Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies are a slight twist on a classic, one that is definitely worth trying! The cookies are packed with chocolate and are as chewy as can be. If you want more Cookie Recipes, be sure to see my 50 favorites!
Brown Sugar vs. Granulated Sugar
Why are these cookies packed with brown sugar instead of granulated? Simple… I wanted them as chewy as possible! What exactly is brown sugar? Light brown sugar has molasses added to it which allows recipes specifically developed for brown sugar to achieve rich and complex flavors. It is a dense sugar and pacts easily, which means fewer air pockets during creaming. That means extra chewy! And, since brown sugar has a unique moist texture, it needs to be packed into a dry measuring cup.
In recipes that involve baking soda, (as this one does) the role of brown sugar is to react with sodium bicarbonate and produce carbon dioxide. This makes cookies thick and soft. Granulated sugar can’t participate in that reaction, so white sugar cookies are comparatively thin, dense, and crisp (chewy if kept from browning).
What Kind of Chocolate Chips Should be Used?
When testing this recipe I only used two kinds of chocolate; milk and semi-sweet. Because the dough itself is rich, I preferred semi-sweet chocolate for more contrast. However, I was quickly outvoted and ended up using milk chocolate chunks. You can use whatever you prefer.
I bought the ‘chunk” version of chocolate chips and then coarsely chopped them. Please don’t skip this step when you are making yours! I happen to love the shavings and small bits that reach every nook and cranny of the cookie not to mention how it looks, and I think you will too! Right before baking, I added more chocolate chunks to the top of the cookie. This is because I love the added chocolate and because I love that the cookie is easily identifiable.
Can This Recipe be Doubled?
Yes, you sure can double this recipe! This recipe only yields about 12 cookies, you may want to double it if feeding a crowd. However, if you make the cookies smaller, about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie, you can get at least 24 cookies out of it.
How to Store Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Or, for longer storage, freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
More Popular Cookies
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (186 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 5 ounces milk chocolate chunks, plus extra for the tops of the cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter.
- In a large bowl, add brown sugar. Pour butter over brown sugar and mix to combine.
- Add in egg and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt to the brown sugar mixture. Mix by hand until combined. The batter will be coarse and appear dry.
- Coarsely chop the chocolate and add to the batter. Reserve a few pieces of chocolate to add to the top of the cookies.
- Using a cookie scoop that holds about 2 tablespoons of batter, scoop out the dough and place it onto the lined baking sheet.
- Place a few (3-5) extra chunks on chocolate on top of each cookie.
- Using a clean kitchen glass, press down each cookie until it is about ½ to ¾ inch thick. This step is optional, but if you don't press the cookies down they may need to bake longer as they do not flatten on their own.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack.
Video
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These cookies are easy to make and easy to make l made them smaller but.went.to.freeze.some.they were.gone. l will make them again!
hi! these look amazing, will be making for kiddos! one question, no refrigeration needed? i’ve seen so many recipes that call for it so cookies don’t spread. ty for sharing 😋
They do not spread. I talk about that in the blog post… 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly and my dough was not crumbly but very gooey. I added another 1/2 flour and am not going to refrigerate because they are still not crumbly. I will reply to my post and reveal the results once baked. I am keeping my fingers crossed!
Oh goodness! Yes, please let me know how they turn out for you!
I live in Paris, France and American recipes are, at times, very difficult to make here as the ingredients are not the same. Brown sugar here is free flowing which has greatly impacted my results despite chilling in the refrigerator. The cookies look good but they did spread quite a bit although that was expected on my part but don’t know yet how they will taste. I wonder if you would not mind in the future to give weights as everything here is done that way. Just a suggestion.
I tried one of the cookies and they had just the right amount of crunch on the outside and softer on the inside.
Perhaps Shelly’s issue was not compacting her brown sugar. Since mine, too, was not crumbly due to Parisian brown sugar being different I am more knowledgeable about adapting American recipes here in Paris.
Not sure how to rate this. The flavor and texture are quite nice. However, I too had a loose batter. I had to add almost another full cup of flour to bring the batter from a cake-like batter to a cookie batter. Also refrigerated overnight, which seemed to help, and baked for 10 mins. I noticed in the recipe, the egg is added to the butter/brown sugar mixture and in the video the egg is added with the dry ingredients. Could this make a significant difference in the final batter?
The Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookie was just okay; too cakey for me. Batter was not crumbly as shown in video.I added pecans to part of the batter. Made for a better tasting cookie. I probably would omit the egg next go round. I like the overall flavor.
This is a crispy cookie that doesn’t have a whole lot of richness or flavor. I thought it would be chillier.
Sounds like it was overbaked. 🙁 Sorry about that.
I love chocolate chip cookies, especially the giant “home style” chocolate chip one they have. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t been able to really go out much. So I decided to make some at home! A lot of recipes call for a mix of brown and white sugar but I only had brown on hand. And in comes your recipe to save the day. I followed it exactly, with no changes (other than having to bake them just a few extra minutes). These were THE BEST cookies I have ever had! Thank you for this spectacular recipe. I have already added it to my recipe stash! Eternally grateful to you for this 🙂
They were okay to me and hubby, 9 year old was not a fan at all. Probably wont make again.