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You’ll love this easy one-bowl recipe for delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar. Packed with flavor and oh-so-good, these are hands down the softest brown sugar-free chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever had.
Ready to make delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies, only to realize you don’t have any brown sugar? No worries, I’m here to help!
What Can I Use if I Don’t Have Brown Sugar for Chocolate Chip Cookies?
If you’re asking yourself if it is ok to not use brown sugar in cookies, the answer is, YES! Thanks to this recipe, you’re going to get absolutely delicious chocolate chip cookies even without brown sugar.
We’re replacing the brown sugar in a traditional recipe with creamed butter and white sugar. I also recommend using almond extract if you have it on hand. No almond extract? No worries, you can add a bit more vanilla extract.
Equipment
Normally, I recommend a mixing bowl and a spoon when making chocolate chip cookies, but for this recipe, I strongly encourage you to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
Brown sugar contains more moisture than traditional white sugar, which creates a super moist and delicious chocolate chip cookie.
And since we’re not using brown sugar in this cookie recipe, we need to cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed to incorporate air into the batter. Air = fluffy and moist cookies.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
I’ll walk you through it with some tips and tricks and photos, and you’ll find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements and baking times.
You’ll start by mixing butter and sugar together in a stand mixer (or hand mixer) on medium speed for 2 minutes. The butter and sugar should look well combined and light and fluffy.
Next, you’ll add the egg and vanilla, and (optional) almond extract. Fire up the mixer again until everything is just combined.
Next up, you’ll be adding the dry ingredients – flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix again until about 50% combined and then add the chocolate chips. Mix again until just combined.
While I recommend ~2 cups of chocolate chips in the printable recipe card below, you and I both know that chocolate chips should truly be measured with your heart. What to use more? I will not stand in the way of your true happiness.
If I have the time, I always love to pop the bowl into the fridge or freezer while the oven preheats. I think this helps the butter firm up again and is an extra step to make sure the cookies don’t spread out on the baking sheet.
Pinch pieces of cookie dough and roll them into a ball. Place on a parchment or silplat lined rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until the cookies are barely cooked through. Let them sit on the baking sheet out of the oven for 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack until fully cooled.
How to Store leftover Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store fully cooled cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Cookies need to be stored properly to avoid getting stale. If the cookies get left out, check out my tips on how to soften cookies.
But are leftover cookies a real thing? Asking for a friend.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Place raw cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours. Transfer the frozen dough to freezer-safe storage. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You can bake them frozen, or transfer them to the fridge overnight prior to baking. Dough that is 100% frozen will remain in a compact form once baked. Because of that, I like to defrost them on the counter for a few hours before baking.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- You must start with softened butter for this recipe. Trying to mix hard butter will produce lumps…if it doesn’t break your mixer first!
- You also do not want to use melted butter, as the cookies with “fall” and spread out while baking. If you’ve ever had cookies turn into a flat and greasy mess, the butter was likely much too warm.
- The egg should be at room temperature for optimal results.
- I find that chocolate cookies with no brown sugar tend to taste a bit saltier than cookies with brown sugar. I recommend only 1/2 tsp of sea/table salt in this recipe to counteract this issue.
- To take these cookies to the next level, try making them with homemade vanilla extract.
- If you happen to have molasses on hand, you’re well on your way to making your own brown sugar. Check out my tutorial on how to make brown sugar to see how easy this delicious ingredient is to DIY.
More Delicious Cookie & Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
Chocolate Chip Cookies With No Brown Sugar
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened {1 stick}
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg {room temperature}
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract {see notes if you don't have any}
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt {sea or table salt}
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream softened butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes.½ cup butter, softened, 3/4 cup white sugar
- Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extracts. Mix on low speed until just combined.1 egg, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp almond extract
- Add the dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until everything is about 50% combined.1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda
- Add the chocolate chips and mix on low speed until just combined.2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Make cookie dough balls 2-inches wide and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350F for 10-11 minutes. You want them just barely baked.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- You must start with softened butter for this recipe. Trying to mix hard butter will produce lumps…if it doesn’t break your mixer first!
- You also do not want to use melted butter, as the cookies with “fall” and spread out while baking. If you’ve ever had cookies turn into a flat and greasy mess, the butter was much too warm.
- The egg should be at room temperature for optimal results.
- I find that chocolate cookies with no brown sugar tend to taste a bit saltier than cookies with brown sugar. I recommend only 1/2 tsp of sea/table salt in this recipe to counteract this issue.
- No almond extract? No worries, you can add 1/2 tsp more vanilla extract.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
