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!
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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!
Brown Sugar 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 (350g)
- 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
Instructions
- Combine your melted (and cooled) butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir well.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and 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.
- 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
Borvig
Fly ass sugar cookies. Added butter toffee bits. Mad dope. Great job
Beth
These were very easy to make. The only downside is I couldn’t roll them into balls because my dough was too sticky.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you found the recipe easy to make. If your dough was sticky, it may have just needed a little bit more flour added to it. The dough will be tacky but should be manageable to work with and roll. Thanks for commenting. Enjoy! 🙂
Linda Leatherwood
I was introduced to Brown Sugar Cookies a couple of years, but was never able to find a recipe that was just right, until now. I made these yesterday and they are awesome. Made 3 dozen, took to neighbors and came home with 10 cookies. They loved them too!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Linda! I am so happy that the cookies were such a hit! 🙂
Faith
Are these cookies frostable? I was thinking on skipping the sugar coating part and just baking them, and then frosting them afterwards.
Sam
They’ll be pretty sweet but you can add frosting. Enjoy!
Beth W.
Can I mix this cookie dough, and freeze to bake the cookies at a later time?
Sam
Hi Beth! You can freeze the dough, but I recommend scooping it into little balls, wrapping those individually in cling wrap and then storing in an air tight container. 🙂
Clare
Move over normal sugar cookies and make way for these brown sugar ones!! I made these this weekend and they were a hit with my family! These make for a wonderful “spring” (i.e. lighter) version of your molasses cookies (which we also looove in this household)!
We may add a few toffee bits in the future (and make it a very subtle version of your butter pecan cookies).
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Clare! I bet the toffee bits would be an excellent addition. 🙂
Adamari
made these for my culinary class and everyone loved them!! this recipe is soo good!!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear that they were a hit!! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how you enjoyed them! 🙂
Kimberly Stevens
I never comment on recipes or things I try on Pinterest and maybe I should be better at this, but HOLY COW this has got to be one of the best cookie recipes ever! These are awesome, chewy, delicious, and just the right combination of salty and sweet. My only complaint is that the recipe doesn’t make enough cookies. Next time definitely doubling. YYYYUUUUUMMMMMM!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Kimberly! I always have to make a double batch if I expect to get any before my husband devours them! 😂
M
So do we take them out of the fridge or freezer after chilling for 45min?
Sam
Fridge! 🙂
Lema
Followed the recipe but mine didn’t spread out like that and were terrible crumbly and hard to ball as dough. Still tasty, though. I’m going to try a little less flour next time.
Sam
Hi, Lema. I have not had this issue before. Have you ever tried baking with a scale? It’s a real game changer. It has helped me SOOO much.
Kerry
These are my new favorite cookie!!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed it, Kerry!
Jen
Hi! I made them and they taste amazing but they aren’t as flat as you made them. 🙁 What could be a way that I can make them flat like yours?
Thanks!
Sam
Hi Jen! Did you use cups or weight measurements? If you used cups is it possible that the flour was measured a little too heavily? If you scooped the flour into your measuring cup you might have ended up using too much, I’d recommend spooning the flour into your measuring cup and then leveling it off with a flat edge (like the back of a knife). I hope that helps!
ZNA
These look and sound delicious. Thank you for sharing. What is the purpose of the corn starch? And would adding a tsp of cinnamon change the consistency of the cookie?
Sam
The corn starch keeps them from spreading too thin while also keeping them soft and chewy. The cinnamon would not change the consistency and it sounds like a great addition. 🙂
Liz Mueller
Can’t wait to make these- thanks
Sam
I hope you love them, Liz! 🙂
Mikaru86
Those look amazing. I’ll have to try them soon 🙂
Sam
I hope you love them, please let me know what you think if you try them out!! 🙂
Mikaru86
I sure will. I also currently have a backlog of ~250 pictures I need to sort through and upload for another feedback post XD
Joanne
I made the recipe exactly as shown, they did not flatten out I had to press them down , they stayed in a dome and raw in the middle
Sam
Hi Joanne! That’s very odd. Did you use weights or cups to measure your flour? My best guess would be that too much flour was used, if you use cups I recommend stirring up your flour and then scooping it into your measuring cup then leveling that off rather than using your measuring cup to scoop your flour. Another possibility could be that your baking soda might have been bad? I hope that helps, but I’m happy to help troubleshoot further if at all possible. As for staying raw, they must’ve just needed a bit more time to cook, maybe because they stayed balled up, but all ovens seem to run a bit differently and maybe yours just needs a little more time.
Lori
the altitude at which you live could also effect the cooking time. I live at 4700 ft above sea level and I left them in for around 11.5 mins. they turned out great hope this helps