These chewy brown sugar cookies are as simple as drop-style cookies come (no mixer required!), yet they deliver the kind of deep, caramelized flavor you usually only find in the richest chocolate chip cookies. No chips here, though—this recipe lets brown sugar shine all by itself!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and helpful success tips. After gathering feedback from readers over the years, we have also tweaked the recipe to add a little more flour, to keep the cookies from over-spreading.
I love cookies packed with add-ins—chocolate chunks, caramel, sprinkles, all of it—but sometimes you just want something simple, sweet, and chewy. These cookies let brown sugar shine in every soft-baked, molasses-kissed bite.
But don’t call them plain! They’re full of warm flavor and have such a delightfully chewy texture that they don’t need any extras.
Unfussy and cozy, these chewy brown sugar cookies are the kind you don’t expect to fall in love with… until one bite makes them the only cookie you want to bake all month. And the best part? They’re completely beginner-friendly and perfect for both holiday trays and everyday cravings.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Cookies:
- Chewy, soft centers + lightly crisp edges
- Simple ingredients you likely already have on hand
- Sweet, buttery, and cozy
- No special equipment or knowledge of how to decorate sugar cookies required here!
One reader, Michelle, commented: “I always considered sugar cookies as the candy corn of the cookie world: a waste of butter and sugar. This recipe changed my mind. These cookies are so delicious all of my dinner guests preferred the sugar cookies over chocolate chip cookies. Let me say that again: people actively chose something that didn’t have chocolate. Sally, you’re truly a magician. Thank you for opening a whole new world of cookies! ★★★★★“
The Secret Is… Brown Sugar
Using all brown sugar in the cookie dough gives these cookies their signature flavor and texture. Brown sugar doesn’t just sweeten; its molasses content adds moisture and chew that lasts for days. It also encourages more caramelization in the oven, which translates to deeper flavor and those pretty golden edges.
Light or dark brown sugar both work here. Use dark if you’re after an extra deep flavor. If I have both on hand, I use half light and half dark.
If you love brown sugar treats, try my cut-out brown sugar cookies with icing next, or my extra-tender brown sugar shortbread for a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth variation.
Other Ingredients You Need
The ingredients for these cookies may seem familiar if you’ve ever made my recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies. I used a few of the same ingredient ratios and recipe techniques in today’s chewy brown sugar cookies.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is best for cookies.
- Baking Soda: This leavener will cause the cookies to puff up while baking, then fall and crinkle a bit as they cool.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra-soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick.
- Cinnamon: 1/2 teaspoon adds a subtle kiss of spice. If you love cinnamon-sugar-flavored treats, use 1 whole teaspoon. If you’re a brown sugar cookie purist, leave it out. Baker’s choice!
- Salt: To balance the sweetness of the brown sugar.
- Melted Butter: Melted butter produces the chewiest cookies. It can, however, make your baked cookies greasy, so I made sure there is enough flour to counteract that. And using melted butter is also the reason you don’t need a mixer to make these cookies, just like these M&M cookie bars.
- Brown Sugar: The moisture in brown sugar promises an extra soft and chewy baked cookie. You can use light or dark brown sugar in these cookies, and actually, I usually make them with half light and half dark.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Vanilla Extract: Flavor enhancer extraordinaire!
Preparing the cookie dough is easy. Whisk dry ingredients in one bowl and whisk wet ingredients in another; then, combine everything together.
Chilling this cookie dough for at least 3–4 hours is a non-negotiable. We need to give the melted butter a chance to firm up before baking the cookies. These brown sugar cookies are very buttery and the colder the cookie dough, the less they’ll over-spread. Here are more tips on how to prevent cookies from spreading.
My advice? Make the dough ahead of time. It can chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so whip it up a day or two ahead of when you have time to bake the cookies.
Scoop & Roll These Drop-Style Sugar Cookies
A medium cookie scoop is helpful to portion out the cold dough into 1.5-Tablespoon-size pieces. Roll the cookie dough into balls, then coat them in granulated sugar.
You know a cookie recipe is a winner when its softness isn’t compromised as the days go by. We all love that about this recipe! True “soft-batch” style, just like the cookies you get from a bakery.
Here’s a Storage Tip: To keep them extra soft, try storing them in an airtight container along with a piece of bread. The bread will get stale, but the cookies will stay soft! It’s the same trick you can use to soften up brown sugar that’s gotten hard in the container.
If you love the pure brown sugar flavor of these cookies, be sure to try my brown sugar shortbread cookies next!
