My Brown Sugar Cookies are SO soft and chewy! They have an incredibly rich and buttery flavor and are easy to make without a mixer. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Super Soft Sugar Cookies
If you’re a thin & crispy kind of cookie lover, hop over to my butter crunch cookies, because you won’t find anything of the sort here! My brown sugar cookies are some of the softest, chewiest cookies you’ll ever try. Made with all brown sugar for a rich flavor and added moisture, these cookies are great all year around but I’ll definitely be saving a spot for them on my Christmas cookie platter.
This recipe is a close cousin to my super soft molasses cookies, only with a much, much lighter molasses flavor from the brown sugar. They’re simple to make (no mixer required) and are rolled through a coarse sugar coating before baking for sweet and sparkly results.
Why you’ll love them:
- Easy: no mixer needed!
- So soft: thanks to carefully selected ingredients.
- Simple: just 10 ingredients.
What You Need
Here are the ingredients that make these brown sugar cookies super soft and chewy:
- Brown sugar. Generally I default to using light brown sugar in most of my recipes, but I like using a 50/50 split of light and dark brown sugar in this recipe. I talk more about using each type and the results you’ll have in the FAQ section below.
- Egg + egg yolk. An extra egg yolk makes these cookies so tender. Adding a full egg (instead of just the yolk) could dry the cookies out, so stick with just the yolk. If you don’t want to waste the white, use it to make candied pecans!
- Corn starch. One of my favorite ingredients in cookies, corn starch prevents the cookies from spreading too much and adds to their softness.
- Coarse sugar. You can use either regular white granulated sugar or a coarse granulated sugar for rolling. My grocery store sells an organic cane sugar that has big crystals, so I just use that.
SAM’S TIP: Let your butter cool before adding your sugar! Adding your sugar while the butter is still hot could melt the sugar and ruin your cookies (they’ll be greasy and spread all over the baking sheet).
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Brown Sugar Cookies
- Combine butter and sugar – Melt your butter, let it cool, then stir in your brown sugar.
- Stir in the eggs – Stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients – Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Chill the dough – Cover and chill your dough for at least 45 minutes.
- Coat in sugar – Scoop 2-tablespoon sized dough balls and roll them between your palms before rolling in sugar.
- Bake and enjoy! Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes and let them cool completely on their baking sheet before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t over-bake your cookies! If you do, they’ll end up dry and crumbly instead of soft and chewy. I recommend taking them out of the oven when they look slightly underdone in the center so they can finish baking on the cookie sheet outside of the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
The difference between light and dark brown lies in the molasses content (which, you might already know if you recall my post on how to make brown sugar). Dark brown sugar has approximately twice the molasses in it that light brown sugar does.
Using all light brown sugar will yield cookies with a lighter flavor (that’s not a bad thing!). They’ll be buttery with accents of vanilla and a soft interior, but a lighter molasses flavor. Opting for all dark brown sugar will give you a richer flavor and ever-so-slightly softer centers.
Use whichever you prefer, or a mix of the two!
This most often happens from having too much flour in the dough. Make sure you know how to measure your flour properly (using weights is more accurate than cups!) to avoid this happening in the future. However, hang onto your extra egg white. If you notice your dough is too stiff and crumbly after adding all the flour, it can often be saved with a bit of moisture and you can stir in that reserved egg white.
Yes! You can follow the instructions for sugar coated cookies in my how to freeze cookie dough post. They’ll keep for several months stored this way.
If you’re a big fan of soft cookies, you will also love my soft and chewy butter pecan cookies or my soft and chewy gingersnaps.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Brown Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled at least 10 minutes or until nearly back to room temperature, about 10 minutes
- 1 ¾ cup (350 g) brown sugar* tightly packed
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Combine your melted (and cooled) butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¾ cup (350 g) brown sugar*
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir well.1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (if you don’t have parchment paper, bake directly on an ungreased cookie sheet).
- Once oven has preheated, remove your chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and roll dough into approximately 2-Tablespoon-sized scoops. Roll gently to form a ball and roll through granulated sugar until completely coated with sugar.Granulated sugar
- Place on prepared cookie sheet (space cookies at least 2″ apart).
