Kitchen Sink Cookies
These salty-sweet, crisp-soft cookies are a great way to use up extra candy, baking chocolate and even pretzels and chips. Making toffee is surprisingly easy and it's fun to mix in chopped peanuts, sesame seeds or whatever you like — but store-bought toffee bits are fine, too. (And you can make the cookies smaller, or drop the chilled dough onto the cookie sheet instead of slicing it, if you prefer.)
- Total:
- Serves: 18 persons
Ingredients
- ¼cup/57 grams unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ½cup/110 grams toasted nuts or seeds (optional)
- 2 ¼cups/280 grams all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon kosher salt, more for tossing
- 1teaspoon baking soda
- ¾cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), slightly softened at room temperature
- 1packed cup/220 grams light or dark brown sugar
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- 1egg, at room temperature
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- About 3/4 cup/170 grams salty mix-ins, such as nuts, broken mini pretzels, corn chips or potato chips
- About 3/4 cup/170 grams sweet mix-ins, such as toffee bits (brickle), chocolate chips or chunks, M&M's, cut-up candy bars or dried fruit
Instructions
Step 1
Make the toffee, if you'd like: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.Step 2
In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let bubble, whisking occasionally, until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.Step 3
Turn off heat and, if using, stir in nuts or seeds. Pour onto the prepared pan and let the mixture run toward the edges. If necessary, use a rubber spatula to spread mixture; it should not be more than 1/4-inch thick. Set aside to harden completely. (If weather is very hot and humid, chill in refrigerator.) Break or chop into small (about 1/2-inch) chunks.Step 4
Make the cookies: In a bowl, whisk dry ingredients together. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together at medium speed until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg, then vanilla. In three batches, add the dry ingredients, mixing to combine each time.Step 5
In a bowl, combine the sweet and salty mix-ins and toss them with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add mix-ins to dough and stir until evenly distributed.Step 6
Roll dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter, wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.Step 7
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.Step 8
Slice the dough log into approximately 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Don’t worry if the slices are slightly broken or misshapen; these cookies should be bumpy and rough.Step 9
Bake until golden, about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. When done, the edges should be just browning and the tops should feel soft. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.