Santa Trash Cookies

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Can I use a different type of store-bought cookie dough?

Yes — sugar cookie dough works particularly well and gives the mix-ins more room to shine since the base flavor is lighter. Peanut butter cookie dough is another strong option if you want a nuttier profile. The chocolate chip base is just the starting point here; the recipe is designed to be flexible. Whatever dough you use, make sure it's a full-size roll rather than a refrigerated baking sheet variety — you want dough you can break up and fold the mix-ins into evenly.

Why chill the dough after scooping, and can I skip it?

Chilling the scooped dough for at least 20–30 minutes before baking is the step that keeps these cookies thick and structured rather than spreading flat. Store-bought dough is already fairly pliable, and adding the potato chips, pretzels, and candy introduces more fat and sugar that accelerates spreading on a hot sheet pan. The fridge firms everything back up so the cookies bake up taller with better texture. You can skip it if you're pressed for time, but expect flatter cookies.

Why press the cookies down before baking rather than leaving them domed?

Pressing them gently increases the surface area in contact with the hot pan, which promotes more even browning on the bottom and more crisp edge development. A tall, undisturbed dough ball bakes up with a thick, doughy center and undercooked bottom — fine for some cookies, but this recipe is about crunch and texture contrast. A light press also gives you more flat surface to add the M&Ms, sprinkles, and smoked salt so they adhere properly and bake into the top rather than rolling off.

What does the smoked salt actually do on a sweet cookie?

Noble Hickory Smoked Salt at the end is doing two things: it adds a clean, sharp salt hit that breaks up the sweetness and makes each bite more interesting, and the hickory smoke character amplifies the subtle wood-fired note the pellet grill contributes to the bake. It's the same principle as flaky sea salt on a chocolate chip cookie — a small amount applied to the exterior just before or immediately after baking creates a flavor contrast that makes you reach for another one. Don't substitute fine salt; the larger flakes are what creates that impact.

Can I cook this Indoors?

We rate this a 5 out of 5 for cooking indoors. Perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. A conventional home oven at 350–375°F produces virtually identical results. The pellet grill adds a very subtle hickory backdrop that complements the smoked salt, but it's a minor bonus rather than a defining element of this recipe. This is explicitly a last-minute Christmas baking recipe — it's designed to work wherever you are.

Recipe Highlights & Insights

• The ingredient list is intentionally loose for a reason — "trash cookie" is a format, not a fixed recipe. The four categories that make it work are: a sweet base (chocolate chips from the dough), a salty crunch element (potato chips), a textural contrast (yogurt pretzels), and a festive flavor (peppermint candy). As long as you hit all four categories, the specific brands and quantities are secondary. This is the recipe you make with what's already in the pantry on December 23rd.

• Crushing the potato chips to a medium-coarse texture rather than fine crumbs is the right call here. Fine chip dust absorbs into the dough and disappears texturally — you want visible flakes that stay crunchy after baking and create a distinct salty snap against the sweet cookie base. The same logic applies to the pretzels: break them into thirds, not powder. Texture contrast is the whole point of a trash cookie.

• These cookies are genuinely kid-friendly at almost every step: breaking up the dough, folding in the mix-ins, pressing the scoops flat, and decorating with sprinkles and M&Ms are all low-stakes, hands-on tasks. The only adult step is the actual baking. Framed as a Christmas Eve tradition — a batch for the family, a couple left out for Santa — this recipe has real annual repeatability, which makes it a strong evergreen content piece well beyond December.

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