We see this question a lot, so we tested it! Yes, you can use brown butter for these cookies, but you need to add extra liquid to the dough to make up for the loss of moisture during the browning process. Add 2 Tablespoons of water or milk to the dough when you mix together the wet ingredients.
These chewy brown sugar cookies are proof that sometimes the simplest recipes can easily become a household favorite.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 20-24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Bake a batch of chewy brown sugar cookies with plush centers, lightly crisp edges, and cozy brown sugar sweetness. A simple, no-mixer, beginner-friendly cookie recipe. See make-ahead and freezing instructions below.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/3 cups (292g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (use 1 teaspoon if you love cinnamon)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I like to use half light + half dark)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a silicone spatula or large wooden spoon until completely combined. The dough will be very soft, yet thick.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 3–4 hours, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 15 minutes if it chilled for longer than 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Pour the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Scoop and roll dough into a ball, about 1.5 Tablespoons (30–35g) in size, then roll in the sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (8–9 cookies per baking sheet).
- Bake for 14–16 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are set and small cracks are appearing. The cookies will be puffy and still appear very soft in the middle, but they will deflate slightly and continue to set as they cool. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cover cooled cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. Unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, preheat the oven, then roll in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Melted Butter: Let the melted butter cool down for about 5–10 minutes before mixing with the other ingredients. Don’t want to cook that egg with the hot butter!
- Can I Use Browned Butter? We see this question a lot, so we tested it! Yes, you can use brown butter for these cookies, but you need to add extra liquid to the dough to make up for the loss of moisture during the browning process. Add 2 Tablespoons of water or milk to the dough when you mix together the wet ingredients.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps promise a softer, thicker cookie. I highly recommend it. I use it in my chocolate chip cookies and shortbread cookies, too. Feel free to leave it out if you don’t have it.
- Update in 2025: Based on reader feedback about over-spreading, we increased the flour from 2 cups (250g). If you’d like to make the previous version, use 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour.
- 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
Can you use vegan butter?
Hi Amy, we haven’t tested this recipe with vegan butter so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you give it a try!
I made these following the recipe to the T, and let me say DELICIOUS I made the dough Sunday night with the intention to bake on mi day but life happened. So I baked them today. Simply perfection! Today I’m making a batch with peppermint extract and peppermint candies ground to a very fine dust. As always, perfection Sally and team!
Best cookie ever. So easy. Only change I made was a pecan on top after I flattened the cookie with a wine glass. Then back in the oven for four minutes. Everyone loved them . Will add to my Xmas cookies.
Turned out perfect!!!
Awesome recipe!!!! I did add a pinch more of flour & vanilla but, I threw my dough in the freezer until the outside was firm NOT FROZEN… other than that followed recipe to the T.
Followed this recipe to a T but the cookies turned out incredibly flat. I use a food scale and have made many of Sallys recipes and I have no clue what went wrong. The dough was chilled for over 24 hours. I may try making them again but with more flour. It would probably be helpful to include a picture of the dough before being rolled so you can see that its the right consistency.
This recipe was great! My family ate the entire batch in less than 24 hours! Thank you Sally. Love your recipes.
I only want to bake half this recipe (to test to see what we think). Would you suggest using just 1 egg yolk?
Hi Ashley, You will want to use half of a whole egg. You can crack the egg into a separate bowl, mix it, then add half to the dough.
Absolutely love this recipe! First time doing them they have come out lovely, i didnt have the corn flour but just added slightly more flour. Would HIGHLY recommend making these. Me and my kids destroyed them all in 1 sitting and it made exactly 20 identical cookies.
I didn’t read the instructions properly as I was trying to do this with a 3 year old and 1 year old. I ended up literally dumping everything in a bowl and mixing with an electric mixer. Then I just baked them for 13 mins straight through. They were still AMAZING! Certainly will do this again but actually follow the instructions
Would these be good frosted?
Hi Alexa, you certainly could if you wanted to!
Excellent recipe! Easy to follow, not complicated at all. I added more cinnamon than recommended (about 1 1/2 tbsp), and it turned out great! I also rolled the dough balls in coconut flakes, it in the end it added an extra burst of flavor. Will be making this again in the future!
