Santa’s Trash Cookies: Kitchen Sink Cookies For Christmas

If you’re looking for an indulgent Christmas cookie recipe and want to clean out your cupboards at the same time, look no further than Santa’s trash cookies.

A sweet and salty lovers dream, these holiday cookies are packed with M&Ms, crunchy pretzels, potato chips, and creamy white chocolate chips. Get ready to bake a festive treat that’s as over-the-top as the holiday season itself!

What’s The Differences Between Santa’s Trash Cookies & Kitchen Sink Cookies?

First of all, you may be wondering what is a kitchen sink cookie? Well, kitchen sink cookies are made with anything and everything you’ve got in your pantry.

Chocolate chips, marshmallows, nuts, dried fruit, potato chips, the last of the 4th of July sprinkles, half a stale cookie and an old broken candle…. you name it, everything but the kitchen sink! (Well maybe not the last one or two, depending on how fussy you are…)

Santa’s trash cookies aren’t really that different, but the add-ins are themed for Christmas. So red and green M&Ms, holiday sprinkles, crushed candy canes, other seasonal candies and so on. Plus chocolate chips and pretzels.

So Santa’s trash can cookies are made with the same concept in mind – to add a lot of whatever sweet and salty treats you have available.

You can also call these trash cookies Santa’s kitchen sink cookies or Christmas kitchen sink cookies. Or even Santa garbage cookies!

Why Christmas Trash Cookies Are The Best

When it comes to Christmas and kids, we love EASY! Hence these 4-ingredient Christmas crinkle cookies, these simple Chocolate Snowball Cookies and this decadent Chocolate Peppermint Bark.

Santa’s trash cookies do have a few more ingredients than some of those recipes above, but still make the easy list. Here are some other reasons we love this simple trash cookie:

Fun To Make With Kids – they can pick and choose their favorite add-ins

Clean out your cupboards – this recipe is a great way to use up half packets of candy bars and other treat

Endlessly versatile – most things will work in this easy cookie recipe. They’re not called trash cookies for nothing!

For more festive treats, try:

• Peppermint Hot Chocolate With Candy Cane Stirrers
• Easy Christmas Cannoli’s
• Mini Peppermint Candy Cane Cheesecakes
• Holiday Oreo Cookies

Ingredients For Santa’s Trash Cookies

Base cookie dough

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Add-ins – Santa’s trash!

• 1/2 cup red and green M&Ms
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup pretzel pieces
• 1/2 cup potato chip pieces
• 2 tbsp. red & green sprinkles

What Else Can I Add To Santa’s Trash Cookies?

There are endless options for making Christmas-themed kitchen sink cookies:

Sweet add-ins:

• mini marshmallows
• peanut butter chips
• toffee pieces
• crushed peppermint candies
• Reece’s pieces
• butterscotch chips
• peanut butter cups
• dark or semi-sweet/milk chocolate chips
• cranberries, cherries, raisins or other dried fruit

Savory add-ins:

• sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• shredded coconut
• chopped cashews, almonds, hazelnuts or other nuts

Or add flavor to the cookie dough with some peanut butter or spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg or a pinch of ginger would be lovely for Christmas.

Additional Toppings:

• Once you’ve rolled into balls, add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt or chopped nuts.
• You could also drizzle the baked Santa trash cookies with melted chocolate. Yum!

Here are some specific flavor combinations to try:

Nutty chocolate trash cookies: chopped pecans, caramel bits with dark chocolate chips and pretzels.

Peppermint Santa trash cookies: crushed candy canes, white and dark chocolate chips with a splash of peppermint extract in the dough.

Fruity Christmas kitchen sink cookies: dried cranberries, apricots, chopped cashews and white choc chips.

How To Make These Cookies Vegan Or Gluten-free

For vegan Santa trash can cookies

• replace the butter with vegan butter or coconut oil
• make a flax or chia egg to replace the egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal or 1 tablespoon chia seeds + 2.5 tablespoons water = 1 egg)
• use dairy-free chocolate chips

Gluten-free kitchen sink cookies

Use gluten-free flour and gluten-free pretzels and ensure other mix-ins are gluten-free.

The Step-by-Step For Christmas Trash Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350F/175C and line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Prepping the cookie dough

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugars, until light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla extract and egg, until combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together the all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, slowly, folding the mixture together until just combined. Don’t overmix.

