Growing up, my family drove the 9 hours south every year to visit my grandparents in Maryland. We typically spent about a week there, and the trip always had traditions; Liriodendron and Winterthur, late night swimming and golf cart rides. However, one tradition stands proudly above all others: The Charcoal Pit.

A classic diner from the 50’s complete with black and white flours, overstuffed booths and working jukeboxes at every table, the charcoal pit is a place lost in time, just as many of our other stops. The nostalgia is served hot, with a greasy burger, fries, and triple thick milkshake. However, it is not their diner food the charcoal pit is known for; it’s their sundaes. Each named for a local prep school, the combinations of sugar are endless. There is something so wonderful, even if you don’t attend one, to support a school in its rivalry against everyone.

50’s Diners, much like this one, have continued to be a place of comfort for me. The local Wimpy’s is a place my friends and I go when we need to escape, and there is something about the vibe that simply is unrivalled when you need to get out of your world for a while. They are truly places of altered reality, places where the rest of the world simply ceases to exist.

If you take a gander through the menu, you’d read all the combinations created for different schools before, finally, coming to The Kitchen Sink. A sundae for 10(at least), it contains everything, along with 20 scoops of ice cream. I feel nauseous even at the thought.

For some strange reason, my parents never let my brother order it. I wonder why.

As an ode to my childhood, I developed a love for the idea of something being “the kitchen sink”. Equally revolting and decadent, who wouldn’t feel a pull to childhood? A couple years ago, I discovered the Milk Bar and their “compost cookies”. This lead me to think; could we have a kitchen sink cookie? A cookie containing any bits and bobs from around the house? A cookie containing everything you could possibly want?

The “Kitchen Sink” Cookie

Ingredients:

Base:
1 3/4 cups +2 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 tbsp white/clear corn syrup or glucose
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 1/2 cups AP flour
3 tbsp skim milk powder
2 tsp salt(if using unsalted butter)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp vanilla extract

Choose your add-ins
(2 cups total):
rolled oats
raisins
dried fruit
nuts
chocolate chips
peanut butter chips
butterscotch chips
malted milk balls(crush these up)
chocolate bar chunks
caramels
pretzels
skor bits
potato chips

I think the most popular combination tends to include as many different types of add-ins as possible, and remember with chips and pretzels, they’re going to seem to take up more space than they do – don’t be afraid to do “too many” add-ins.

1. Cream the butter and the sugars and the glucose together, on high speed until fluffy. To read my rant on this, click here.
2. When it’s all fluffy and good, add in the eggs, one at a time, and then the egg yolks. beat until incorporated.
3. Add in vanilla. Wish your house smelled like the contents of the bowl right now.
4. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda, along with the coffee grounds(if you’re using them) and the milk powder. Pro tip:Use the coffee grounds. Because it adds life. and coffee.
5. Mix together all of your add ins. slowly snack on the potato chips and pretzels. and chocolate chips.
6. Add in the dry mix, a cup at a time, mixing just until homogenous. taste test.
7. By hand, fold in the add-ins. This is a bit of a workout just FYI, your arms will hurt.
8. Scoop into 3 tbsp chunks and chill on the baking sheet for 3 hours. Eat some of the raw dough, because life is short. Feel nauseous, because between the dough and the add ins you’ve eaten more than your stomach can contain.
9. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on the tray, then on a cooling rack.