These simple 6-ingredient brown sugar shortbread cookies are a sweet, flavorful take on traditional shortbread. Made in 1 bowl without eggs or leavening, this buttery shortbread is soft yet dense with crisp, crumbly edges. We’ll use the simple slice-and-bake method, which helps guarantee thick cookies. No rolling pin required!
Brown Sugar Shortbread Is Back & Better
I used to have a recipe for brown sugar shortbread cookies on my site, but removed it because readers were reporting that their cookies always overspread. But there must have been something about those cookies that many liked, because it is the most frequently requested “old recipe” I get asked for!
So my team and I decided to give the recipe another try, and see if we could solve the overspreading problem and improve this recipe. After a few test batches, we determined that reducing the amounts of butter and sugar made the biggest difference. I’m happy to report that this recipe for brown sugar shortbread cookies is BACK, and truly better than ever!
Some of my other favorites include these flavored cherry almond shortbread, pecan shortbread, lemon shortbread, & chocolate pistachio shortbread.
Why You’ll Be Glad This Cookie Recipe Is Making a Comeback
- A 1-bowl cookie recipe
- Only 6 ingredients total
- Brown sugar flavor with a shortbread texture
- Thick, dense, and buttery with crisp/crumbly edges
- Coated in sparkly, sweet, crunchy coarse sugar
- Easy slice-and-bake style
- Great make-ahead cookie recipe
Just 5 Ingredients for Brown Sugar Shortbread Dough
Shortbread cookies don’t require eggs or leavening agents, which makes the ingredient list super short! All you need for the dough is:
- Butter: Make sure to start with proper room-temperature butter. While a traditional shortbread has twice as much butter as it has sugar, these are brown sugar shortbread cookies, so the flavor emphasis is more on the brown sugar. Expect a sweeter cookie than these shortbread wedge cookies or almond crescent cookies.
- Brown Sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar, or a mix of both.
- Vanilla Extract: Feel free to use homemade vanilla extract here!
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides the cookies’ structure.
- Salt: A little salt balances out the sweet.
You’ll also need a coarse sugar, such as coarse sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar (like Sugar in the Raw), to roll the cookie dough logs in. This gives the edges of your cookies a dazzling sparkle, as well as a sweet crunch.
How to Make Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
Make the cookie dough in 1 bowl. Beat butter and sugar together until very creamy. If you need some extra guidance on this step, here is my tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar. Next, beat in the vanilla, then add the dry ingredients. The dough will be very crumbly, and you will probably need to finish bringing it together with your hands.
This is what it will look like:
Pour it out onto a work surface, and squeeze the dough together with your hands until it forms a thick dough. If it’s still too crumbly and not sticking together, try getting your hands wet or sprinkling a few drops of water onto the dough. That should do the trick!
Roll into logs. Divide the dough in half on a floured work surface. Do your best to roll each half into a log.
Roll the logs into coarse sugar. This sparkly coating makes for pretty cookies, but also gives the most fantastic sweet crunchโyou’ll love the texture addition! You can use coarse sparkling sugar or something like Sugar In The Raw.
Chill the logs. Wrap each log in plastic wrap, then chill for at least 4 hours. A long chill time is mandatory for these “icebox”-style cookies.
Slice & bake. Slice each log into about 12 cookies, arrange on cookie sheets, and bake.
A Great Make-Ahead Cookie Recipe
Slice-and-bake, aka icebox, cookies are particularly suited to making ahead of time because the dough logs need to chill for at least 4 hours minimum, but can also hang out in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
So make the dough in advance, and then when you’re ready for fresh-baked cookies, simply pull one of the dough logs out, slice, and bake!
Planning to make a lot of cookies at the holidays, and want to get ahead? Make several batches of slice-and-bake cookie dough and freeze the dough logs for up to 3 months. I have a full tutorial, including a video, on how to freeze cookie dough with all the details.
More Icebox-Style Cookies to Slice & Bake
- Pecan Shortbread
- Sprinkle Slice & Bake Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies (my favorite!)
- Pinwheel Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Roll Cookies
You can browse all of my shortbread & icebox cookie recipes here. And here are more one-bowl baking recipes to try.
Print
Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes (includes dough chilling)
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These simple 6-ingredient brown sugar shortbread cookies are a sweet, flavorful take on traditional shortbread. Made in 1 bowl without eggs or leavening, this buttery shortbread is soft yet dense with crisp, crumbly edges. Careful not to over-bake these. No rolling pin required!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For Rolling
- 1/2 cup (100g) coarse sugar (such as this or Sugar in the Raw)
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until completely smooth and creamy. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the flour and salt and beat on low speed until incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until the dough comes together. If the dough is too crumbly and won’t come together after a couple minutes of beating, stop the mixer, pour the dough crumbles on a work surface, and use your hands to bring it together. (I often have to do this, so don’t worry.) You can also try sprinkling the dough with a few drops of water and then beat again; or get your hands wet, then press the dough clumps together tightly until it forms one large clump of thick dough.
- With lightly floured hands, divide the dough in two. (If you want to be precise, the dough should weigh about 650g, so each half will be about 325g.) Roll and shape each piece of dough into an 8-inch log.
- For Rolling: Pour coarse sugar onto a large plate. One at a time, roll the logs in the sugar until the exterior is fully coated.
