have several desirable properties when it comes to baking. It makes cookies a bit crispier, and it also extends shelf life. (Many bakeries rely on shortening for this reason.) But butter just has so much more flavor! So, yes, my sister is indeed a blogger, too. In fact, she’s the one that encouraged me to start this blog almost 6 years ago…crazy! And I’m not so sure you want Robbie to start a blog. That is, unless you just want recipes for crackers. Haha! 🙂
Aha, the garbage can recipe of the cookie world. At least I think that’s what most pizzerias call their everything topping pizzas. If not, don’t know where I learned that!
But seriously you stuffed so much goodness into these cookies, they are definitely going to earn a spot in the chocolate chip cookie recipe box!\
p.s. Having two older brothers, your description of siblinghood is pretty spot on. Plenty of…disagreements, plenty of memories.
Yes! This is definitely a garbage cookie…but I didn’t think ‘garbage cookie’ sounded that appealing. And I think you’re right about the term garbage coming from pizza shops. There’s a local bakery that makes a garbage bread (think pizza in bread form), and I’ve been tempted to get it…but it’s like a 10 pound loaf of bread. Seriously. If you’re craving a good cookie sometime, then I can 100% say that this one will satisfy your craving. The recipe has a little of everything in there!
I could so go one of these with my morning cup of tea right now!
Yesss…cookies for breakfast! Thanks, Caroline! 🙂
What about “He’s looking at me?” That can start a fight of epic proportions! I’m loving these cookies! They really do have everything in them. The pretzels are my favorite and I’ve never had them in a cookie before. I’ll bet they add the perfect crunch and a little salty to go with that chocolate!
Oh my gosh…I totally remember “He’s looking at me!” And I remember the fights and crying that would come from that. Uhhh…yeah. Then again, my sister once showed me how she could cry on command. That got me in so much trouble when Mom would walk in and she would be crying. Sneaky, sneaky. Anyways, pretzels in cookies. Make it happen, Kathy! They add such a fun texture and flavor to the cookie. 🙂
I love a Kitchen Sink Cookie – when I was a kid my aunt called them “monster cookies” because they were so big. Ours were a bit different than what’s known as a “monster cookie”. But these look and sound great – I always like to make a big batch for this cookie-loving family! And I love your sibling story – my sisters and I were quite competitive growing up but we seem to have calmed down quite a bit since then. Also, I’m totally with you on the shortening vs. butter thing, I’ve gone back and forth, thinking each has its place, but at this point, I’m on the “all butter” train!
Every recipe file needs a good monster cookie or kitchen sink cookie! They’re a bit different from the classic chocolate chip cookie, but I think they are so much better actually! This makes a huge batch, and then I just freeze them for later…we almost always have a bag of these cookies in the freezer. Oh, and as far as shortening, it’s great for greasing pans, but I just shy away from using it in actual recipes. Butter is the way to go, and I’m happy I tweaked my sis’s recipe to come up with this cookie that uses butter as the base in the dough. Enjoy, my friend!
My Mom made cookies like this and OMG I loved them, I think it was the chewy coconut that blew my mind. My sister and I also fighter as kids but now we are besties. Yay to butter! I’m a healthy girl but butter is still on my menu, which is probably why I will never been a size 2. I’ve made cookies with pudding mix and they always come out great.
Yes! The coconut adds a great chewy factor while the edges get nice and crispy. These are seriously my favorite cookie OF ALL TIME! I agree with you about butter, but I prefer baking with butter over shortening any day of the week. Cheers, my friend!
Pinned these David, thanks. I love the fact these make 3 1/2 dozen! That’s the kind of BIG recipe I like for mass catering. Like when I get a request from a whole load of colleagues at work! My brother and I got on pretty well (most of the time) when growing up until I became more interested in girls and he wasn’t at that age (but soon caught up 3 years later when he became that age) ha ha! It’s funny that with both of us being married our tastes are more refined in what we get on about, like a good Malt Whisky! Ha ha!