Add Santa’s Christmas trash!

Fold in the M&Ms, white chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, potato chips, and sprinkles. Or your other trash can add-ins of choice.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop the Christmas trash cookie dough into evenly-sized balls. Pack the dough tightly or roll together in your hands using a firm pressure. This helps prevent too much spread.

Place the trash cookies on the prepared cookie/baking sheet 2-3 inches apart.

Bake the cookies

Bake for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to turn golden brown.

Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack and allow the kitchen sink cookies to cool completely.

Now it’s time to enjoy!

Storing Santa Trash Cookies

For short-term storage

• Store the cooled Santa kitchen sink cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week in an airtight container
• To prevent sticking, place parchment or wax paper between the layers
• To re-crisp softened cookies, heat at 300°F (150°C) for a few minutes

Long-term storage

• Cool cookies completely before layering in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper in between each layer
• These kitchen sink Christmas cookies with potato chips will freeze for up to 3 months
• To thaw them place on your countertop at room temperature and crisp up in the oven if desired

How to freeze the cookie dough

• Place the cookie dough balls on to a lined baking sheet and place in freezer. Once frozen, place in a freezer-safe bag or container
• Thaw to fridge temperature and bake as per directions or bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time

Tips For The Best Santa Trash Cookies

1. Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature before creaming together. This ensure an even texture cookie dough.
2. Don’t overmix the dough. Stop mixing when just combined to avoid tough cookies.
3. Make sure your cookies are an even size to ensure consistent baking. Use a cookie scoop or ice-cream scoop as directed. Alternatively, weigh each cookie dough ball.
4. Get creative. The best Santa kitchen sink cookies are exactly how you want them to be – make them your own and create your own unique flavor combinations with the “trash” you like or whatever’s lurking in the back of your pantry.

For more festive recipe inspiration check these out:

• 21+ Best Easy SOFT Christmas Cookies
• 19 Fun Christmas Party Drinks For Kids
• 41+ Easy Mason Jar Christmas Recipes
• 50 Easy Kids Christmas Treats For School
• 45 Easy Party Food Ideas For Kids
• 10 Easy Crockpot Christmas Candy Recipes

Santa Trash Cookies FAQs

What makes these cookies festive?

The classic Christmas colors of red and green of the M&Ms and sprinkles make this Santa trash cookies really look the part for any festive occasion. You could add any other holiday sprinkles as well as some crushed candy canes to add even more of a festive vibe.

Can I freeze the cookie dough?

Yes, you can freeze the dough when making Santa trash cookies. Once you’ve rolled the dough into balls, place them on a lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag.

The frozen cookie dough will last up to 3 months. Allow the dough to thaw to fridge temperature or bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.

Do I have to chill the cookie dough?

This Santa trash cookie recipe does not call for chilling the dough. Chilling is often a requirement when making cookies if the dough is very soft. Chilling makes the dough easier to manage and work with.

Chilling also prevents the dough from spreading excessively when baking, which is necessary with soft cookie doughs.

However, the consistency of this Santa trash cookie dough should be workable without chilling and it doesn’t spread too much either.

However, if your ambient temperature is particularly warm and the dough is too soft, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes before shaping into balls.

How to keep pretzels crunchy in Santa trash cookies?

The best way to keep pretzels crunchy is to use large-ish pieces, so ensure you don’t break them too small.

Why do my chocolate chips sink?

If your cookie dough is particularly soft, the chocolate chips and other add-ins may sink to the bottom. It can help to chill the dough first.

Have Fun With Santa’s Kitchen Sink Cookies!

These Santa trash cookies with potato chips and pretzels combined with choc chips and M&Ms are the perfect balance of sweet, salty, chewy, and crunchy in every bite.

Don’t feel you need to stick to the recipe above – use it as a guide and get creative with your favorite ingredients. The more overloaded these cookies are the better!

However you choose to make them, these Christmas themed kitchen sink cookies are guaranteed to bring a little joy and sweetness to family gatherings and are a fantastic easy idea for cookie swaps. Or bake some as a decadent edible gift for teachers, neighbours, your local dustman and more.

So don your apron, get digging in your cupboards and bake a batch today, and whip up some holiday magic!