Brown Sugar Cookies

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Soft, chewy, and packed with rich butterscotch-like flavor, these brown sugar cookies are the ultimate comfort treat! Between the brown butter, the brown sugar, the flakey sea salt on top, these very simple cookies may just be my new favorite. I even frosted a few if you prefer to fancy it up!

close up of brown sugar cookies with sea salt on top

Why You’ll Love Brown Sugar Cookies

One of the simplest, yet tastiest cookie recipes I have made! Only a handful of ingredients that you probably have in your pantry right now.
Crinkly around the edge, soft and chewy in the center, butterscotch-like flavor from the brown butter and brown sugar and of course, the flakey sea salt makes them irresistible.
Even though it’s simple to make, it’s one of the best base cookie recipes that you can alter in sooo many ways! I use this as the base for most of my cookies now.

It’s close to Christmas and it looks like I am on that cookie kick again lol. I like making cookies for holiday parties because they are easy to take and easy to eat and it is cookie season after all!

These brown sugar cookies are awesome because they can be used as a base for many recipes where you can use your imagination and taste buds 🙂 Other cookie favorites I am currently enjoying are White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (same base), Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies, White Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and my Pecan Oatmeal Cookies.

brown sugar cookies topped with frosting and christmas tree design

Ingredients:

Flour: I use all-purpose flour for this recipe however, I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as over-measuring the flour is the most common baking mistake and may result in dry cookies.

Sugar: I use light brown sugar and I don’t recommend reducing it because it can alter the texture of the cookies. You could also use half granulated sugar and half dark brown sugar or all dark brown sugar if you’re in a pinch!
Butter: I LOVE using salted butter in cookies! You could also use unsalted butter but I would just add an extra pinch of salt.
Egg: I use large room temperature eggs. Place it in hot water for a few minutes if it’s cold.
Vanilla: Don’t underestimate the power of vanilla extract in a cookie recipe. I think for cookies, it’s essential.
Baking Powder: just baking powder, no baking soda.
Salt: I like sea salt but any salt works, salt cuts some sweetness and really brings out the flavors. If you’re using table salt, feel free to cut back on some since it’s stronger than sea salt.

brown sugar cookies topped with a little sea salt

Step-By-Step Instructions

In a small pot, over medium heat, brown the butter for 5-10 minutes, stirring intermittently until it begins to bubble and foam.
Stir continuously until you see the milk solids browning and settling on the bottom. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool.
Place the light brown sugar into a medium-large bowl and add the butter and stir a little.
Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk aggressively for 2-3 minutes, until it’s smooth and has lightened in color.
Add the dry ingredients and fold the cookie dough just until there are no more streaks of flour.
Freeze cookie dough for at least 15-30 minutes, or refrigerate for longer, then scoop sixteen 2ish ounce cookies.
1. Refrigerate or freeze after scooping to let the dough firm up a little more, about 15 minutes.
Bake one sheet on the middle rack for 8ish minutes then remove, bang on the counter, use a round biscuit cutter to scoot them around so they’re round and return to the oven for another 4ish minutes, just until the edges are starting to brown. The centers may be puffed and not look fully baked yet but that’s fine, they’ll finish baking as they cool.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flakey sea salt allowing them to rest on the pan.
1. I tap the pan on the counter & use a round biscuit cutter again to scoot them around so they’re perfectly round.

Brown Butter mixed with the brown sugar — Brown butter mixed with the brown sugar

eggs whisked into the cookie dough — Brown butter mixed with the brown sugar

How To Bake These Cookies (Convection And Conventional)?

Cookies are super sensitive to temperature. I actually tested one exact same batch at 325F and 350F and the look/taste/texture was completely different.

I always bake in a convection (fan) oven because my oven runs weirdly hot on the bottom and the fan helps circulate the heat.

But when I took some polls on instagram, most of you said you either don’t have one or you don’t know how to use your convection oven. So since I developed almost ALL my recipes in a 350F (177C) convection oven, I decided to experiment with a conventional.

If you don’t know the difference, a convection oven has a fan that circulates the heat more evenly. This usually results in a quicker bake, so always do less time if you’re unsure and it also gives a more even browning. If you’re not used to it, the change can be frustrating but it’s worth trying if you’re having trouble with the bottoms getting too dark! Most people will lower the temperature for convection ovens but if you have an oven thermometer, most ovens will also automatically adjust themselves 25F lower than you set it to.

So if you set it at 350F convection the oven thermometer will generally read 325F (my current oven doesn’t do this so the temperature I set my oven to (and instructed in the recipe cards) is exactly what my oven thermometer reads.

For these cookies, they don’t spread quite as much as other cookies at 350F so I reduced the temperature to 325F (163C). This is what worked perfectly for my oven but if your cookies are spreading too much or taking way too long to bake, try baking at 350F (177C) and bake just until the edges are golden brown and the centers are puffed but no longer look wet. I always gear towards slightly under-baking cookies because they finish baking while they’re cooling.

How To Get Perfectly Round Cookies

Most cookies bake a little bit uneven around the edges, especially if the dough is soft and not refrigerated before baking. To get your cookies perfectly round, as soon as you remove them from the oven, use anything round like a biscuit cutter/cup/mug, etc. to scoot the cookies around within the circle.

Be gentle so you don’t break the soft cookie but you have to be quick and do it as soon as the cookie comes out of the oven, before the edges set.

What kind of frosting to use if you want to frost them?

I used cream cheese frosting just because it tastes so good lol. The unfortunate side of using cream cheese frosting is that if can only stay out for a few hours at a time since cream cheese goes bad.

I store them in the fridge airtight and then pull them out 1-2 hours before serving so the cookies aren’t hard.

If you don’t want to deal with refrigerating, you could use a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze, dip them in melted white chocolate or use American buttercream (use half this recipe).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the cookie dough be made ahead of time?

The cookie dough is pretty soft so you’ll want to scoop it out, then refrigerate it on a plate or tray until the cookie dough balls are more firm. Then place them in a ziplock bag and freeze. To bake, remove them from the freezer as the oven is preheating and bake 325 F (163 C).

Can I make these dairy free or vegan?

I haven’t tested egg free cookies but you can make these cookies with dairy free butter.

Can I make these gluten-free?

I have tested my base cookie dough recipes with 1:1 substitute for King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour Blends. The cookies turn out perfectly, they just have a traditional gluten-free flour flavor which is a little earthy/nuttier.

Can I have other add-ins?

Of course! Whatever you’re craving today, raisins or other dried fruits, dark chocolate, milk chocolate etc. Or give it a whirl with some delicious homemade praline pecans!

How To Store Brown Sugar Cookies

I recommend you place them in a ziplock bag or cookie jar and keep them at room temperature for a few days.

You can put them in the refrigerator to make them last longer, but they will dry out a bit more. I put them in the microwave for like 5-10 seconds before eating if I do this.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below.

If you make these brown sugar cookies, I would love it if you left a star rating for it in the recipe card.

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B