Santa's Trash Cookies

Santa trash cookies leaning up against a milk jar.

Santa’s Trash Cookies are a simple homemade cookie that’s loaded with pretzels, M&Ms, potato chips, and more. They are fun to make and even more fun to eat.

Prep Time10

Cook Time12

Total Time22

Servings:

Calories: 285kcal

Author: Karin and Ken

Ingredients

1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup red & green M&Ms
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed salted pretzels
½ cup crushed plain potato chips
2 tablespoon holiday sprinkles jimmies or nonpareils

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes)with an electric mixer.
Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
Fold in M&Ms, chocolate chips, crushed pretzels, potato chips, and sprinkles with a silicone spatula. (Reserve some M&M’s, sprinkles, and chocolate chips to garnish the top before baking).
Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon portions roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten the balls and add the extra M&M’s, sprinkles, and chocolate chips to the top.
Bake for 10–12 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are just set.
Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Video

Notes

If your butter is too warm or almost melted, it will cause your cookies to spread too much in the oven.
When you fold in the mix-ins, do it gently so they don’t break up too much.
Ensure that your butter is unsalted so your cookies don’t taste overly salty. If you have to use salted butter, leave out the extra salt.

Nutrition