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Big, chewy brown sugar cookies are flavored with cinnamon and rolled in turbinado sugar for a crunchy, chewy, totally delicious combination.
You all know that I love – like, am a little obsessed with – the New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe. And so many of you are obsessed with them, too.
But my brother hates chocolate, so instead of making them the “normal” way for him, I make them without the chocolate chips.
It wasn’t until I was texting with Stephie, who also hates chocolate, that I realized that there might be more of you who would wanna know about this trick.
And even as someone who loves chocolate chip cookies, this might be one of my favorite adaptations of the original recipe yet.
Why you’ll love these chewy brown sugar cookies
One of the things I love the most about the New York Times recipe is the chewy texture of the cookies.
These brown sugar cookies keep that amazing texture, thanks to a combination of cake flour and bread flour. Plus, I upped the flavor of the dough by skipping the granulated sugar in the original recipe and using only brown sugar.
Oh, and I added a full 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon into the dough. And I rolled the cookies in a mixture of turbinado sugar and cinnamon before baking.
That means these cookies are crunchy on the outside from the coarse sugar but chewy on the inside, and the flavor is super rich thanks to the molasses in the brown sugar.
If you love snickerdoodles or cinnamon cookies, chewy sugar cookies, and molasses cookies, you’ll adore these brown sugar cinnamon cookies.
How to make my brown sugar cookies
To make these cookies, you will need:
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 2/3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 1/4 cups softened unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- heaping 1/3 cup turbinado sugar combined with 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon for rolling
I know that the combination of cake flour and bread flour seems weird, but it also works! It makes for an amazing chewy texture in these cookies, and I can’t argue with that. So just trust me on this one!
To make the dough, sift together the dry ingredients: both flours, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, and salt.
With a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar for about 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Don’t try to rush this process!
Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Slowly add in the dry ingredients just until combined.
Now for the hardest part of this recipe: cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
I know!! It’s so long to wait! But I’ve baked these before the 24-hour mark before and the flavor just wasn’t as good. So your patience will be rewarded.
When you’re ready to bake the cookies, scoop the dough into 2-ounce balls (about 2.5 tablespoons, or the size of generous golf balls). Roll them in the turbinado sugar and cinnamon mixture and place 5 of them at a time on lined baking sheets.
Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown on the edges but still soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tip
The cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours total, so feel free to finish baking all of the cookies now or store the rest in the fridge to bake later.
Helpful resources
Before you start baking, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly so these brown sugar cookies turn out perfect every time.
If you don’t typically keep cake flour on hand, a simple cake flour substitute will work just fine in this recipe.
Make sure your butter is softened before you start making the cookie dough. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly.
Brown sugar is a key ingredient in these cookies. If you are out, whip up a brown sugar substitute in minutes using granulated sugar and molasses. If your brown sugar hardened in the pantry, learn how to soften brown sugar and save yourself a trip to the store.
Taking the time to correctly cream the butter and sugar together will add to the perfect texture of these cookies. If you aren’t sure what to look for in this step, I have a guide on how to cream butter and sugar that can help.
Storage and freezing tips
Store brown sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also freeze them in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag for up to a month.
You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls. Place them on a lined sheet tray and bake until solid, then store in a zip-top freezer bag. When you’re ready, you can bake as many or as few as you like!
I have more details on this process in my post on how to freeze cookie dough.
Frequently asked questions
For smaller cookies, use a heaping tablespoon and bake them for about 12 minutes.
You don’t have to, but I really suggest that you do! I have tried baking these before the 24-hour mark and I promise, they just aren’t as good.
You could definitely use all-purpose flour and you’ll get a cookie that still tastes great. But in my experience, using all-purpose flour in this recipe doesn’t give the cookies the same awesome chewy texture.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 ⅔ cups bread flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter softened
- 2 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- heaping 1/3 cup turbinado sugar plus 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon for rolling
Instructions
- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
- Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- Scoop 5 2-ounce balls of dough (the size of generous golf balls, about 2.5 tablespoons). Roll each dough ball into the turbinado sugar and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until golden brown on the edges but still soft, 15-18 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
