These Brown Sugar Cookies are easy to make and taste great. They pair well with a cup of tea or a glass of milk. They are also great for sharing.
The brown sugar in the recipe is what makes the cookies soft and moist. When making, I use golden yellow-brown sugar. The addition of cornstarch also helps to make the dough softer. And chilling the dough is important to maintain the shape of the cookie while baking. If you don’t chill the dough, the cookie will spread too much during baking.
I make these cookies at Christmas to add to Christmas cookie exchange baskets. The dough can be stored in the fridge for up to two days before baking, so you can make the dough in advance and bake it at a later time. I make them and place them in the fridge until I have time to make them. We all know that Christmas is always a busy time of year.
After the first baking, when the cookies are pressed down, coloured sugar can be added to the top of the cookie for a festive look. I have tried baking the cookies rolled in coloured sugar in place of the white sugar but did not like the results.
Hope you enjoy these cookies as much as my family and friends do.
Brown Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1-1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup white sugar, for rolling after chilling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk melted butter with brown sugar, until smooth and not lumpy.
- Whisk the egg into the butter and sugar mixture, then add the vanilla extract.
- Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. Dough will be thick.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or up to 2 days.
- Remove from fridge after chilling and allow to soften a bit before handling, about 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper
- Pour white sugar into a shallow bowl
- Roll dough into balls using about 2 Tbsp of dough, then roll in sugar before placing 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets
- Bake 8 minutes, then remove from oven and press down gently on each ball with the back of a spoon
- Return to oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Cool on pan for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to finish cooling
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
