Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar

There’s truly nothing better than a fresh, warm, homemade chocolate chip cookie, is there? Rich, and chewy, and soft, and loaded with your favorite chocolate chips, each bite warms the soul and is filled with nostalgia. I know it can’t just be me…

It’s the best. And there’s nothing worse than when you go to make them and realize you don’t have brown sugar. A, typically, very needed ingredient when making chocolate chip cookies, isn’t it?

Well, step aside chocolate chip cookies with brown sugar, because there’s a new recipe in town that is just as good (dare I say even better in its own way?!) and requires no brown sugar – solely relying on the goodness of granulated sugar.

Yes, it can absolutely be done and done deliciously. The edges of these cookies are crisp and caramelized and the centers are soft and chewy. It’s a delightful combination that you won’t be able to get enough of!

Can I really make cookies without brown sugar?

Yes, you totally can! Let’s talk a little about what is brown sugar, and how this recipe differs from a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe. If you are just all about the cookies – go ahead and keep scrolling.

Brown sugar is granulated sugar that has added molasses. Molasses is also essentially sugar, with a slight caramel flavor, and is dark in color, giving brown sugar its own distinct color. With the molasses, brown sugar is naturally moister.

Because of the slight differences in moisture, this can contribute to a difference in texture (as can measuring of the flour, but more on that in a minute). Cookies without brown sugar can have a tendency to dry out more quickly and be crisper all around.

This recipe results in cookies with a wonderfully crisp and caramelized edge and a soft, tender center that’s filled with chocolatey goodness. The final cookie won’t turn as golden brown as some traditional cookie recipes, because of the lack of color we miss out on from the lack of brown sugar.

The Ingredients You’ll Need

The best way to prepare a recipe is to gather all of the ingredients so you’re ready to bake away! Plus, it helps to know you have all ingredients before diving in (like the oops I don’t have brown sugar moment that we’ve all experienced).

Here’s what you’ll need for this easy recipe:

• Unsalted Butter: I prefer baking with unsalted butter so that I can add salt and know exactly how much is in the recipe. Many salted kinds of butter can vary with the amount of salt depending on the brand. This gives me more control. If you do have salted butter, you can absolutely use it, just reduce or omit the additional salt, depending on how salty you like your cookies.
• Granulated Sugar: you know it! The only kind of sugar we’re using in these cookies.
• Egg: you just need one, as this recipe makes a smaller batch of cookies. Most would recommend using a room temperature egg…but you know…if you can’t wait, you can’t wait, and I get it.
• Vanilla Extract: it’s worth stating that real vanilla extract is the way to go.
• Salt: again, if you’re using salted butter you may want to omit it, otherwise, fine salt is best.
• Baking Soda: I tested this recipe so many times (it’s a hard job) to figure out which version was best between baking soda, baking powder, and using both. If you follow along on Instagram, you might remember. After much testing, just baking soda gave the best result. Using baking powder only resulted in much too fluffy cookies. If you want to play around, the testing team enjoyed using both pretty well, too.
• All-Purpose Flour: I’m going to say this more than once in this post: please weigh the flour! If you don’t have a scale, you can purchase one relatively inexpensively and it’s going to make your baking so much more accurate! The texture of these cookies (especially) changes quite a lot if you add too much flour.
• Chocolate Chips: use what you love! I’ve made this recipe with dark chocolate chips (as pictured), semi-sweet, and milk chocolate chips. As you can tell, I take cookies seriously. All will work, depending on your preferences. I like the flatter chips best because more chocolate = happiness.

How to Make No Brown Sugar Cookies

This recipe is really so easy to make, and can all be mixed in one bowl! Again, when the cookie craving strikes, we are not wasting time with ingredients, dishes, room temperature ingredients… you name it. I’m all about getting cookies in my (or your) belly ASAP.

Whisk together the Wet Ingredients

First, melt the butter. I melt the butter in the mixing bowl I’ll be using – again – fewer dishes!

Use the microwave to melt the butter in short increments to prevent splattering and ensure it doesn’t get too hot. You don’t want the butter to be so hot it cooks the egg when it’s added (or you’ll just have to wait longer before mixing it in).

