Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

by SugarAndButter
Prep: 15m
Cook: 11m
dessert, baked good
Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies - Image

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Ingredients
Servings:24
2 1/4cupall-purpose flour
1tspbaking soda
1/2tspsalt
3/4cupunsalted butter
1 1/4cupbrown sugar
1/4cupgranulated sugar
1egg
1egg yolk
2tspvanilla extract
Nutrition Facts

Per serving

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Instructions
  1. 1

    Heat the oven

    Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Starting with a fully heated oven helps the cookies set their edges before they spread too far.

  1. 2

    Whisk the dry ingredients

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined. Whisking now means you won't have to overmix later, which keeps the cookies tender.

  2. 3

    Mix the wet ingredients

    Melt the unsalted butter and let it cool for a few minutes so it's warm, not hot. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the packed brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth and glossy. Add the whole egg, the extra egg yolk, and the vanilla extract, and whisk again until the mixture looks a little lighter and well blended.

  3. 4

    Bring the dough together and chill

    Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain — stop as soon as it comes together. Cover and chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes. This firms the melted butter back up so the cookies bake thick and chewy instead of spreading thin.

  4. 5

    Scoop and bake

    Scoop the dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the lined sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to finish setting, then transfer to a rack. They'll firm into that soft, chewy middle as they cool.

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Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

Created by: SugarAndButter

Prep Time: 15m
Cook Time: 11m
Servings: 24

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Heat the ovenPreheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Starting with a fully heated oven helps the cookies set their edges before they spread too far.
  2. Whisk the dry ingredientsIn a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined. Whisking now means you won't have to overmix later, which keeps the cookies tender.
  3. Mix the wet ingredientsMelt the unsalted butter and let it cool for a few minutes so it's warm, not hot. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the packed brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth and glossy. Add the whole egg, the extra egg yolk, and the vanilla extract, and whisk again until the mixture looks a little lighter and well blended.
  4. Bring the dough together and chillAdd the dry ingredients to the wet and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain — stop as soon as it comes together. Cover and chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes. This firms the melted butter back up so the cookies bake thick and chewy instead of spreading thin.
  5. Scoop and bakeScoop the dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the lined sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to finish setting, then transfer to a rack. They'll firm into that soft, chewy middle as they cool.

Notes & Tips

These are the cookie I make when I want chewy, not cakey — and the secret is going all-in on brown sugar. Brown sugar is just white sugar plus molasses, and that molasses is what holds onto moisture and gives you that soft, bendy middle with a little toffee flavor. Two more things do the heavy lifting: I melt the butter instead of creaming it (creaming whips in air and gives you a fluffier, more cake-like cookie, which is lovely but not what we're after here), and I add one extra egg yolk for richness without extra structure. The short chill is worth it — it firms the butter back up so the cookies bake thick and chewy instead of spreading into thin crisps. Pull them when the edges are set but the centers still look a touch underdone and puffy; they keep cooking on the hot pan and settle into that perfect chew as they cool. If a few come out a little craggy or uneven, that's exactly what a homemade cookie should look like.