Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar

These chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are just the best. Soft and chewy, full of chocolate chips.

A Chocolate Chip Cookie Without Brown Sugar is held above a tray with other cookies.

I’ve added brown butter to the cookie dough. It brings in some of those butterscotch notes that brown sugar usually does. The cookies have a chewy and soft texture with slightly crispy edges.

You need 10 minutes to let the melted butter cool, but the dough itself is a no-chill cookie dough. 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.

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.
a hand breaking open a chocolate chip cookie

Method

  1. Add butter to a medium, light-colored saucepan. (It’s hard to see the browning in a dark pan.)
foaming butter in pan.
  1. Once you have melted butter, let it cook further for around 3-4 minutes.
browned butter
  1. Keep stirring as it does this, and take it off the heat to check the browning. The butter is finished when it’s a golden amber color and it smells nutty.
brown-butter poured into a bowl.
  1. 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.
eggs, brown butter and granulated sugar in a bowl.
  1. Add the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the butter and beat it together until well combined.
  1. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
cookie dough with chocolate chips
  1. Check that the dough isn’t too warm, and then add the chocolate chips.
unbaked chocolate chip cookies
  1. Roll the cookie dough into balls. Use around 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.
  1. 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

  1. Bake the cookies for around 9-10 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.
  2. For best results, don’t over-bake 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 crisper cookie than one made with brown sugar, so ensure you don’t over-bake them if you want a chewier cookie.
  1. 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.
birds eye view of cookies with chocolate chips and a sprinkle of salt

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.

chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar on baking paper

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.

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

Related recipes

Why not try these biscoff brown butter cookies next! I’ve also a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies without butter, or for a mix of coffee and chocolate, try these espresso cookies.

Hand holding choc chip cookie

Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar

Yield: 16
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Butter cooling: 10 minutes
Total Time: 34 minutes

These chewy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are just the best. Soft and chewy, full of chocolate chips.

Ingredients

  • 170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
  • 218g (1 ¾ cups **) all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt (use 1/4 tsp if using unsalted butter)
  • 170g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Flaky salt to serve

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line cookie dough sheets with parchment paper
  2. 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.
  3. To the butter, add the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat it until well combined.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Roll the cookie dough into balls, using around two 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.
  7. Bake them one tray at a time for 9-10 minutes until they have puffed and the edges have just cooked. The cookies will seem very soft, but they'll continue cooking on the hot oven tray once out of the oven, and firm up as they cool down. For best results, don't over-bake them.
  8. While the cookies are hot, sprinkle them with flaky salt. 
  9. 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: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 241Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 172mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 3g

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