Next, whisk in the granulated sugar for about one minute.

Whisk until the mixture is light and pale in color. This helps add air to the mixture and ensures the butter and sugar are fully combined, so the cookies will lift while baking, instead of being flat and dense.

This process also helps cool off the melted butter, so again, we don’t cook that egg. If the mixture still seems hot, wait a minute or two before moving on.

Now, whisk in the egg and vanilla extract until they’re fully combined.

Stir in Dry Ingredients

Next goes the dry ingredients. I add them directly into the wet ingredients, trying to sprinkle them around when doing so as my cheater way of mixing the dry ingredients beforehand.

Once the dry ingredients are almost, or halfway incorporated, mix in the chocolate chips. This prevents overmixing.

Pro Tip: Reserve some chocolate chips to add to the top of the cookies for both beauty and because more chocolate = happiness.

Once the dough is mixed, use a cookie scoop (or about 2 tablespoons of dough) and place the cookies about 2-inches apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. I have been LOVING my quarter sheet pans, and for this recipe, 2 pans are just about perfect.

I also like using a half-sheet pan. It’s darker in color which does cook differently than the lighter color pans. More on that in the tips!

It’s time to Bake!

Bake the cookies until the edges are set and slightly golden brown.

Remember that the cookies don’t have brown sugar, which means they will not get as golden brown as a typical chocolate chip cookie. You’ll run the risk of overbaking the cookies if you’re looking for that color (unless you love super crispy cookies, in which case bake a minute or two longer for that texture!).

Let them cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling. At least until they’re sturdy enough to pick up and eat. Unless, of course, you want to just shovel the cookie into your mouth, be my guest just know it might be too hot to handle and this is your disclaimer to be careful. 😉

Tips for Making the Best Cookies

These cookies are SO easy to make and can be ready in like 20 minutes flat (give or take a few minutes depending on certain variables) and quite frankly, are pretty fool-proof.

However, in my multitude of tests, I realized that the texture of the cookies can greatly vary if you don’t pay attention to a few key things to note.

Weigh The Flour and Sugar

Really, please do it. Bathroom scales, be gone. Kitchen scales, well, should be in every kitchen.

If you have extra flour in the cookie dough (which is usually what happens when you use traditional measuring cups to measure flour), these cookies will be more cake-like. Taller, and fluffier, in a sense. If you’re ok with that, I won’t stop you.

For the best, most tested, guaranteed results, weigh the flour.

I mean, weigh the white sugar too, please, but the flour especially. Even better? If you weigh them, you won’t have to wash any pesky measuring cups. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU, FRIEND!

Know Your Baking Sheet

Did you know that baking times and results will vary, depending on your baking sheet? A lighter-colored cookie sheet will have more even browning because it absorbs less heat than a dark-colored pan, which means it usually requires a little more cook time. A darker-colored pan will absorb heat quicker, resulting in darker cookie bottoms and a faster cook time overall.

For this recipe, I prefer the result of a lighter-colored pan, especially since we’re only using granulated sugar, it helps prevent the cookie from drying out too quickly from too much heat. If you have a darker pan, just know you should definitely cook it a minute or two shorter (see recipe card notes).

Use the High-Quality Chocolate

To make the absolute best chocolate chip cookies, high-quality chocolate chips are essential. As is the butter, IMO. They bring the pazazz to the cookies, leaving them rich and indulgent. So go ahead, splurge a little if you can.

You can use any kind of chocolate chips for these cookies. I like semi-sweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate for a rich flavor. Give chocolate chunks a try, too!

Check Your Oven Temperature

As with any baking or oven-cooked recipe, you should be using an oven thermometer to make sure it is accurate. Real-life example: I recently learned that my year-old oven is now running hot (!!!). When I would think that I would still be in a reasonable timeframe for having an accurate oven temperature, I was shocked. Thank goodness for my oven thermometer!

Use Flakey Sea Salt

Want to really take the cookies over the top? Add a sprinkle of flakey sea salt once they come out of the oven!

Frequently Asked Questions

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the form below. I appreciate your feedback, and it helps others, too!