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 11-12 minutes. The centers of the cookies may still seem slightly underbaked — allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet to finish cooking there, cookies will be too fragile to move while hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Note: This recipe was originally published in 2018. The recipe remains the same but I have updated the post to include more information and be more helpful in 2022.
Meagen
Would it be possible to use self raising flour for these? If so how would I adjust the recipe please?
Sam
Hi Meagen! I wouldn’t recommend using self rising flour here. I’m not sure how you would make any adjustments for the cookies. 🙁
Cynthia R.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always turns out great. sometimes I add chocolate or butterscotch chips. I love the way you put the ingredients with the amounts together! love that 🏅
Sue Cammerano
I made a big mistake in mixing my ingredients (forgot to cream the sugar in with the wet ingredients and had to add it last) and didn’t roll the cookies in granulated sugar, but they were still SO GOOD! Looking forward to mixing the ingredients correctly next time and seeing just how amazing these cookies can be!
Sam
Great flavor, but the cookies came out very flat. I always test my leavening agents before baking & they were fine. Your cups of flour weigh a bit less than mine, so that could be part of the problem.
Sam
Glad you still enjoyed them overall, Sam! The weights are what I personally use and tested for this recipe so that should be fine. Could the butter have been a bit warm still when the sugars were added? That could make them spread more than they ought to. Thank you for the feedback!
Sam
I did let it cool for 15 minutes, I’ll see what happens next time!
Sam
I did make them again with a couple of changes & these are now my favorite brown sugar cookies! I must not have temped the melted butter the first time & today it took a long time for it to drop to 80 degrees & I have a cold kitchen. Second, I rolled them in turbinado sugar, since a few brown sugar recipes call for added molasses. Finally, I portioned them on cookie sheets before putting them in the fridge. They didn’t spread this time!
Laura
This is my second batch. My family and I love these cookies. The taste is warm and yummy. Perfection!
Lisa Allison
I followed the recipe and measured my flour. Chilled for 90 minutes. 2 tbs rounded cookies rolled in brown sugar. I baked at 350 for 14 minutes. They were not flat. Crispy on edges and soft in the middle.
Chris
Can I make these without corn starch?
Sam
Hi Chris! You will just need to add a little bit of flour to make up for the missing cornstarch. The cookies may not be quite as soft. 🙂
Jessie
Almost just like my Grandma’s molasses cookies we made for every Christmas but lighter, soft and chewy. I’m interested in knowing why the corn starch and what exactly that does?
Sam
Hi Jessie! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! The corn starch actually really helps with that soft, chewy texture. 🙂
Kathy M.
I decided to roll half the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar and half in sugar alone. The cinnamon sugar ones are already gobbled up. My grandsons really like these cookies! 😄
Ann Patnoe
Can the dough be frozen for later use?
Sam
Hi Ann! That should work just fine. I would roll the dough balls, wrap them individually then store in a freezer bag. You should be able to bake them right from frozen. They will likely take another minute or two to bake. 🙂
Emily Hollingsworth
I actually have started making double batches and putting the balls of dough that I’ve already rolled in the sugar in the freezer in a Pyrex. I don’t wrap them individually, b/c with the sugar coating, they don’t stick to each other. I’ll make the double batch and keep them in the freezer ready to be baked off so I always have a quick dessert if someone pops by or I don’t want to have to make something for a party. I just take them straight out of the freezer and bake. They always turn out great!! Making some today for a party.
Celia
These cookies are amazing!! I love brown sugar and was thrilled to find this recipe on your website. Would adding chopped pecans adversely affect the cookies baking? I’ve tried your pecan cookies but like this recipe much better.
Sam
Hi Celia! You could add some chopped pecans if you’d like. 🙂
Matt
I made these for my family’s Christmas get together, and they were a huge hit! I will definitely be making these again. Great recipe!
Mary
can the brown sugar cookies be made smaller? one tablespoon ?
Sam
Hi Mary! That will work just fine. You will need to reduce your bake time. 🙂