Brown sugar cookies are a timeless cookie that are slightly chewy, slightly crunchy, with a rich brown sugar flavor and a crinkle top.
Brown Sugar Cookies
These timeless brown sugar cookies use dark brown sugar in addition to granulated sugar for a rich taste and chewy texture. What gives brown sugar its dark color and rich flavor? Brown sugar gets its dark color and rich flavor from molasses, since the molasses is not removed when it is refined or processed. Granulated sugar is white in color, since the molasses is removed during refining for comparison. Brown sugar is available in dark and light varieties, with dark brown sugar containing more molasses than light brown sugar; therefore dark brown sugar has a richer molasses taste than light brown sugar. Brown sugar even comes in other varieties like Demerara, which is a coarse brown sugar and its less-coarse counterpart, Turbinado.
How to Make This Recipe
Brown sugar cookies are a fairly easy recipe to make and the dough comes together quickly. These timeless cookies use dark brown sugar in addition to granulated sugar that give them a rich flavor and chewy texture. This recipe yields 7 1/2 dozen cookies – you can easily reduce the recipe by half or even freeze them. See tips below on how to store these cookies.
Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- vegetable shortening
- granulated sugar, plus additional for rolling
- dark brown sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
To make these cookies: the butter, shortening and sugars are creamed together until light. Then, the eggs and vanilla extract are added followed by the sifted flour, baking soda and salt. The cookies are formed into uniform balls of dough by hand and rolled in granulated sugar (you could also try course brown sugars Turbanado or Demerara instead) before placing on a lined baking sheet. After the balls of dough are placed on a baking sheet, they are slightly pressed down to flatten prior to baking, as this helps the cookies stay flat instead of rising to achieve the crinkle top. The end result is a cookie that is slightly crunchy around the outside and slightly chewy in the middle. And don’t forget- you can either reduce this recipe by half or freeze the leftovers. See tips below!
Tips for Brown Sugar Cookies
- This recipe can easily be reduced in half
- You can substitute light brown sugar for dark brown sugar in this recipe
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 72 hours
- These cookies will freeze in an airtight container for up to 45 days
- Using a larger crystal brown sugar (such as Turbanado or Demerara) for the cookie dough will have an effect on the texture of the cookie. Only use these brown sugars for rolling the cookie dough prior to baking.
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Brown Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- cookie or baking sheets
- mixing bowls of various sizes
- parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- mixer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup additional granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 3/4 cup dark brown sugar until light, about two minutes.
- Add in the 3 large eggs, one at a time, followed by the 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Sift or whisk the 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt Add to the wet ingredients, in three separate additions.
- Use a small cookie scoop to scoop the dough (dough will be soft); roll between greased hands to create uniform balls of dough.
- Roll balls of dough in 1 cup additional granulated sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Press the balls of dough with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar to flatten.
- Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 F. Allow to cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes and then move cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- This recipe can easily be reduced in half
- You can substitute light brown sugar for dark brown sugar in this recipe
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 72 hours
- These cookies will freeze in an airtight container for up to 45 days