Description
Santa’s Trash Cookies are a delightful holiday treat combining sweet and salty flavors with a mix of chocolate, peanut butter, and crunchy snacks. These cookies feature a buttery dough loaded with M&M’s, peanut butter chips, potato chips, and broken pretzels, finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for a perfect balance of textures and tastes.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Mix-ins
- ¾ cup M&M’s
- ½ cup peanut butter chips
- ½ cup potato chips
- ½ cup broken pretzels
Topping
- Flaked sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 365°F (185°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. This step incorporates air for a tender cookie texture.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, blending well after each addition to create a smooth batter.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour to the wet mixture. Mix slowly to avoid overworking the dough and stop mixing when small patches of flour remain, ensuring tender cookies.
- Fold in Mix-ins: Gently fold in the M&M’s, peanut butter chips, potato chips, and broken pretzels to distribute them evenly without breaking them up too much.
- Shape Dough Balls: Using a ¼ cup cookie or ice cream scoop, form large dough balls. Place 6 to 8 on each prepared baking sheet, spacing them apart. Add a few extra M&M’s or mix-ins on top of each ball for visual appeal, then sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake the cookies for 11 to 14 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the centers look slightly glossy and soft. If cookies spread unevenly, use a spatula to nudge the edges into a round shape immediately after removing from the oven.
- Cool and Serve: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy your festive, crunchy, and chewy Santa’s Trash Cookies!
Notes
- Santa’s Trash Cookies are a holiday variation of the classic kitchen sink cookie, incorporating a variety of sweet and salty elements.
- You can customize the mix-ins with whatever chocolate chips, candies, or salty snacks you have on hand.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough once flour is added to keep the cookies tender.
- Flaked sea salt on top enhances the sweet and salty flavor balance.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 269 kcal
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 282 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 44 mg
