Anything Goes Pantry Cookies

I firmly believe that one man’s trash can always be another man’s treasure. When I first showed friends a picture of a goldfish-popcorn-dill-pickle-chip studded pantry cookie, most thought I'd lost my mind. I wouldn't say they're wrong—do you know anyone else who puts cauliflower in their brownies?—but that should have no bearing on how delicious these cookies actually are. 

No matter what you might have lingering around in your pantry at this moment, this recipe will be here for you. If you love a classic chocolate chip cookie, keep it simple with chocolate chips and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. But if you're fresh out of chocolate and still love a good salty-sweet combination, please scroll down for the "junk food junkie" cookie mix-ins: there is nothing better than the gentle, flaky crunch of a cheddary Goldfish set against the background of soft, chewy cookie dough. Want to eat cookies for breakfast? Try out the health-nut granola version where hearty oats, toasted nuts, plump raisins, and a small dash of wholesome seeds join together in cinnamon-y harmony.

But don't let me limit your imagination. These are your pantry cookies. You can put whatever you want in them. Melt your butter, or go one step further and brown your butter for a toastier, mature flavor. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, or go wildcard and put in something spicy like chili powder or black pepper. Play it safe with traditional flavorings, or go absolutely nuts. I fully support you, and so will this general all-purpose pantry cookie formula:

Start with a basic soft, chewy cookie dough. As we learned in our chocolate chip cookie challenge, a 2:1 brown sugar to granulated sugar ratio is crucial for that perfect texture. I’m opting for melted butter to make an even chewier cookie that requires fewer tools (no need for a mixer to cream the butter) and leaves you with an easier clean-up (who doesn’t love a one-pot process?).

Up to 3 chopped mix-in ingredients. Two’s a party, and three’s a bigger party. Always go for the bigger party. Chocolates, candy bars, crushed chips and cookies (cookie inception!), toasted nuts, dried fruits or crystallized ginger or candied citrus peels, seeds, cereal, sprinkles, toasted coconut, swirls of jam, crispy bacon. Party it up! Just make sure you don't exceed about 1 cup of mix-ins, or your cookie won't spread much at all in the oven.

Spice it up. 1 or 2 spices will help the cookie find its identity: a savory cookie will do well with a little black pepper, cayenne powder, or finely chopped herbs like rosemary and thyme; a sweet cookie can take on classic cinnamon, multifaceted cardamom, or traditional vanilla extract; a more experimental cookie can take on more androgynous spices, like fennel seed, caraway seed, or ground turmeric. 

If you can't decide and want to try multiple mix-in combinations, divide your base dough into two or three batches and make 'em all! (Just make sure to decrease the amount of mix-ins you fold into each mini batch of dough accordingly!) When you've made your cookie masterpiece, be sure to drop us a line down below in the comments section to let us know how you liked it—and what your favorite mix-ins are!