Brown Sugar Cookies

Name: Brown Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 16 cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled at least 10 minutes or until nearly back to room temperature, about 10 minutes (226g)); 1 3/4 cup brown sugar* (tightly packed (250g)); 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (room temperature preferred); 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour ((350g)); 1 Tablespoon cornstarch; 3/4 teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon baking powder; 3/4 teaspoon salt; Granulated sugar (for rolling)

November 7, 2018 Updated December 1, 2018 BySam 30 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

You know we love soft and chewy cookies around here, but these brown sugar cookies might just be the softest and chewiest I’ve shared yet (and we have some tough contenders, including my peanut butter blossoms and chocolate chip cookies)! 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.

Recipe includes a brief how-to video at the bottom of the post!

Do you have a soft spot for soft cookies? Or do you prefer them crispy?

If you’re of the crispy persuasion you mayyyy want to skip today’s post and come back later (I do have a thin & crispy recipe coming up next month!), because these Brown Sugar Cookies are one of my softest and chewiest yet.

Today’s 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 sparkling sugar coating.

Now let’s talk sugar.

Tips for Making Brown Sugar Cookies

Use coarse or regular granulated sugar for rolling

We’re making our Brown Sugar Cookies entirely with brown sugar, but when it comes to rolling them I found that the brown sugar doesn’t really cut it. It sticks to the cookie dough in awkward patches and looks less than stellar after your cookies finish baking.

Instead, grab regular white granulated sugar or a coarse granulated sugar (my grocery store sells an organic cane sugar that has big crystals that I use exclusively for rolling) for pretty, sparkly looking cookies.

What kind of brown sugar is best?

The difference between brown sugar and white sugar is that brown sugar is made with molasses. The difference between light and dark brown sugar is simply that dark brown sugar has approximately twice the molasses in it that light brown sugar does.

Generally I default to using light brown sugar in most of my recipes (in pretty much everything except for my Gingerbread). 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. The choice is really yours.

Personal preference: I like using a 50/50 split of light and dark brown sugar. Honestly, though, you can’t go wrong!

Enjoy!

Other Soft Cookie Recipes You May Enjoy!

Be sure to check out my Brown Sugar Cookie VIDEO just below the recipe! If you enjoy these videos, please consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel so you can be the first to see all of my cooking videos!