I dare you to try to eat just one of these Brown Sugar Cookies! Once you have one, they might just become your new favorite. The brown sugar gives a traditional sugar cookie that rich, caramel-like flavor, but it's the crunchy sugar coating on the outside that really gets me. You get that amazing crunch on the outside with a soft, chewy center, and suddenly eating just one cookie is not happening.
Recipe overview
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Chill time: 1 hour
- Bake time: 12 to 14 minutes
- Method: Browned butter cookie dough, chilled and rolled in turbinado sugar before baking
- Main ingredients: Browned butter, dark brown sugar, vanilla, flour, and turbinado sugar
- Flavor and texture: Rich, buttery brown sugar flavor with crisp edges, soft and chewy centers, and a crunchy sugar coating
- Helpful tip: Watch the butter closely as it browns. Once the milk solids start turning brown and you smell that nutty aroma, it's ready to come off the heat.
If cookies are your love language too, try my Rolo Cookies, Ranger Cookies, or Brown Butter Blondies next.
Equipment you'll need
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 2 sheet pans
- Parchment paper
- Medium saucepan
- Medium mixing bowl
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Cooling racks
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Ingredients for Brown Sugar Cookies
- Salted butter: Browning the butter adds even more rich, nutty flavor to these cookies.
- All-purpose flour: Measure your flour carefully so you don't end up with too much in the dough.
- Baking soda: Gives the cookies lift while still allowing them to spread.
- Kosher salt: Balances all that brown sugar sweetness.
- Dark brown sugar: This is where these cookies get their deep caramel-like flavor and darker color.
- Eggs: Use room-temperature eggs so they combine easily with the other ingredients.
- Vanilla extract: Adds that classic vanilla flavor.
- Turbinado sugar: Rolling the cookie dough in coarse sugar gives the outside that amazing crunch.
For full ingredients and directions, scroll down to the recipe card below.
How to make Brown Sugar Cookies
Start by lining two sheet pans with parchment paper. Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the milk solids begin to turn brown and the butter develops a nutty aroma. Remove it from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the browned butter and dark brown sugar together until fully combined. Mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture just until combined.
Scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough at a time and roll each portion into a ball. Place the cookie dough balls on one of the prepared sheet pans and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the turbinado sugar to a small bowl, then roll each chilled cookie dough ball in the sugar. Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet pans about 2 to 3 inches apart so they have plenty of room to spread.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges just begin to set. Let the cookies sit on the sheet pans for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Ways to change them up
The turbinado sugar coating is my favorite because it gives these cookies that extra crunch, but you can also roll the cookie dough in brown sugar or skip the sugar coating completely. Chopped pecans or walnuts are another easy addition, and toffee bits are perfect when you want even more crunch without adding nuts.
Brown Sugar Cookies FAQs
Chilling gives the flour time to hydrate and allows the browned butter to firm back up before baking. This helps control how much the cookies spread in the oven and gives them those soft, chewy centers.
The cookies are still very soft when they first come out of the oven. Letting them sit on the hot sheet pan for 2 to 3 minutes gives them time to set enough that you can move them to a cooling rack without breaking them apart.
They have the crisp edges and soft, chewy centers you love in a sugar cookie, but dark brown sugar and browned butter give these cookies a much richer caramel and buttery flavor. The turbinado sugar on the outside also adds a crunchy coating.
Yes. Chopped pecans or walnuts would both work well with the brown sugar and browned butter flavors. Toffee bits are another option if you want extra crunch without adding nuts.
Ingredient substitutions
- Salted butter: You can use unsalted butter instead. Add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dough.
- All-purpose flour: A 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour may work, but this substitution has not been tested in this recipe and may change the texture and spread of the cookies.
- Dark brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar, but the cookies will be lighter in color and have a little less of that deep molasses flavor.
- Vanilla extract: Homemade vanilla extract works too. You can also substitute vanilla bean paste, using the ratio recommended by the brand you're using.
- Turbinado sugar: You can use demerara, sparkling, or sanding sugar for the crunchy coating. You can also roll the cookies in brown sugar or leave them uncoated.
How to store Brown Sugar Cookies
Store cooled Brown Sugar Cookies in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 1 week.
To freeze the cookie dough, form it into balls and place them on a sheet pan. Freeze for 2 to 4 hours, then transfer the frozen dough balls to an airtight freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator, then roll the cookie dough balls in turbinado sugar before baking.
You can also store baked cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Brown Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 2 Sheet pans
- Parchment paper
- Medium Saucepan
- Medium mixing bowl
- Large mixing bowl
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Cooling racks
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the milk solids begin to turn brown and the butter develops a nutty aroma. Remove the butter from the heat and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk the browned butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl until fully combined. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture just until combined.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place the cookie dough onto one prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour to chill the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the turbinado sugar to a small mixing bowl and roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar. Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet pans 2 to 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges just begin to set.
- Allow the cookies to set on the sheet pans for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Watch the butter closely while browning. Once the milk solids begin to turn brown and the butter develops a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat.
- Do not skip the 1-hour chill time. Chilling allows the browned butter to firm back up and helps control spreading.
- The cookies will spread as they bake, so leave 2 to 3 inches between the cookie dough balls.
- For a different coating, roll the chilled cookie dough in brown sugar instead of turbinado sugar, or bake the cookies without a sugar coating.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- To freeze the dough, freeze the shaped dough balls before coating them in turbinado sugar. Transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container once frozen and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, coat with turbinado sugar, and bake as directed.
