Learn how to make classic everything but the kitchen sink cookies even better with a seasonal twist of pumpkin. My easy pumpkin kitchen sink cookies are soft and chewy, loaded with cozy flavors, and come together in under 30 minutes. Since I know I have your attention now, let's get into the details!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my Pumpkin Cake Donuts with Cream Cheese Frosting!
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What are Kitchen Sink Cookies?
Kitchen sink cookies are short for "everything but the kitchen sink" cookies because they contain eclectic mix-ins that you might not otherwise combine but work so well. They have layers of flavors and unique texture and Panera's kitchen sink cookies have become extremely popular, but I think mine are even better! These kitchen sink pumpkin cookies are perfectly seasonal and it's hard to eat just one.
What do these Cookies Taste Like?
This kitchen sink cookie with pumpkin, pretzels, caramel, and more is perfectly balanced. You'll taste sweet, rich and buttery notes along with salty, chocolatey and bitter flavor moments. Texture-wise, you'll get pops of crunch and creaminess.
And I know that the pumpkin versus sweet potato rivalry is real. If you're team sweet potato, try my Sweet Potato Bars with Salted Caramel Swirls!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Here's what to add to your grocery list to make the recipe as-is. If you need more inspiration, keep scrolling for other items you might want to incorporate.
Pumpkin Puree provides orange color and mellow, earthy flavor in our pumpkin cookie dough base for all the mix-ins. Be sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling as the latter has extra ingredients we don't need here.
Caramel Bits for rich, buttery sweetness. You can also use caramel chips or cut up caramel candies and get the same flavor.
Dark Chocolate - I cut up an 85% cacao bar but you can use chips or chunks from the baking aisle. The bitterness helps balance out the sweet ingredients in this pumpkin pretzel cookie dough for a beautifully balanced cookie.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Mix-ins - Make this recipe your own with more kitchen sink cookie mix-in ideas like butterscotch, toffee, oatmeal, potato chips, mini peanut butter cups, or coconut flakes.
Chocolate - I love dark chocolate in this recipe for both the taste and the fact that the black and orange color combination makes these great Halloween cookies but you can change it up to make milk chocolate or white chocolate pumpkin cookies instead.
How to Make
Step One: Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix to coat the chocolate, nuts, pretzels, and caramel bits in flour.
Step Two: Cream the wet ingredients then stir into the dry mixture until just combined.
Step Three: Use a dinner spoon or cookie scoop to scoop out the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Step Four: Bake the cookies until golden brown and the caramel and chocolate are gooey.
Pro Tip: Because of the chunky mix-ins in this cookie dough, it won't be as easy to scoop evenly with a cookie scoop so I recommend using a large dinner spoon, if you have one.
Step Five: For an optional extra touch, press a pretzel into the middle of some cookies while still warm.
Check out my soft and chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Chai Spices next!
Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to get creative and customize this soft pumpkin cookie recipe to your taste. In total, you'll want to incorporate 3 cups of mix-ins, no matter which ones you choose.
Nope! This is a quick pumpkin cookie recipe that requires no chilling or freezing of the dough. Scoop it straight onto the cookie sheet and the cookies will not spread much.
More Favorite Fall Baking Recipes
I hope you'll enjoy a batch of the best pumpkin cookies for fall soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this chocolate caramel pretzel pumpkin cookie recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Kitchen Sink Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Mixer hand or stand mixer
- 1 dinner spoon
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup caramel bits
- ¾ cup dark chocolate bits, chips, or pieces
- ¾ cup pretzel pieces
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- extra pretzels optional decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Beat butter, brown sugar, egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract together.
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and sea salt then stir in mix-ins (caramel bits, chocolate pieces, pretzels, and walnuts).
- Combine wet and dry mixtures by hand and stir until dough forms and no dry pockets remain. Dough will be sticky.
- Using a dinner spoon, scoop out dough in rounded drops (about 2-2 ½ inches in diameter) onto lined cookie sheet. Cookies will not spread much but some of the chocolate and caramel will drip so leave about two inches space between each. If desired, press one pretzel into the tops of some or each of the cookies for a decorative touch.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until tops cookies are firm with a slight bounce when pressed gently. Bottoms will brown. As ovens vary, I recommend you start checking cookies for doneness around 15 minutes. Makes about 20 cookies.
Christy Hoover says
I added chopped pecans to this recipe. It was a great addition! Another recipe to add to the fall lineup.
Tamara says
These cookies were super simple, and absolutely delicious! The pretzel was our favorite part!
Mila says
They were so good! I was looking for a good pumpkin cookie recipe that I could sink my teeth into. These are perfect for the cozy weather!
Taneisha Morris says
These were absolutely perfect! It was a great balance of sweet and salt....crunchy and chewy, just as the recipe states! Will definitely make again!
Chenée Lewis says
These cookies were just the chunky fall goodness I needed this weekend! I used pecans instead of walnuts because I always have pecans lying around, and they were amazing! Salty, sweet, and crunchy!
Marta says
The name needs to be changed because NOTHING this good has ever come out of my kitchen sink. Between the sweetness of the pumpkin and the saltiness of the pretzels it was the perfect bitesssss.
Barry J. says
I made these this weekend and I'm so glad I did. They were really easy to make (literally fail proof) and I have enough to snack on throughout the week.
Britney says
These are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made! They were so simple to make and super delicious, loving the addition of the pumpkin too! So yum!
Lauren says
I love this recipe! Such a unique idea. I was recently gifted some late harvest pumpkins by a neighbour and will be roasting/pureeing them soon. I'm excited to give these cookies a go!
Robin says
This has become my new go to cookie for Fall. Simply irresistible!
Immaculate Ruému says
This is an ultimate version of kitchen sink cookies. The mix of sweet and saltiness is perfect. I loved making it and enjoyed every chewy delicious bite!
Jessica says
This recipe has the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor. Also love the versatility for mixins and how easy it is to try different combinations! I don't love potato chips in kitchen sink cookies so the pretzels for saltiness are just perfect.
Samiah Nicole says
These cookies were such a unique concept for me and I’m glad I found this recipe! They have such great texture and the fact that they’re pumpkin makes them a perfect snack option for this fall! So good!
Krysten says
Kitchen Sink Cookies are my favorite, but we've never had a pumpkin version until now! So delicious! Especially love the use of the dark chocolate pieces. We used real pumpkin puree instead of store bought, not sure if it makes a difference but it turned out great!
Whitney says
Do you have the nutritional facts? I love PUMPKIN!
Jazz says
Hi, Whitney! I've updated the recipe card with the nutrition information.
Tope says
These were soooo good! I'm typically not a fan of pumpkin but the flavor went along perfectly in these cookies. I can't wait to make more!