Was feeling “Autumnal” so I replaced the cinnamon with a tsp of pumpkin pie spice and pressed a pecan into the tops during the flattening step. Great tender/chewy texture and so easy to whip up! Going on my favorites list, along with Sally’s candy bar blondies–I guess I hate waiting for butter to soften <3
The first time I made these I didn’t let them sit on the cookie sheet for a full 10min before transferring to a wire rack because I only have 2 cookie sheets and had a second round to get in the oven. The first bunch out of the oven were definitely underbaked but the second group had more time on the cookie sheet and firmed up quite a bit. Delicious both ways! Right now I’m trying to be patient and let them sit before I pop in the second round. I love these cookies so much I will definitely make them again, but next time I’m going to brown the butter for even more flavor!
Tossed in choc chips and loved the result!
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Stumbled upon your recipe and let me tell you, FANTASTIC! I portioned the dough out using an ice cream scoop and froze them for future use, the dough held up so well! In my batch I mixed in milk chocolate chips and dried cranberries, absolutely delish!
These are amazing! I’ve made them three times and even my healthy-eating husband asks for them! They’re sooo good! I add more salt and randomly scoop out some of the sugar and they’re delish.
These were a huge hit. Next time going to try to add amaretto (and probably a tad more flour to accommodate addition of liquid). Also made an “adult” version and the recreational users in the group quite enjoyed – they stayed moist and delish!
I have made this recipe twice now because they are so good! I didn’t have lots of time to put them in the fridge this time but I did leave them in there for ten minutes so that they could at least cool down a little. The cookies came out good just a little more spread out than the last time I made them. I 100% recommend my whole family(even my dog) enjoyed these cookies.
It was 8pm and I didn’t have any butter… it’s the quarantine and I was extremely bored so I just subbed it for coconut oil and hoped for the best. I also added an extra teaspoon of vanilla and some semi sweet chocolate chips. Other than that I followed the recipe to a T. These were a HIT! My family and friends loved these. my new go to. Im going grocery shopping tomorrow and def getting butter to see the difference. I’m excited to try the chocolate chip recipe here too
These cookies are INCREDIBLE! What makes them so chewy?? I would love to duplicate the texture in other cookie recipes, like a chocolate chip cookie. Is it the oven temp? The melted butter? I’m dying to know!
Hi Bailey! Here is this recipe as chocolate chip cookies. The egg yolk, extra brown sugar, and melted butter are KEY!
Hi Sally! These cookies are amazing! I have a question… I’ve made these about 10 times now (every weekend) and they’ve always come out perfectly except for this last time. The only thing that was different was the brand of brown sugar I used. I normally use a brand that’s the texture of organic cane sugar but this last time the brand I used was very fine. My cookies were flat and a different texture. Could the type of brown sugar I used be the issue? Thank you for all your amazing recipes!!
Hi Candis! A finer sugar means a thinner cookie dough– which means extra spread! That is so interesting that the sugar was the only variable. I recommend sticking to your regular brown sugar.
I made these cookies, with baking powder instead of soda and I dropped them instead of chilling and rolling. THESE WERE THE BEST COOKIES I EVER MADE MYSELF. Chewy, sweet and flavorful.
I made these last week and browned the butter, adding an extra tablespoon to make up for the amount that evaporated. Such great flavor! And they indeed stayed soft and chewy for days.
These were delicious. I added just a little less than quarter cup of flour and a bit of baking powder, Great texture and best of all no creaming. Thank you so much for this recipe
First time following a recipe on this website and followed the instructions completely but cookies did not turn out as expected lol. I checked the ingredients again and I followed the grams recipe but when I double checked and looked at the cups recipe (2 cups of flour and 1+1/4 brown sugar), I can see that more flour is used than sugar rather than the same amount it said in grams (250g of both).
Would advise you change this as I followed the measurements in grams and they definitely do not look like the picture. They flattened out, look very dark brown and take way longer to cook. They taste very sweet (probably due to the extra sugar) and it’s hard to tell if they are really cooked or not.
I would love to try this recipe again with the correct measurements as everyone seems to have had a great time baking them.
Hi Anne! Sugar weighs more than flour, so the gram measurements will be different per cup. I’m sorry that the cookies spread too much. I would try adding a little more flour if you ever decide trying to make them again.
I browned the butter first, and oh-my-god, the cookies were DELICIOUS! Browning the butter makes them taste exactly like a “starbucks toffeedoodle” cookie. Next time I might throw in some Skor toffee bits.
I just made these without chilling, and they turned out perfectly! I used whole wheat flour and light brown sugar, and I used a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, but otherwise followed the recipe and these puffed up nicely, had crinkled tops, and were absolutely delicious!
Baked these cookies for the first time today, absolutely loved them the cinnamon idea was amazing! Just wanted to say how much myself and my family enjoyed your cookie recipe!