Haha! You’re right, Neil. This is an insanely huge recipe, but it could easily get cut back. We often pull this recipe out whenever we need to take dessert to a party or when we have friends over. And then we still have some leftover to stash in the freezer for us! I’m picturing you and your brother sitting back debating the merits of a good whisky right now…and I love it! 🙂 Thanks, my friend!
I love chocolate chip cookies. Thanks for this quick and easy recipe.
My pleasure! These are one of my all-time favorite cookies. Thanks, Leo!
wow do these cookies look delicious or what! yum! And I am same as you, I don’t even bake with shortening, just not a fan!
PS: that’s a cute pic of you & your sister David 🙂
Haha…thanks, Manali! I love that pic of my and my sister. And the funny thing is I totally remember when my mom took that photo. I’m pretty sure she was just being cute while I was trying to give my mean Dracula face…did it work?? 🙂 Also, these cookies are totally yum! Thanks!!
These cookies do look like they have a bit of a lot of good stuff! It sounds like a go-to cookie recipe of yours. And I can totally relate to your sibling rivalry talk… I’m 1 of 4, and there was lots of bickering growing up between us! My mom and I were talking the other day about how bad my older brother and I used to fight… like physically fight… I have the scars to prove it to this day! Ha.
Oh my gosh, Nicole…these cookies are my definition of THE perfect cookie. There are so many textures and flavors going on in there, and the result is nothing short of amazing. Give ’em a shot! Oh, and speaking of siblings fighting? Laura totally has scars to prove it, too! I’m pretty sure Robbie is going to be an only child, so we’re safe there…haha. Thanks so much, my friend!
Hahaha! I so love the fact that you think these cookies shouldn’t be shared! Here I was thinking I was one of the few that thought sharing was overrated! These cookies sound so good – especially with 2 types of chocolate chips, nuts, Oats, Shredded coconut AND Pretzels! Loving that cinnamon in these too- I’ve been adding cinnamon to my chocolate pancakes and it seems to really complement chocolate- at least imho.
Not sure how I missed this- am sitting here at the airport cleaning out my inbox when I saw the email with these cookies in it and had to visit- btw there’s a sis and bro sitting two rows down from me who are pelting each other with all sorts of verbal abuse – funny that I am reading about you and your sisters early sibling rivalry right at this moment! Happy Wednesday David!
Hah! Sharing is SO overrated when it comes to cookies. I mean you know me. I’ll all about sharing with most things…but cookies crosses the line. 🙂 And, yes, a pinch of cinnamon in with chocolate is such a tasty combination! Just a pinch though.
Oh, and that bro and sis pelting each other with verbal abuse? That was me and my sis 100% about 28 years ago. Now we’re good friends…most of the time. Haha! Hope the flight went well, Shashi!
I love it that you and your sister both have “mini-me’s”. Fun to think back on younger days and how your relationship has grown and changed….
When it comes to cookies, the more ‘goodies’ the better, so these are really calling my name!
Oh man, it’s so funny to look back at the years and how things have changed…or not changed. When my sis and niece were up visiting over the holidays, we had to stop and laugh at the fact that each of us has a mini-me now. Her daughter acts exactly like her, and my son is a spittin’ image of me. 🙂
Also, cookies = good times. 🙂 Thanks, Marissa!
Your smile is so cheeky in that childhood picture of yours.. I am sure you have teased your sister way more than she did :P. We are three siblings and I can completely relate to these fun quarrelsome moments of yours! But I think these amazing cookies made these moments even more sweeter! I love that you used all butter in your recipe..butter makes everything better! And those add ins make biting in this cookie so much fun! These are truly delicious 🙂
Wait just a moment here, Deepika! Are you taking my sister’s side in this one? Pfff. We used to fight all the time back in the day, but now we just call each other and totally share crazy childhood memories. Fun stuff! Also, these cookies are amazing. Trust me on this one! In fact, I’ll fight you over the last one. Haha! 🙂