This recipe for brown sugar cookies are soft and chewy with a rich caramel flavor and crackly tops. With a buttery taste, they will be your new favorite sugar cookie!

Stacked brown sugar cookies on the counter showing soft centers and crisp edges.

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Soft and Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

If you love a soft sugar cookie, these brown sugar cookies are such a delicious twist. They have the same soft and chewy texture, but the brown sugar and brown butter give them a richer flavor with hints of caramel and molasses.

They remind me of my chipless chocolate chip cookies, only simpler and even cozier. They are easy to make, full of warmth, and one of those cookies everyone keeps coming back for.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Soft, chewy texture. The extra egg yolk helps keep the centers soft and gives the cookies a chewy bite.
  • Made with brown butter. Browned butter adds a subtle toasty flavor that makes these cookies feel a little more special than your average sugar cookie.
  • No frosting needed. These cookies have plenty of flavor on their own, no need to ice or glaze!
  • Easy pantry recipe. Made with simple ingredients and quick to mix together, this is an easy cookie recipe to bake anytime.
Brown sugar cookie ingredients on counter.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Unsalted butter: Soften butter to room temperature 30 minutes before prepping dough. It needs to be soft enough to cream, but you’re also going to use half of it to melt into making brown butter.
  • Brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, it’s up to you. I like to mix both of them sometimes! The darker brown sugar will result in darker cookies with a slightly stronger molasses flavor.
  • Large egg plus large egg yolk: The extra egg yolks gives the cookies that fabulous chewy consistency.
  • Vanilla extract: The flavoring of pure vanilla extract complements the brown butter and brown sugar nicely giving the entire brown sugar cookie a delicious warm comforting flavor.
  • All-purpose flour: I prefer unbleached.
  • Baking soda: A rising agent that helps the cookies to rise before collapsing.
  • Fine sea salt: Brings out the flavor of the brown sugar sugar cookies.

How to Make Brown Sugar Cookies

In a small light colored saucepan, melt half of the butter over medium heat, swirling it every once in a while. Once the butter turns an amber color and has a nutty aroma, transfer it to a bowl (including the brown milk solids) and cool.

Browned butter in a pot for brown sugar cookies.

In a large mixing bowl, add melted brown butter, remaining softened butter, and brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for a few minutes until smooth and creamy.

Creaming brown sugar, brown butter and softened butter in a mixing bowl.

Mix in the egg, extra yolk and vanilla then continue mixing for another minute. Add flour, salt, and baking soda then mix again scraping sides of the bowl as you go. Chill dough for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Thick brown sugar cookie dough in mixing bowl.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out cookie dough and place onto a prepared parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake at 350°F oven for 10 minutes until the edges are golden and center is still soft.

Brown butter brown sugar cookie on the counter showing crackly top.
  • For a crystallized sugar coating, roll dough balls in granulated white sugar before baking. You can also coat them in cinnamon sugar.
  • Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack. They’re quite soft just out of the oven, so moving too early could cause them to fall apart.
  • If you prefer a thicker cookie, add up to 1/4 cup more flour and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
  • Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. These cookies spread quite a bit, and the lining will help to avoid overspreading.

Fun Variations to Try

Easy brown sugar cookies on counter showing soft and chewy centers.

More cookie recipes we love include cheesecake filled cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, this chocolate chip cookie recipe and snickerdoodle cookies!

More Soft Cookie Recipes You’ll Love

Brown sugar cookie on counter.

Brown Sugar Cookies

4.89 from 26 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill time + Cool Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 30
This recipe for brown sugar cookies are soft and chewy with a rich caramel flavor and crackly tops. With a buttery taste, they will be your new favorite sugar cookie!
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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup (2 sticks; 226 grams) unsalted butter , at room temperature, divided
  • 1 ¾ cups (375 grams) light or dark brown sugar (I like to do a mix of both if I have them)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour , plus more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

  • Make brown butter. In a small pan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium-heat. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, swirling the pan every so often, until the butter browns (when it turns an amber golden color and has a nutty aroma, it’s done). Transfer to a bowl to cool 5 minutes.
  • Line baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with a baking mat or parchment paper.
  • Combine cookie dough and chill. In a large bowl, mix the melted brown butter, remaining 1/2 cup butter, and 1 3/4 cups brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed 3 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Mix in 1 large egg, 1 egg yolk and 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla for an additional minute. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda and mix until well combined. If dough seems too soft, add an 1 to 2 Tablespoons flour. Chill dough at least 30 minutes.
  • Bake. Scoop cookie dough onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake 10 minutes, or until the edges are just golden brown and the center is still soft.
  • Cool. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, or until the centers are set, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Brown butter: Learn how to make brown butter with these easy steps. Use a lighter colored pan to brown the butter, so that you can easily see the color change.
For a thicker cookie: This recipe will produce a thinner cookie (crisp around edges and chewy in the middle). If you prefer a thicker cookie, add an extra 1/4 cup flour and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days to keep them soft and chewy. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 186kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 102mg, Potassium: 45mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 214IU, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Recipe FAQs

What does brown sugar do to cookies?

Brown sugar does a couple of things. One, it provides a different flavor than traditional white sugar because of the molasses it contains. And two, it traps moisture so it helps keep the texture of the brown sugar cookies soft and chewy.

Do I have to brown the butter?

You don’t! I do recommend it because the nutty flavor element is next level, but you can, by all means, skip the process and use regular melted butter along with the softened butter.

Do chewy brown sugar cookies need to be refrigerated?

These don’t need to be kept in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh at room temperature as long as they’re kept in an airtight container so they don’t dry out.

Can I freeze them?

Certainly! I suggest even doubling the batch and freezing one of them for later on. They’ll keep frozen for up to 3 months. Then you can thaw as many as you’d like at room temperature before serving them again.

How can I make thicker cookies but still keep them soft?

The secret is to add cornstarch to your brown sugar cookie dough! I’ve never felt the need to do this, but if you try it with yours, let me know what you think.