We’ve got the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar for you. This chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar makes soft chewy cookies with a crunch. Make out of this world chocolate chip cookies with brown butter in 15 minutes.
This crunchy and chewy soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar will show you how to brown butter perfectly and explore a few other topics:
Ready to get baking this chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar? Let’s start with why you need this recipe in your life.
Why You Need These Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
Besides being absolutely AMAZING and easy to make, these chocolate chip cookie with no brown sugar:
- Thanks to the brown butter, taste like caramel
- Store amazing baked or unbaked
- Are sweet and salty
- Are soft and chewy but crunchy at the same time
- Super duper addictive
- Can be customized
Speaking of customizing cookies, here are a few ideas to jazz up this chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Mix-Ins & Cookies Ideas
Looking for a way to take your chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar to another level? Customize these chocolate chip cookies recipe without brown sugar by swapping out some ingredients and mixing in others.
Chocolate Chips
Use semi sweet, dark, milk, white, peanut butter or caramel chocolate chips. You can also mix and match chocolate chips or buy different kinds of chocolate bars and chop them up and use them instead.
Dried Fruit
Add dried fruits like raisins, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, dates, or prunes to replace chocolate chips. Add a cup of dried fruit in place of the chocolate chips. Dried fruits give your cookies a sweet and sour tang to them. And you can get away with pretending they’re healthier and eat more cookies.
Seeds & Nuts
Replace half the amount of chocolate chips with nuts like almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or cashews to transform your chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar. Nuts do contain a lot of oil so the dough may turn out a little oilier. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the recipe.
Tired of Vanilla?
Swap out vanilla extract for almond or peppermint extract. If you want to make chocolate cookies, remove 2 tablespoons of flour and replace with cocoa powder or green tea powder.
Now that we’ve covered the mix-ins and ingredient swaps, we’ve got endless cookie ideas and possibilities. But before we get baking, here are some important tips to get the best chocolate chip cookies at home.
Tips For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
Before you whip up a batch of this chocolate chip cookie recipe no brown sugar, have a look at some of these tips. I guarantee you, they’ll step up your chocolate chip cookie game and you’ll be baking out-of-this-world chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar:
- Use a scale
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough
- Use a cookie scoop
- Preheat the oven
- Baking times
- Soft cookies
- Chewy cookies
- Crunchy cookies
Use A Scale
They say cooking is an art form and baking is a science. You get consistent results every time you measure ingredients using a scale. If you measure out a cup of flour, chances are the weight will vary.
Even if you measure out the flour level with a spoon, you run the risk of packing the flour and adding more dry ingredients than necessary. Using a scale to measure your ingredients accurately will give you perfect cookies each time.
Making chocolate chip cookies required some elbow grease but too much and you may ruin your cookies. Save your energy and avoid overmixing your cookie dough.
Don’t Overmix The Cookie Dough
Overmixing the cooking dough will make your cookies tough. Switch to a spatula once you add in the flour and fold in the chocolate chips. When there are no more clumps of flour, stop mixing. Overmixing activates the gluten.
The only step that requires vigorous mixing is with the wet ingredients. You need to whip the butter and sugar into a light mixture and then add the egg. After that you should switch to a spatula for the rest of the recipe and only mix the cookie dough until everything is combined.
The next tip to getting perfect cookies each time is using a cookie scoop.
Use A Cookie Scoop
Measuring out cookie dough is tedious and not necessary unless you’re running a bakery. The best way to get uniformed cookies is to use a cookie scoop to measure out the cookie dough or even a measuring spoon.
The larger your cookies, the longer they’ll take to bake. They’ll also come out chewy and soft. If you measure smaller portions of cookie dough, you’ll get thinner and crispier cookies.
Another important tip to baking perfect chocolate chip cookies is getting the oven temperature right.
Preheat the oven
Preheating the oven is an essential step when baking anything. Always make sure to preheat the oven 10-15 minutes before baking. Some ovens run a little cooler (like mine) and need about 20 minutes to preheat before baking.
The cookies will bake unevenly if you don’t preheat your oven. Be sure to check the oven temperature if your cookies are underbaked or brown around the edges quickly. If your oven temperature is in check then you can choose your baking times to get cookies that are soft, chewy, or crunchy.
