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 (40g). 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 8-11 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.
Michele
Wow. These cookies are perfection! The texture is unreal. Definitely keeping these on my go to cookie list.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Michele! 🙂
Jen
I made these the other day and they are absolutely *delicious*!! My husband and daughter said they are the best cookies I’ve ever made, and my friends gobbled them up and asked for the recipe. The texture is perfect. Thanks for my new favorite cookie recipe!
Sam
I am so happy to hear this, Jen! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, I appreciate it! 🙂
Janelle A.
Hi, I’m just about to make these cookies (they look so good!) and I was wondering if it’s neccesary to roll the cookies in the white sugar, since I don’t have any, I also don’t have baking powder or cornstarch. I’ll post an update when I finish!
Sam
Hi Janelle! You can leave the sugar off the outside, but the baking powder is important here. Your cookies probably won’t spread the way they should.
Janelle A.
Thank you Sam! I just did a pantry raid, and turns out I actually do have baking powder. Also, would you say that these cookies are very sweet? I’m looking forward to baking them!
Sam
I would say they are a pretty sweet cookie. 🙂
Cyrie
Hello! For flour do you recommend spooning in?
Sam
Hi Cyrie! You can see how I do it in the video. I add just a little bit at a time shaking it from the flour mixture bowl. 🙂
Kendra Zimmerman
if I use salted butter should I cut out the salt completely or just cut back on it?
Sam
Hi Kendra! Reduce your salt by 1/2 teaspoon. 🙂
Kendra Zimmerman
Ok thank you ! I have them in the oven now. I double the batch and had it in the refrigerator for45 minutes but they are spreading quite a bit so maybe I’ll refrigerate it for a little longer. They look delicious though excited to try them! they probably just need more fridge time for a double batch
Kendra Zimmerman
Ok Sam so it must have been something I did wrong mixing up the batter 🙂 they were all really flat . Very chewy but hard so I shall have to try again:) I made your pecan sandies and thumbprints for Christmas and they were AMAZING!! I use your recipes quite often for your muffins as well:)
Sam
Make sure you let your butter cool enough after melting it so it doesn’t melt your sugars. 🙂
Levatica
I have made these cookies several times now and we LOVE them!!
Are there any alterations if I double or triple the batch??
Sam
You don’t have to make any changes, just make sure to double or triple all of the ingredients. 🙂
Pam
I have NEVER left a review for ANYTHING, but I made these today and they are AMAZING! I made them a little smaller, so I got about 3 dozen from this recipe. I MAY have a dozen left, we all loved them !!! Probably going to have to stock up on dark brown sugar lol!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Pam! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Anita
I’m wondering if they would come out good using gluten free flour 1 to 1 cup?
Sam
Hi Anita! I honestly have not tried them with gluten free flour so I can’t say for sure how it would work. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Connie
I’ve made these many times and the family loves them! We’re going to a ranch next week at higher altitude. What alterations would you make? More flour and add water?
Sam
Hi Connie! Honestly I’m not familiar with any alterations needed for high altitude. I’m glad you enjoy them so much. 🙂
Gen
Can butterscotch chips be added to these without any ingredient variations? If so, would one cup work?
Sam
You can add a cup of butterscotch chips without any alterations being made. 🙂
Nicole Scheiner
I’m a bit confused on the correct measurement of packed brown sugar!
A few websites I’ve used say 1 cup of packed brown sugar is around 198 grams, which would make 1 3/4 cup equal 346.5g. But your weight lists 250g. So how much should I actually be using?
Sam
Sorry about the confusion, Nicole! you are correct, 1 3/4 cup of brown sugar is 350g. I am sorry about the typo!
Nicole Scheiner
Great, thank you so much for clarifying!
Julie Culbertson
Have probably made there 5 times now! Everyone LOVES them.
Sam
I am so glad you have enjoyed them so much, Julie! 🙂
Destiny
Can I use regular sugar ? If so,how much?
Sam
You could use an equal amount of granulated sugar but they’ll be different in taste and color and not quite as chewy.
Sarah
Could you leave out the cornstarch?
Sam
You can but the cookies won’t be as soft and chewy. You will need to add a little bit more flour as well. 🙂
Quel
My daughters new favorite cookie😋 Simple goodness! It helped that the recipe was easy to follow. I’m going to try and make your Nutella cookies next. My son loves Nutella🤗 Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys the cookies so much! 🙂
Sasha
Delicious!! My family loves them!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Sasha! 🙂