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Thin and Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

These thin and chewy brown sugar cookies are baked with the flavors of brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. The edges of these sugar cookies are crisp and they have tender and chewy centers.

Thin and chewy brown sugar cookies stacked on a round cooling rack.

Ingredients in Brown Sugar Cookies

Simple ingredients are used to make these soft-baked brown sugar cookies.

  • All-purpose flour - spooned & leveled
  • Salted butter
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Molasses
  • Egg + Egg Yolk - an egg separater is a great tool to separate the egg from the yolk.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Granulated sugar
Two stacks of brown sugar cookies on black cooling rack.

RELATED: Brown Butter Sugar Cookies

How to Make Brown Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies usually require chilling time but not these. These cookies are prepared, rolled in granulated sugar, and baked. These cookies start off as large balls of dough but spread out too thin but chewy deliciously tender cookies.

I usually prefer my cookies thick and chewy but these cookies are pretty high on the list of my favorite cookies to make!

Start with room temperature ingredients- Start with room temperature butter. It will cream together with the brown sugar more easily and it will make the process of creating the dough much quicker.

Preheat the oven- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Room temperature egg and egg yolk will blend with the other ingredients easier as well.

Combine the dry ingredients- In a medium-size bowl, spoon and level the all-purpose flour and stir in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

TIP: Stir the all-purpose flour and spoon it into the dry measuring cup. Using the back of the spoon, scrape off the extra flour. This spoon and level method reduces the amount of flour that is used by up to 50%. That's a lot of extra unnecessary flour!

Combine the wet ingredients- Beat the room temperature salted butter until it is creamy. Beat in the dark brown sugar and then the molasses.

Brown sugar cookies spread out on round cooling rack with a blue linen in the background.

Once those ingredients are mixed well, beat in the egg and the egg yolk as well as the vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Prepare the cookie sheets- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

Scoop the dough and roll in sugar- Roll the cookie dough by two tablespoons or use a #30 cookie scoop. Pour granulated sugar into a shallow dish and roll each ball of cookie dough into the sugar.

Place the prepared dough two inches apart on the baking sheets and bake one cookie sheet at a time. Bake for twelve to fourteen minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Transfer to an airtight container for maximum freshness.

RELATED: DoubleTreee Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies

A small stack of brown sugar cookies on wire rack.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 18 cookies

Thin and Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

Thin and chewy brown sugar cookies stacked on a round cooling rack.

These thin and chewy brown sugar cookies are baked with the flavors of brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. The edges of these sugar cookies are crisp and they have tender and chewy centers.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • Granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350°
    2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
    3. In a bowl, combine the spooned and leveled flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
    4. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until creamy.
    5. Add in the brown sugar and molasses. Beat until combined.
    6. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
    7. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until moistened.
    8. Scoop and roll into 2 tablespoon balls (or use a #30 cookie scoop)
    9. Roll in sugar and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
    10. Place th4 dough balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake in batches.
    11. Bake for 12-14 minutes
    12. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack and allowing to cool to room temperature before storing.

Notes

Dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 152mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 0gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g

Nutrition calculation is a rough estimate and can vary depending on the cooking technique and the exact ingredients used. For informational purposes only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Diane

Sunday 1st of October 2023

Great recipe. Simple ingredients. Easy to prep. Great taste. Crust and chewy. Yum. Will definitely make again.

Grace

Monday 26th of June 2023

Approximately how many cookies does this recipe make?

Dana

Friday 30th of June 2023

about 18 cookies!

Frida

Thursday 12th of January 2023

Is there any way to translate this into another measure than whales per football field? Like, who legit measures 14 tablespoons of butter? One thing is not using grams, but using these super inaccurate measures can only lead to a baking disaster.

Winie

Wednesday 5th of April 2023

@Frida, oops 8 Tablespoons! Not teaspoons!

There I go annoying you with inaccuracy--sorry!

Winie

Wednesday 5th of April 2023

@Frida, it's 1 3/4 sticks of butter! (Each stick is 8 teaspoons)

Dana

Thursday 12th of January 2023

Hi Frida, if you would like 14 tablespoons of butter in cups it is 7/8 cup of butter or 198.5 grams if you prefer it that way. It is not an inaccurate measurement as this recipe has been a favorite for quite a few years now. Hope I was able to help you understand how much butter to use. Happy baking.

Lizzie

Tuesday 30th of August 2022

I just finished baking the second batch of these glorious cookies in a week. To say my husband and I love them would be an understatement. It amazes me that such a simple recipe produces cookies this rich. FWIW, I baked the first batch for 12 minutes and they became a bit crunchy by the next day. I baked today's batch for 11 minutes and they are exactly as you described: lightly crunchy around the edge but perfectly chewy in the middle. You can't even get cookies this delicious at a bakery. Cheers!

Dana

Wednesday 31st of August 2022

Hi Lizzie! It makes my heart happy that you and your husband enjoyed these cookies! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. Happy baking!

amy liu dong

Saturday 30th of July 2022

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes to make. It is so easy and delicious!

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