These Brown Sugar Cookies are perfect for cutting out, they’re easy to make, and always totally delicious.
And finally, for the last post in our week of cookie recipes here on the blog, I have a new one for you today that lots of you have been requesting — my go-to sugar cookie recipe!
Make that, my go-to brown sugar cookie recipe.
Because years ago, I started swapping rich and molasses-y brown sugar in place of white granulated sugar in these cookies, and haven’t looked back since. It’s my favorite kind of sugar cookie! That said, I’m especially partial to this particular recipe because it’s cut-out-friendly and will hold the shape of whatever cute cookie cutters you decide to use. Plus it’s incredibly simple to make, calls for everyday ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, and tastes great. I’ve also included two different icing options below, for those of you who are into royal icing and those (like me!) who usually just keep things simple with a quick powdered sugar icing.
Let’s make some brown sugar cookies!
Brown Sugar Cookies Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Brown Sugar Cookie Ingredients:
The credit for this recipe goes to the amazing Bridget of Bake at 350, whose basic sugar cookie recipe is the best!! For this brown sugar cookie recipe variation of the recipe, I have swapped brown sugar for granulated. And also increased the vanilla a bit, because I love a super vanilla-y cookie. And also increased the egg to make for easy rolling. I’ve also scaled the recipe to yield about two dozen cookies, depending on what shape/size of cookie cutters you use. But of course, feel free to halve, double or triple this recipe according to the size of batch you would like to make.
To make these brown sugar cookies, you will need the following ingredients:
- Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the cookies.
- Baking powder, egg and salt: Because…cookies.
- Unsalted butter: Completely softened, which means it will still be a bit cool to the touch.
- Brown sugar: Be sure to pack it firmly into the measuring cup.
- Extracts: We will use both vanilla and almond extract in this recipe. (Although if you don’t have almond extract, you can just omit it.)
- Icing and/or Sprinkles: See notes below.
You will also need (affiliate links included):
- Rolling pin: I own and love this one, but any rolling pin will do.
- Cookie cutters: This 101-piece set is affordable and has loads of options.
- Cookie sheet: Any baking sheet will do, plus parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
How To Make Sugar Cookies:
To make sugar cookies, simply:
- Whisk the dry ingredients. Flour, baking soda and salt. Then set aside.
- Prepare the dough. In a large mixing bowl either with a stand mixer (with the blade attachment) or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-speed until light and fluffy. Then mix in the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Followed by the dry ingredients, mixing them until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix this batter!
- Cut out the cookies. Now the fun part! Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured hard surface, and roll it out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. (You may have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your surface.) Then grab your favorite cookie cutters and go to town, re-rolling the dough as needed to cut out more. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-covered baking sheet.
- Chill the dough. Very important — for this dough to hold its shape, it needs a quick chill in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes.
- Bake. Then once the dough is nice and firm, transfer it to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just barely begin to turn golden. Let the cookies cool for a bit. Then decorate if you’d like, and
- Enjoy! I highly recommend enjoying some of the cookies immediately. But if you have extras, you can store them in a sealed container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Different Icing Options:
To ice these sugar cookies, you can either use:
- Royal Icing: Which is firm and best for intricate cookie decorating. I recommend checking out Bridget’s royal icing recipe here.
- Quick Icing: Most of the time, I just stick with a quick powdered sugar icing (pictured here), which is easy to make with just powdered sugar, your choice of milk, and a hint of vanilla extract. It doesn’t harden as much as royal icing, but it’s easy and delicious.
Feel free to also use any kind of sprinkles that you love! I love using either a sprinkle of turbinado sugar or these gold sprinkles.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes:
Looking for more cookie baking inspiration? Here are few more of my classic faves:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Enjoy, everyone! ♡
Brown Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 0 About 2 dozen cookies 1x
Description
These Brown Sugar Cookies are perfect for cutting out, they’re easy to make, and always totally delicious.
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Cookie Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Quick Icing Ingredients:
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk (any kind)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make The Cookies:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl either with a stand mixer (with the blade attachment) or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Beat on medium speed until completely combined, scraping down the sides partway through if needed. Add in the dry ingredients, and beat on low speed until just combined. (You don’t want to over-beat this dough.)
- Form the dough into a ball, and place it on a large, lightly-floured hard surface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough evenly until it is approximately 1/4-inch thick. Then use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes, re-rolling the dough as needed to cut out more. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-covered baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to chill the dough.
- Once the dough is nice and firm, transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just barely begin to turn golden. Remove from heat and let the cookie rest on the tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy the cookies immediately, or store in a sealed container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
To Make The Icing:
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency. If it is too thick, add a touch more milk.
- Use immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container. (The icing sets up as it sits, so you will need to give it a good whisk and maybe pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it back up after being refrigerated.)
Notes
Recipe very slightly adapted from Bake at 350.
This post contains affiliate links.
3rd year for making this cookie and most definitely my go-to recipe for brown sugar cookies. Dough is so easy to work with and maintains shape while baking. Taste is great!
This recipe is impossible to cut out cookies. The dough is too soft & sticky. I would chill the dough before trying to cut out.
The cookies were so easy to make and delicious. I wish I could upload a picture. Thank you!
It should be noted how sticky and difficult the dough is to roll almost no firmness to help form and also recommend or should note to break apart sift loosen whatever term the brown sugar before mixing with butter since if u just measured ur butter in a bowl then drop the packed cup of brown sugar in and mix u will probably end up over mixing (if that’s an issue for theses I’m new to the from scratch baking) due to clumps that don’t blend with beaters as to how they turn out I wouldn’t know because of the trouble I had in my work area for rolling it fell on the floor and forget about the idea that u could just remove the part that hit the floor cause as soon as u go to pick it up its like playing with goop so mine went in the trash I was able to get 6 small patty cake cookies with what dough stayed on the table n kids ate them not much flavor
Can you replace the All Purpose Flour with Almond Flour?
This is a great cookie recipe!!! If you are sick of plain old sugar cookies that lack in flavor, Try this recipe. Super simple, Provides nice crispy edges with a moist but crumbly chewy centre. Great for cookie cutters, holds its shape extremely well. I look forward to decorating these for Valentine’s Day.
I got rave reviews on these!! Brought a big batch of them to a family gathering and they were gone by the end. They loved them, and said they tasted like a homemade pop tart, so I may try adding some kind of jam to them next round! Overall, A+ recipe. Amazing results, and super quick and easy to bake! Thanks! PS – I sprinkled cinnamon sugar onto the icing on half of them; which was a big hit!
Would love to try this ..
Iam terrible thinking outside the box being I don’t have cookie cutters ..
Will it be ok to scoop it out into a ball ??
I just made these and I hate rolling and cutting out cookies. So I rolled the dough into small balls and flattened them with the bottom of a glass. Nice round cookies without the mess. Came out fine and delicious. I also iced and sprinkled them.
The not-too-sweet cookies sounds like a good project for this weekend. We are all adults in my family so I no longer bother with cookie cutters. I will be rolling the dough into logs, freezing them, then slicing them into cookies a dozen or so at a time, or as needed. I will probably roll them in demerara sugar or chopped nuts instead of frosting them.
I just baked these and yum!