Baking times
The amount of time it takes to bake this chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar will give you chewy cookies with crunchy sides. But you can leave your cookies in the oven for longer or less time:
- Soft cookies: Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes for soft cookies
- Chewy cookies: Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes for chewy cookies
- Crunchy cookies: Bake cookies for 13-14 minutes for crispy cookies.
Now that you’ve got all these tips for the perfect chocolate chip cookies no brown sugar, let’s actually bake this chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar!
How To Make These Cookies
Here are the steps and instructions to make this chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar:
- Make brown butter (optional)
- Making the cookie dough
- Baking the cookies
You can use regular butter or go the extra mile with caramelizing the butter.
Making Brown Butter
Making brown butter takes about 5 minutes from start to finish and is actually really easy! Add the butter in a saucepan and heat it on a medium high heat. The butter will start to foam up after it melts.
Stir the butter mixture occasionally. The butter will continue to foam and you’ll see the color darken in about 3 minutes. Stir the butter for another minute or 2. Once the foam disappears, take the butter off the heat and allow it to cool.
You can do this step ahead of time and place the butter in the fridge.
Making The Cookie Dough
Add the brown butter and sugar into a bowl and mix with a stand mixer for about 2-3 minutes or until the mixture turns light and fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, milk and mix until combined.
Mix the salt, baking soda, and flour in a large bowl. Switch out the mixer for a spatula and add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips to the batter and fold everything in until combined.
Chill the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes or longer if you’re in a warm place. When the dough is chilled, you can move on to baking the cookies.
Baking The Cookies
Preheat the oven before baking the cookies. Portion out the cookie dough and place them on a baking sheet. Make sure to leave some space between them so they have room to spread.
Bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes and let them cool on the baking rack before making the next batch. Sprinkle some seas salt over them for a sweet and savory snack and enjoy! The next section of our post will help you if you’ve baked these cookies or want to make them in advance.
Let’s talk about how you can store these cookies, baked or unbaked.
How To Store These Cookies (Baked or Unbaked)
I love this recipe for chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar because it’s so practical.
- You can bake them in advance and the cookies are perfect for a week.
- Bake them and then freeze them.
- Make the dough and keep it in the fridge or store it in the freezer for later.
Here’s a few different ways you can store these cookies:
Baked
These cookies are perfect when stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag. They stay crisp and chewy days after they’re baked. Store them at room temperature or in the freezer so they last longer.
At room temperature: Store cookies in a ziplock bag or airtight container for up to 5-7 days.
In the freezer: Baked cookies can be frozen in a freezer bag and kept for up to 3 months.
You can also make the cookie dough ahead of time and store it, unbaked.
Unbaked
Store your cookie dough in the fridge or freezer and have cookie dough ready to bake any time!
In the fridge: You can keep unbaked cookie dough in the fridge for 3-4 days. Make sure the cookie dough is wrapped in saran wrap/cling film or covered.
In the freezer: I love making a big batch of cookie dough and putting it in the freezer so I can whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies in a minute. There are a few ways to freeze cookie dough:
- You can roll everything into a log and wrap it tightly before freezing
OR
- Roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them individually in a ziplock bag.
Take the cookie dough out of the freezer and let it defrost for 10-20 minutes or bake frozen cookie dough for 1-2 minutes longer than the recipe suggests.
This is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar, but here’s some info about the recipe if you’re making it for the first time.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe FAQ
This section will answer some important questions about this chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar like how many cookies this recipe makes, can you double the recipe, and do I need to chill cookie dough?
How Many Cookies Does This Recipe Make?
About 25 large cookies if you measure out 2 tablespoons per cookie and 20-22 medium cookies for a 3 tablespoon portion of cookie dough per cookie.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes! This recipe works perfectly if you double or triple it.
Do I Really Need To Chill The Cookie Dough?
No. These cookies are great whether you chill it or not but chilling the dough does have its benefits. You let the gluten in the flour relax when you chill the dough. You also let the flour fully hydrate as it chills and the flavors develop better the longer it chills.
