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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- Fried Ice Cream Cake – crunch and cool!
My cookies spread and did not come out with cracks – they look like standard sugar cookies from the grocery store. Not sure what I did wrong?
Oh my word! Just took these out of the oven and they’re an instant favorite. My taste tester’s comment was “yep, I could make myself sick on these!” Love the crackly top, chewy texture and delicious taste. I followed recipe/ instructions exactly with the addition of 1 tsp. cinnamon, which I may or may not add next time. Thanks for the “keeper”recipe!
So happy you love the recipe! It’s is one of our favorites too!
These cookies look and taste really great!! I can never seem to make cookies that come out like these did!! It’s definitely a keeper, thank for sharing !!
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They seem like a butterscotch cookie! Very good but mine came out flat
so so good! i’m fairly new to baking and found this recipe easy to follow. The pictures with directions were especially helpful. My cookies did seem to flatten a bit and spread alot despite me trying to make thicker dough balls but I attribute this to me being a novice and not the recipe