No brown sugar? No problem! You won't miss it in these white sugar chocolate chip cookies. They are so good. A chewy soft texture with slightly crispy edges, perfect to curb your cookie craving.
There are caramel and butterscotch notes In the browned butter cookies. Brown butter makes any classic chocolate chip cookie recipe just so much better.
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About these cookies
This easy recipe is based on this espresso brown butter chocolate chip cookies recipe, but with a few tweaks to make up for no brown sugar. It is:
- Easy to make - This is a fast and easy cookie dough made with melted butter so that it can be made without a stand mixer or electric mixer.
- No chill time - You need 10 minutes to let the melted butter cool, but the dough itself is a no-chill cookie dough, so you can have cookies quickly! If you want to make these cookies in advance or extra thick cookies, they can be rolled and chilled (or frozen) until you want to bake them. However, chilling is not mandatory.
- Caramel notes- these cookies are so flavorful thanks to the brown butter in the dough, which brings caramel notes.
- Plenty of chocolate chips - Perfect for chocolate fans!
- Chewy yet slightly crispy - The cookies are chewy because of the melted butter and extra egg yolk, but granulated sugar gives them deliciously crisp edges.
I've also a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies without butter!
The ingredients
You only need basic ingredients for these delicious cookies. The amounts are in the recipe card below but here is a rundown on the ingredients you need.
- Butter - I think the best chocolate chip cookies always use brown butter. You can use unsalted butter or salted butter, and tweak the salt content in the recipe depending on what you're using. The butter will be browned first, bringing the most delicious toffee notes to the cookie dough. Melted butter also creates a chewier texture.
- Granulated sugar - Just granulated white sugar in this cookie.
- Eggs- A whole egg AND an extra egg yolk. Classic chocolate chip cookies usually have brown sugar in them to bring moisture. In this recipe, the extra egg yolk will help soften the cookie and create chewy cookies.
- Vanilla - Use a good quality vanilla extract or paste.
- Baking soda and baking powder - only a little to give the cookies some lift, but not so much, so it still ensures they stay thick and chewy.
- All-purpose flour - the base of the cookie dough.
- Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks - Semi-sweet dark chocolate chips, white chocolate, or milk chocolate. Use whatever you prefer. You can use chocolate chips or chop a bar of chocolate into chunks.
The brown butter
Brown butter is what makes this easy cookie recipe so special. It is a key step in getting the best flavor in these chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar. Usually, the brown sugar brings notes of caramel to the cookie so without it, the flavor needs some lifting.
This is where browned butter comes in. Brown butter, also known as beurre noisette, is simply butter that has melted and then cooked a step further so that the milk solids in the butter caramelize. This gives a beautiful caramel flavor to the butter. It also helps to bring moisture to the cookie and enhances the chewy texture.
The depth of flavor in the butter depends on how much it is left to caramelize. Too little and the flavor will be too mild and will only make a slight difference in the cookie dough. Too much and you run the risk of burning the milk solids and cooking off too much liquid, which can ruin the dough structure.
Try these biscoff brown butter cookies next!
How to brown butter for cookies
Over medium heat, let the butter melt down.
Avoid using a dark pan, as you will struggle to see the caramelization of the butter and run the risk of burning it.
Once you have melted butter, let it cook further for around 3-4 minutes.
Cook while occasionally stirring, until the milk solids in the butter have caramelized into a golden amber color and the butter smells nutty.
The butter will be bubbly during the process, then all of a sudden it will go foamy. Keep stirring as it does this, and take it off the heat to check the browning. Usually, this is a good indication that the browning process is finished.
The first time you melt butter will be the trickiest as you learn to gauge the caramelization, but once you taste how delicious it is, you won't look back!
Pour the hot butter into a large bowl, including all the caramelized solids at the bottom of the pan, and allow it to cool down for 10 minutes before continuing with the recipe.
Method
Let the butter melt in a medium saucepan, then cook for around 3-4 minutes until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty. Pour it into a bowl and cool down for 10 minutes.
Add the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the butter and beat it together until well combined.
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
Check that the dough isn't too warm, and then add the chocolate chips.
Roll the cookie dough into balls. Use around 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.
Space them out generously on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. You will need more than one baking sheet, or you can bake them in batches.
The cookies will spread in the oven, so give them space to do so.
Baking
Bake the cookies for around 9 minutes until they have puffed, and the edges are golden brown. The cookies will seem very soft, will continue cooking on the hot oven tray once out of the oven, and will firm up as they cool down. For best results, don't overbake them. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool further.
Granulated sugar can make a more crispy cookie than one made with brown sugar, so ensure you don't over-bake them if you want a chewier cookie.
While the cookies are still hot from the oven, press on a few extra chocolate chips and sprinkle them with a pinch of flaky salt. The salt is optional, but it pairs beautifully with the cookie's sweetness.
Storing
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks or frozen for up to three months.
Freezing instructions
Baked cookies can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container or freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months.
The chocolate chip cookie dough balls can also be frozen for up to 3 months and baked from frozen. They don't need to be thawed, but baking time can be increased by a couple of minutes.
Yield
This recipe makes approximately 16 cookies, but you can also roll them smaller for mini chocolate chip cookies. If you do this, the baking time will need to decrease.
Additions and substitutions
You can make your own brown sugar by adding unsulphured or dark molasses to granulated white sugar. Use around 1-2 tablespoons of molasses to 1 cup (200g) of granulated sugar to make light brown sugar.
To make dark brown sugar, you can increase the molasses. If you are making your brown sugar, you can follow this espresso chocolate chip cookie recipe here. It still uses brown butter as well, so the flavor is amazing.
Add a little extra texture or switch up the flavor in the cookies with -
- Chopped pecans or walnuts
- Raisins
- Cranberries
- Freeze-dried raspberries
- Swap the dark chocolate for white chocolate or milk chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut
Recipe measurements
This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.
If you don't have a scale US* measuring cup equivalents are also included; however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best and most consistent results .*US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.
Full Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar
These chewy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are just the best. Soft and chewy, full of chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 170g (¾ cup) unsalted butter
- 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 218g (1 ¾ cups **) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt (use ¼ teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
- 170g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Flaky salt to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line cookie dough sheets with parchment paper
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then let it cook for around 3-4 minutes, stirring fairly regularly until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty. Pour it into a bowl and cool down for 10 minutes.
- To the butter, add the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat it until well combined.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir it into the cookie dough mixture, then add the chocolate chips.
- If the cookie dough is still very warm due to the butter, let it cool a bit more before adding the chocolate chips, so they don't melt into the dough.
- Let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Roll the cookie dough into balls, using around 2 tablespoons of dough for each. Space them out generously on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. The cookies will spread in the oven, so give them space to do so.
- Bake them one tray at a time for around 9 minutes until they have puffed and the edges have just cooked. The cookies will seem very soft, will continue cooking on the hot oven tray once out of the oven, and will firm up as they cool down. For best results, don't over-bake them.
- While the cookies are still hot, sprinkle them with flaky salt.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Notes
**The cup sizes given are for US cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use grams.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, or the baked cookies can be frozen for up to three months.
Cookie dough balls can also be frozen for up to 3 months and baked from frozen.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 241Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 172mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 3g
Dayna says
So good! Just what I needed after running out of brown sugar!!
Sandy Gagle says
These were absolutely delicious! My family loved them! The secret was the browned butter!
Elien says
So happy you and your family loved them Sandy!