You’ll get thin and crisp cookies if you don’t chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much during baking. If you like chewy thick cookies, then chilling is the way to go.
This chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar was created out of convenience but have you ever wondered what brown sugar does to a cookie? We’re going to answer that question and more in the chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar FAQ! Stick around and learn how to make brown sugar at home.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Without Brown Sugar FAQ
These brown sugar free chocolate chip cookies are my favorite easy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar but a lot of recipes call for brown and white sugar. Here’s some of the web’s most asked questions about brown sugar and cookies.
What Does Brown Sugar Do In Cookies?
Brown sugar plays a big part in the flavor, texture, and thickness of cookies. The brown sugar gives cookies that caramel note. It also has more moisture than white sugar and gives cookies a soft chewy texture. That moisture affects the cookies thickness and makes for thicker chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies with only white sugar will spread more and be crunchier. To add more moisture this recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of milk and some baking soda for a little lift.
This answer also applies to these questions:
- Why do you need brown sugar for cookies?
- What makes cookies chewy vs crunchy?
- Why do you need brown sugar for cookies?
Is Brown Sugar Necessary For Cookies?
No. You can make amazing chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar. And you can replace brown sugar with white sugar in any recipe.
What Happens If You Don’t Use Brown Sugar In Cookies?
The texture of the cookie does change if you don’t use brown sugar in a recipe that calls for the ingredient. Brown sugar gives cookies a soft chewy texture. This chocolate chip cookie recipe has been modified with milk to add extra moisture to the cookie dough.
Can I Use White Sugar Instead Of Brown Sugar In Cookies?
Yes. You can swap equal amounts of white sugar for brown sugar in any cookie recipe. The recipe will still work but the cookie may be sweeter, flatter, and crunchier with only white sugar.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have Brown Sugar For Chocolate Chip Cookies?
You can substitute white sugar for brown sugar but that will affect the cookies taste and texture. Or you can make brown sugar at home:
- For light brown sugar: Mix 1 cup or 240 grams of sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses.
- For dark brown sugar: Mix 1 cup or 240 grams of sugar with 2 tablespoons of molasses.
Make this chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar or try to make your own brown sugar if you have molasses at home. Personally, I don’t think you need brown sugar to make amazing chocolate chip cookies.
The brown butter in these chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar recipe do the trick and give it a deep caramel flavor. I absolutely love these cookies, especially on days where I just don’t want to drag my butt out of the house and go to the grocery store just to buy brown sugar. Try baking a batch of these brown butter chocolate chip cookies and let me know what you think!
Looking for more desserts? Try making this:
Vegan Banana Bread Without Baking Soda
Lactose-free NY Cheesecake with Salted Caramel
Trying to squeeze in desserts with dietary restrictions? Check out our guide to low FODMAP baking!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Without Brown Sugar
This brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar is the perfect recipe for you if you want to make delicious chocolate chip cookies without any brown sugar.
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients:
- 273 grams (2 1/4 cups) flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Wet Ingredients:
- 227 grams (1 cup) softened butter
- 200 grams (1 cup) fine white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 30 ml (2 tbs) milk
- 340 grams (2 cups) chocolate chips
Instructions
In a saucepan, add the butter and begin browning it on medium high heat. * (You can skip this step if you don't want to go through the effort of making brown butter chocolate chip cookies)
The butter will melt and begin to foam after a minute, keep stirring this mixture for 4-5 minutes until the butter turn into a deep shade of brown. Take the butter off the heat and allow it to cool. You can put it in the fridge to speed up this process.
Add the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract.
In a large bowl, mix together the baking soda, salt and flour together.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold everything together until combined.
Add in the chocolate chips and mix through.
Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. The longer you chill the cookie dough, the better. The cookies are still great if you don't chill the cookie dough. They'll just spread a bit more during baking.
Divide the cookie dough into balls. Take about 3-4 tablespoon for one cookie for medium to big cookies. These cookies will spread a bit, so leave some space in between them.
Preheat the oven to 190c or 375 f and bake for 10-12 minutes until brown.
Tap the cookie sheet on the counter once or twice to knock the air out of them.
Notes
You can skip browning the butter and the cookies will be just as delicious.
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