- Tightly wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 5 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Remove logs from the refrigerator. Slice each log into 12 equally thick cookies and place cookies on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 14โ16 minutes, or until set and lightly browned around the edges. Do not over-bake. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week. After day 1, the cookies will taste crunchier.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. You can make/assemble the cookie dough logs and chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (see step 5). Cookie dough logs freeze well too, up to 3 months. Allow the logs to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 6. See How to Freeze Cookie Dough if you’d like to see a video tutorial for freezing various types of doughs.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Coarse Sparkling Sugar | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Old Version: The old recipe called for: 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup (2 sticks; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar; 1/3 cup (67g) packed dark brown sugar; 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; optional: 2/3 cup (135g) coarse sugar, for rolling. Same baking instructions. The cookies usually over-spread, so I updated the amounts of ingredients.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Brought these cookies to a baby shower and it was hotly debated whether they are actually shortbread. They get almost caramelly when they are baked and turned out SO yummy
I have a question if I can use a cookie stamp with these cookies. Do you have any recommendations with cookie stamps.
Hi Dawn, we fear these buttery shortbread cookies won’t hold the details of a cookie stamp well. We’d recommend these brown sugar cinnamon stamped cookies instead! Lots of the same great flavors in those cookies.
Could you use brown butter for this recipe?
Definitely! Here’s our guide to browning butter.
I found that there was too much sugar and flour , so I changed the recipe to 120 grams of sugar and 170 grams of flour , so much better. Only needed to keep the dough refrigerated for an hour .
Can these be made gluten free?
We haven’t tested it, Jean, but would love to know if you give it a try!
Can the brown sugar shortbread be baked in a pan rather make cookies. If so what size pan and for how long.
Hi Jeanette, a few readers have reported success using an 8-inch square baking pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. Let us know if you try it!
Do the cookies end up with that lovely rim around them, or is there an additional step needed to obtain that appearance?
BTW, your blueberry pie is now an established 4th of July tradition (3 years and counting) at our house! Fantastic!
Hi Paul, you’ll roll the cookies in coarse sugar in step 4, then the cookies will bake up with the nice edge that you see in these photos. We hope you enjoy the cookies!
The cookies are delicious , but ours spread out too using your new recipe. I would love for them to take the shape of the ones in your cookie photo. Is there something else we should be aware of before cooking.
Thank you so much!
Hi Mary! Flat cookies are usually caused by butter that is too warm or under measuring flour, even if they are sufficiently chilled. This post on how to prevent cookies from spreading will also be a helpful resource.
How long do I have to preheat the oven?
Hi Ana Laura, just until the oven reaches 350ยฐF (177ยฐC).
This is my go to cookie recipe. I started using it years ago, when the original recipe was still up. It worked for me then. But after a baking hiatus, I came back to my memory of this recipe and somehow it didn’t work anymore. The cookies spread massively. I’ve just tried the updated recipe, and the cookies come out perfectly once again. I love the flavor you get from the combo of butter+brown sugar+time, so I use this recipe as a base and add yummy things. This round, I added ginger and cinnamon. In the past, I’ve added orange zest, white chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, cranberries, etc. The cookies were great every time. So simple to make, so easy to store, so satisfying to just slice and bake. Thanks for this recipe! โค๏ธ
Can I use brown butter in this?
Definitely!
can i drizzle/dip these in melted chocolate?
Definitely.
is there any way to make these more springish? like adding colorful sprinkles or icing or something?
Hi Lily, rolling the dough in spring sprinkles instead of coarse sugar could definitely work well!
We made these every year growing up but they had walnuts in them, and they’re written in the recipe card as refrigerator butterscotch overnight cookies. Where it came from I do not know, but I’ve been making them for 45+ years. Grandma probably got them out of a newspaper, which was where a lot the recipes from her era were gotten from. There weren’t all the cookbooks that we have now. Women shared family recipes or recipes they created themselves in their local/national newspapers. How far we’ve come, eh? Great recipe, thank you for sharing!!
Made these today, and they are delicious. I measured the logs to 8 inches and cut evenly into 12 slices. My cookies look much thicker and smaller in diameter than the recipe pictured. Quite a few cracked when baking. Love the taste, wish they looked like the recipe portrayed. What do you recommend to get the desired results?
Hi Peg, we’re glad you enjoyed the taste! How did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can soak up too much of the dry ingredients and prevent the cookies from spreading properly. If they’re too dry, that can also cause the tops to crack. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Iโve been wanting to make shortbread cookies for a few years. I cane upon this tecipe and decided To try it. I only had enough flour for half the recipe; my log is chilling as Iโm typing this. Will slice and bake tomorrow. So far everything looked the same as your photos, except that my log seems to have a few cracks in it., so itโs not as pretty as yours. Hopefully, the cracks in it, since its going to be sliced anyway. Iโm wondering how you managed to get your log so perfectly smooth? I was working in limited space, so I didnโt fuss too much, but next time I will. I rolled the log in Demerara (sp?)sugar.
Hi Andie, if the dough log is cracking, you can moisten your fingertips and use them to dab a little bit of water onto the cracks, then smooth them out. Hope this helps for next time!
Recipe was so helpful and the detailed instructions were spot on. Made these for a friend who can’t have eggs and they are now a family favorite. Great recipe!
Loved these cookies, even better than regular shortbread. Reduced the brown sugar by a bit and it was still sweet enough. Added splashes of water to bring the dough together. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hi, I was wondering of I could use coconut oil instead of of butter. thank you!
Hi Claire! We haven’t tested cocoanut oil here, but the cookies may turn out overly greasy, and obviously the flavor will change as well.
I spooned and leveled for measuring, the cookies did not spread at all. Maybe the original recipe would work better for me, or decreasing the flour ?
Perfect in every way. One of the easiest cookies I’ve ever made! Thank you Sally.