Chocolate chip cookies made without brown sugar are delightfully chewy with a sweet, buttery sugar-cookie flavor. This easy no-chill recipe yields soft centers and slightly crisp edges — perfect when you want chocolate chip cookies but don’t have brown sugar on hand.
Short on brown sugar? This recipe uses only pantry staples and still delivers classic, buttery chocolate chip cookies.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THEM
Simple ingredients. These cookies call for basic baking staples you likely already have in your kitchen.
No chilling required. The dough can be baked right away — no refrigeration needed.
Brown sugar not required. This recipe replaces brown sugar while keeping great texture and flavor.
Buttery, sweet flavor. The cookies taste like a cross between a sugar cookie and a classic chocolate chip cookie.
Perfect texture. Chewy interiors with a slight crisp at the edges.
INGREDIENTS
- Butter – salted butter at room temperature.
- White sugar – granulated sugar provides the sweetness and crisp edge.
- Egg – 1 large egg.
- Vanilla extract – for flavor.
- Flour – all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled.
- Baking soda – helps with lift.
- Baking powder – adds a light texture.
- Salt – balances the sweetness.
- Chocolate chips – semi-sweet chips are recommended, but milk or dark work too.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream the room-temperature butter and white sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4–5 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie and roll into balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 11–12 minutes, or until the bottoms are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and press a few extra chocolate chips onto the hot cookies if desired.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before transferring. They may look slightly underbaked at first but will continue to firm up from the residual heat.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
STORING THE COOKIES
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
HOW TO GET PERFECTLY ROUND COOKIES
Right after removing the cookies from the oven, place a slightly larger round cutter around each cookie and gently rotate to shape them. A glass or jar lid works well if you don’t have a cutter.
WHAT DOES SPOONED AND LEVELLED FLOUR MEAN?
Spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it with a knife. Do not scoop the cup directly into the flour bag, which compresses the flour and can add too much.
CAN I MAKE THE COOKIES SMALLER?
Yes — scoop 1 1/2 tablespoon portions and bake about 9 minutes, or until the edges turn golden.
HOW TO GET CHEWY COOKIES
Slightly underbake the cookies so the centers remain soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet — residual heat will finish cooking them and produce a chewy texture.
CAN I FREEZE THEM?
Yes. Freeze dough balls or baked cookies for up to 2 months. Add a few extra minutes to the bake time when baking from frozen dough.
If you make these chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar, please leave a star rating and a comment below!
For more baking ideas you can follow Jessie M on social media.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVE
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Pink White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Red Velvet Cookies
- Twix Cookies
- Key Lime Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
Jessie M
Pin Recipe
Equipment
-
large bowl
-
measuring cups/spoons
-
baking sheets
Ingredients
- 1 C salted butter at room temperature
- 1 & 1/3 C white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 & 1/2 C all purpose flour spooned and levelled*
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips plus extra for topping the cookies
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This usually takes a good 5 minutes.
-
Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix till well combined.
-
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix till well combined.
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Fold in the chocolate chips.
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Scoop out 3 tbsp worth for dough and shape into a ball. Place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart.
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Bake for 11-12 minutes or until cookies are just starting to turn brown on the bottom. Top the hot cookies with extra chocolate chips.
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Let cool on the baking sheet before moving. The cookies may look a little under done but will continue to cook on the hot pan and stiffen up.
Notes