Brown Sugar Cookies are soft and chewy with crisp edges and the best brown sugar flavor!
Favorite Brown Sugar Cookies
I love chocolate, and chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite treats. Honestly, I’ll eat just about any cookie as long as it’s full of chips!
But my son? He didn’t get that love for chocolate chips. Every time I bake cookies, he picks out the chips. So, I made a chip-less cookie that’s all about the brown sugar flavor.
What I thought would be his favorite cookie has become one of mine! These cookies are so soft, chewy, and just plain delicious.
They have a rich, caramel-like flavor that I can’t get enough of. And my son? He loves them too 🙂
Ingredients
- Butter: Adds moisture and flavor. Melt it first for the best texture!
- Brown Sugar: Sweetens the cookies and gives them a super chewy texture with a caramel flavor.
- Egg + Egg Yolk: Adds structure and richness. Use the leftover egg white for an easy Egg Wrap!
- Vanilla Extract: Adds delicious flavor.
- Flour: Forms the base of the dough. Use all-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch: Makes the cookies soft.
- Baking Soda & Powder: These help the cookies rise. Sift if clumpy and make sure they’re fresh.
- Sugar Coating: My favorite part—it adds a sweet, crunchy layer to the cookies.
How To Make Brown Sugar Cookies
- Melt & Cool Butter: Melt butter, then cool in the fridge for 3-5 minutes.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: Mix cooled butter with brown sugar, then whisk in the egg, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla until creamy.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add cornstarch, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, then mix in the flour until just combined. Fold in toffee bits if using.
- Shape & Chill Dough: Shape dough into balls, roll in sugar, and chill for 45-60 minutes.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 305°F. Place dough balls on a lined baking sheet and bake for 9-14 minutes. Cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.
Are These Boneless Cookies?
Have you heard about ‘boneless cookies’? They’re all over social media, but there’s some confusion about what they really are.
Some people say they’re just chocolate chip cookies without the chips. Others say they’re soft, slightly under-baked cookies with a gooey, chewy center.
If that’s what they are, these Brown Sugar Cookies fit right in! They’re chip-less and super soft with a gooey center. The secret to that gooeyness? Molasses! It brings out the brown sugar flavor and makes sure these cookies have that perfect soft and chewy center.
Tips For Making Brown Sugar Cookies
- Chill the Dough: Chilling helps the cookies keep their shape and gives a better texture. Don’t skip this step!
- Use Fresh Baking Soda & Powder: Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh so the cookies rise well.
- Measure Flour Right: Too much flour can make the cookies dry. Too little flour and the cookies will spread too much. Use a food scale if you have one!
- Watch the Bake Time: Keep an eye on the cookies while they bake. They’re best when a bit under-baked, so check them early. They’ll firm up more as they cool.
- Add Molasses for Gooey Cookies: Molasses adds rich flavor and makes the cookies extra chewy and gooey.
Storage
Storing Brown Sugar Cookies
- Room Temp: Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Freeze Dough: Freeze unbaked cookie dough balls on a pan for one hour. Once solid, transfer them to a bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes:
- Cornmeal Cookies with white chocolate chips
- Avalanche Cookies that don’t require any baking!
- Pop-Tart Cookies with the best glaze
- Edible Cookie Dough Recipe made without eggs
- Lemon Cookies Recipe big, bakery-style cookies
Brown Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1-1/3 cups light brown sugar tightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk discard or save the whites for another recipe
- 2 teaspoons molasses optional, see note 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda sift if clumpy
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2-3/4 cups flour see note 2
- 1/2 cup Demerara sugar or granulated sugar, see note 3
- 1 cup English Toffee Baking Bits optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then refrigerate for 3–5 minutes to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, scrape the butter into a large bowl with a spatula.
- Add brown sugar to the cooled butter. Whisk together for 1 minute, then add the whole egg, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla. Whisk briskly until the mixture is very creamy and emulsified.
- Add the cornstarch, salt, baking soda, and baking powder directly to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Add flour (see note 2). Mix with a wooden spoon or hand mixer until no dry streaks remain. If using toffee bits, gently fold them in. Cover the dough and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Measure dough into 2-tablespoon (40-gram) balls and roll in Demerara or granulated sugar. Place on a plate, cover, and refrigerate for 45–60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Space dough balls on a lined baking sheet (6 per sheet), and bake for 9–14 minutes. (I love these best at 10 minutes.) Cool on the pan for 3–5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The cookies taste great but just like the other comments they didn’t spread, stayed more or less like the original balls, they didn’t flatten out into a cookie like yours. Should they be flattened with a fork maybe before baking? How come yours are so different? Please advise.
Thank you
It sounds like you may have packed in the flour too much! If you have a food scale, weigh the flour. If not, I’d try spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off with a kitchen knife. If there is too much flour, cookies don’t spread. Too little and they spread too much!
Is the oven at 305?
350, I updated it! Sorry about that!
I love your recipes and the detailed instructions you provide. I made these cookies and loved the flavor however I almost over baked the first pan from expecting them to spread out more. Like the other comments, my cookies also did not spread out. I’ll definitely try this recipe again.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed these! Thanks Staci! 🙂
The recipe said they would spread a lot. Mine did not. I like the cookie. It is both sweet and a little salty.
They were delicious! My cookies did not spread though. They stayed puffy!
So glad you enjoyed these! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!