Soft Brown Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are pretty much the plainest cookie there is. Their flavor comes entirely from the sugar, butter, and maybe a touch of vanilla. What makes them interesting is the stuff you add to them – colorful icing, sprinkles, or add-ins like candy corn or Andes mints.
But brown sugar cookies – now that’s a completely different story. Simply swapping out the white sugar in basic sugar cookies for brown sugar gives them a darker, richer, molasses-tinged flavor all their own. And if you brown the butter before mixing it into the cookie dough, it adds a rich, nutty note that deepens the flavor even more.
For these Soft Brown Sugar Cookies, you modified my basic sugar cookie recipe by using brown sugar, brown butter, and a whole tablespoon of vanilla to make the flavor as dark and complex as possible. And I reduced the flour, increased the butter, and added an extra egg yolk to give them a super soft, tender texture. When you bite into one, it practically melts in your mouth, releasing all that rich, sweet, molasses-loaded goodness. It’s way more than just another sugar cookie.
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Soft Brown Sugar Cookies
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small pot, melt 10 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir constantly until butter starts to brown, about 3-5 minutes.
- Once butter starts to brown, remove pot from heat, and add in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.
- When the additional butter has melted, stir in 1.5 cups of brown sugar. Stir until smooth. Whisk in egg, egg yolk, salt and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Combine butter mixture with dry ingredients, stirring until a dough forms.
- Roll into a balls. Place 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Roll cookie balls in sugar until coated and place on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies JUST begin to set. Do not over bake so they stay soft. Cracks of cookies will look undercooked, but once they sit out on the drying rack, they will firm up, but stay soft.
TOOLS USED FOR SOFT BROWN SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE:
Measuring Cups and Spoons: Each cup’s “ml” and cup sizes have passed clearly engraved marking, and you can quickly identify the cup scale according to the color of the handle.
Baking Sheets: This set of baking sheets comes with small, medium, and large sizes that provide the perfect option for any of your baking needs.
Parchment Paper: Parchment baking paper is non-stick for quick food release and easy clean up
Soft Brown Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1/2 cup sugar divided
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar divided
- 2 cups flour plus 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small pot, melt 10 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir constantly until butter starts to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Once butter starts to brown, remove pot from heat, and add in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. When the additional butter has melted, stir in 1.5 cups of brown sugar. Stir until smooth. Whisk in egg, egg yolk, salt and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Combine butter mixture with dry ingredients, stirring until a dough forms.
- Roll into a balls. Place 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl . Roll cookie balls in sugar until coated and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies JUST begin to set. Do not over bake so they stay soft. Cracks of cookies will look undercooked, but once they sit out on the drying rack, they will firm up, but stay soft.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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Looking for more easy and delicious sweet recipes?
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- Jumbo Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies – the ultimate cookies
- Edible Sugar Cookie Dough – another yummy raw cookie dough to try
- Sugar Cookie Cake – so easy to make and a fan favorite!
- Fried Ice Cream Cake – crunch and cool!
I plan to make these for Christmas, but have a question. Can I add toffee bits and Carmel bits to the recipe and have them turn out? If so how much of each or will it change the cookie to much
Hi Judy, I have only made the recipe as written, so I can’t say for sure. If you do give it a try could you let us know how it turns out?
These cookies are simply delicious!
My “dough” was very dry…instead of rolling into balls, I had to squish them together. Maybe too much dry ingredients? I followed the recipe, but sometimes I eyeball…If this happens again, what do you suggest, more butter?
Thank you for this yummy recipe! <3
Kim
Lol. Yes eyeballing with baking can really change a recipe. If the dough is dry, you are either missing liquid, fat or yes, too much dry ingredients. For liquid, you could add a tiny bit of water, vanilla extract, or egg white. For fat, yes you could add in some melted butter. What ever you do… make sure to do it in very small amounts. I hope that helps 🙂
These taste awesome! What is the best way to store them to maintain their soft texture?
An air tight container at room temp works the best at keep them soft.
The cookies taste really good, but they flattened out quite a bit. They don’t look as thick as they do in the picture.
What I find very frustrating is seeing a picture , following the directions to the T and NOT coming out to look like the picture. WHY do cookies flatten?
If your cookies urn out flat, even if you follow the recipe to a T, chances are your oven is running too hot. Here’s what’s happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure. Maybe next time try reducing your oven heat a little bit?
Simply love this recipe! Made them this morning and they are delicious!
So happy you loved them! They are one of our favorite cookie recipes!