Brown Sugar Cookies [Video]
Christmas recipes Cookies Desserts Holiday Food Recipes
Cook time: 14 minutes
Brown Sugar Cookies are delightfully chewy, buttery, and warmly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a deeper and richer take on the classic version! A must-bake during the holidays and delicious all year long.
You can never have too many dessert recipes. Indulge in this delectable Chocolate Creme Brulee, Devil’s Food Cake Truffles, and The Best German Chocolate Cupcakes to end meal times on a sweet note! Perfect with tea or coffee as well.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cookies
Brown Sugar Cookies prove that fabulous results can come from the simplest recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I love extras on my sweet desserts— chocolate chips, nuts, icing, sprinkles— you name it! But sometimes, I just want something pure and simple. These fit the bill perfectly.
Now, don’t mistake simple for boring! Every bite is loaded with a delicious blend of molasses, butter, and spices.
The molasses, butter and brown sugar make the perfect blend for some soft and chewy cookies. Also, the toffee like flavor these add to the cookies, combine so well with the earthy cinnamon and nutmeg.
The spices are definitely optional, but they make the cookies more festive, so its totally up to you if you want to add or skip them.
The firm dough is excellent for cutting into fun and festive shapes. A must-bake dessert for the holidays. I also love wrapping these up in boxes as gifts!
What is brown sugar?
It’s crystalline sucrose (your basic white granulated variety) with molasses added for flavor and color. Depending on how much molasses are added in, it can range from light to dark.
It’s a touch more flavorful than the white variety. In general, it tastes like toffee or caramel.
You can totally DIY from scratch. Mix two teaspoons molasses per one cup of white granulated. That’s it, and it’s ready to be used in recipes.
How to make Brown Sugar Cookies?
- Prepare the oven. Heat to 350F.
- Brown the butter. We’re browning the butter to get that complex, nutty flavor. Take 10 tbsp from the amount indicated in the recipe. Melt until brown, then pour into a bowl along with remaining butter.
- Mix dry components of the dough. Whisk the dry ingredients along with some of the sugar.
- Make the butter mixture. In the bowl with the butter, add the rest of the sugar and mix there are no lumps. Follow with the egg and extra egg yolk. Mix in the pure vanilla extract and molasses.
- Form the dough. Put the dough together by stirring dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
- Shape. Use a cutter to cut into desired shapes, or roll into balls. Dust the surface with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake. Bake only until they begin to set, which can take around 12-14 minutes.
- Serve. Cool on a wire rack before serving or storing.
Brown Sugar Cookies Variations:
- Top with icing: make it extra delicious with cinnamon icing, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, or vanilla icing
- Use white sugar: you can sub white in place of brown, but note that the results may not be as chewy
- Top with toffee chips: just after baking, press some toffee chips, caramel chips, cinnamon chips, or white chocolate chips onto the surface
- Add texture: top with sprinkles or crushed nuts for a bit of crunch
How do you make sugar cookies soft and chewy?
To achieve that soft and chewy texture, you’ll need ingredients with a lot of moisture. That’s why we use brown sugar, melted butter, and add extra egg yolk in there.
How do you know when Brown sugar cookies are done?
There’s no coming back once they get overbaked, so pay attention to your oven! These are done once the edges are just barely beginning to get golden. The middle will look undercooked, and that’s okay. They will continue to cook and firm up as they cool.
How long do cookies last?
Once baked, these will stay fresh up to a week at room temp inside a tightly-sealed container. They will also keep well for several months frozen. A convenient way to get ahead of the holiday baking frenzy!
If you’re not ready to bake yet, freeze the dough for up to a month instead. Defrost when ready to bake and follow the rest of the recipe.
More easy cookie recipes:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (No Bake!)
- Easy Twix Cookies
- Easy Meringue Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mexican Wedding Snowballs
Recipe tips:
- If the dough gets too sticky, sprinkle some flour to make more workable.
- Let baked goods cool to firm up before enjoying.
- DO NOT OVERBAKE. Set a timer, and start checking at the 10-minute mark. Once you notice browning on the edges, it’s time to take them out.
- Always keep some molasses on hand, it’s great to be added to many sweet and also savory recipes. Also, you can always make some brown sugar, instead of running to the store.
Brown Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar (packed)
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a skillet, over medium heat melt 2/3 cup of butter, stir and whisk it constantly. until it reaches a brownish color, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer it into a large bowl, and add the remaining butter, stir until melted in.
- In another medium bowl whisk 1/2 cup brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Add remaining brown sugar to the melted butter and whisk it until smooth. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and molasses.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until a dough forms.
- Roll dough out to 1/2-inch thick disk and use a cookie cutter to cut cookies, or roll into balls and place on cookie sheet, slightly press them down and sprinkle on top with brown sugar and some cinnamon.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies begin to set. Do not over-bake.
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