Here’s a few things I’ve learned from life… they definitely have nothing to do with cookies:
Don’t laugh when someone asks you out on a date. ย They’ll think you’re laughing at them. ย They won’t understand that you’re just flattered and awkward and your head is about to explode. ย Don’t chew gum in a public restroom. ย It sorta feels like you’re eating bathroom air. ย Capital Gross.
Lastly, don’t drink wine past 3:30am. ย It’s totally past your bedtime and you won’t look pretty in the morning.
It’s just that life is so beautiful, I’d hate for you to make these mistakes.
Can we talk about cookies now? ย Geez.
These cookies are with and without.
They’re just like chewy sugar cookies, with brown sugar. ย They’re also just like chocolate chip cookies, without chocolate chips. ย Wrap your brain around those deep depth thoughts.
These are the gorgeous, sweet, chewy, caramel cookies. ย They sound so simple: ย brown sugar cookies. ย But seriously? ย These are some of my new favorites. ย They have just a touch of ginger and cinnamon in them too. ย These aren’t spice cookies. ย The ginger and cinnamon adds a roundness, not a ton of spice flavor. ย These cookies are the real deal.
Oh! ย If you wanted to add chocolate chips or toffee pieces, we will totally be friends for life.[<printable]
Brown Sugar Cookies
makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies
from Epicurious September 2011
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. ย Set aside.
Place butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. ย Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. ย Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. ย Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on medium speed for one minute more.
Add the dry ingredients, all at once, to the butter and sugar mixture. ย Beat on low speed until the dough begins to come together ย and the flour disappears. ย Stop the mixer and finish incorporating the ingredients with a spatula. ย Once all the flour is thoroughly mixed in, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place a rack in the center and upper third of the over and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. ย Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. ย Dollop tablespoons size balls of dough onto the baking sheet. ย Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. ย Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. ย Cookies will last, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 5 days.ย [/printable]
270 Responses
Quarantined life right now – don’t have ground ginger but do have fresh? Is there a way to substitute with fresh ginger?
Add a scant teaspoon – sounds lovely!
Hopefully I’m not the only one who’s made these cookies because they’re excellent! I used a #20 cookie scoop and ended up with 11 big cookies, that were uniformly round, buttery crisp on the bottom and outside edges, and chewy inside. I added Callebaut caramel white chocolate chips and a teaspoon of instant espresso to the dough, but that wouldn’t have changed the texture of the cookie. Chilling the dough didn’t seem to make a difference as to how the cookies turned out. I chilled the dough for some and not others, and they all turned out the same. Delicious!
Made these and they turned out flat rather than thick like the picture shown. What would cause that?
I think the dough might have been too warm. Try refrigerating the dough before baking.
Made these with ghee instead of butter and they are really good! Thanks :)
Mine didn’t flatten and weren’t chewy! What did I do wrong?! They tasted good but your cookie recipes usually turn out chewy in the middle and brown on the outside. Not enough butter maybe? Thanks!
Check to make sure you didn’t add too much flour.
Just made these cookies and I threw them all away. Texture was perfect but taste was awful! I’m not sure what I did wrong because I followed the recipe without make any modifications. And I usually love the Joy the Baker’s recipes I’ve tried in the past. These cookies were generally flavorless with a very salty/ baking soda-like taste. Could not taste the cinnamon or the ginger. They really were awful :/
This might be a silly question but… do you bake both trays at once? One in the upper third and one in the center?
made these last night they stayed really puffy and didnt spread out much. they ended up with the texture of the best snickerdoodle i have ever made. Love them!
Hey joy! I just wanted to say that these cookies are awesome but when my friend and I tried making them, they had a tad too much baking soda and left a weird aftertaste :(. We followed the recipe to the T and I was wondering if it’d be okay to do just one tsp of baking soda? or should I have chilled it longer?
Hello Faiza, yes try reducing the baking soda a bit and see if that helps!
Was searching for a sweet and simple dessert to make for my boyfriend, and didn’t have any white sugar. I had never made these before and they turned out delicious! I did however remove them from the pan after setting for only one minute instead of five, but I like softer/gooier cookies. Thank you!
I made these and they came out great! Thanks so much for sharing. :)
I blogged about them:
https://tinaschic.com/2014/10/brown-sugar-cookies/
These sound so good, I am so excited to try them. Do you think you could freeze them?
these are my go to comfort cookies. they never look like the picture but they are always so tasty. i don’t know why mine never spread and i usually increase the butter every time to see if it helps. don’t refrigerate too long. my last batch had 1/2 cup almond meal instead of flour and it was very nice!
I lost my cookbook with the Brown Sugar Cookies so I googled recipes and came across this one. They’re in the oven now! I rolled them into balls and then pressed a pecan half into each one. It was all I could do not to eat them raw!