These soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are perfect for you if you’re looking to make a chocolate chip cookie recipe and you have no brown sugar! They’re perfectly soft, gooey, and rich, and wonderful dipped in milk! Read on to find out how to make chocolate chip cookies - no brown sugar needed! And for more cookie goodness, try my three-ingredient Coffee Cookies, my Cookie Monster Cookies, and my Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies!
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Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
A typical chocolate chip cookie recipe will usually start with the same basic ingredients, including flour, egg, butter, and of course, brown sugar. But if you're having a chocolate chip cookie recipe craving and you don't have brown sugar in your cupboard, have no fear! You can still enjoy soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar!
What can I use if I don't have brown sugar for chocolate chip cookies?
Is it necessary to use brown sugar in cookies? Not at all! If you don't have brown sugar and you're looking to make a chocolate chip cookie recipe, there are several ways to make soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar and still get that chewy texture.
Brown sugar is basically white sugar with molasses mixed into it. So if you have molasses on hand, you can replicate brown sugar perfectly by just using white sugar with a little brown sugar added. But chances are, if you don't have brown sugar, you may not have molasses on hand either!
What is a replacement for brown sugar?
Other substitutes for the rich sweetness and moisture that brown sugar provides could be maple syrup, agave nectar, or honey. And in my experience, honey provides the best combination of moisture and sweetness to yield a soft, delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe! So that's what we're using to make these soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ingredients
Check the recipe card below for precise measurements, but here are the basic ingredients you'll need to make these homemade chocolate chip cookies - no brown sugar needed!
- butter - you'll want a stick of unsalted butter for these soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar. I like to brown my butter to give the cookies amazing flavor, but if you're short on time you can just use melted butter.
- granulated sugar - regular white sugar provides the sweetness and texture we want!
- honey - this is the secret to making these cookies soft and chewy!
- egg - your egg should be room temperature to help the dough mix more easily.
- vanilla extract - make sure you use a good-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- all-purpose flour - (measured by weight with a kitchen scale or fluffed using the spoon-and-level method)
- cornstarch is a great way to achieve soft, thick cookies!
- baking soda - baking soda reacts to the acid in the brown sugar to give just enough lift to these cookies!
- salt - helps to bring out the delicious flavors in this chocolate chip cookie recipe!
- semisweet chocolate chips - you can also use chopped baking chocolate or dark chocolate chunks!
Equipment
To make this chocolate chip cookie recipe, you'll want to grab a kitchen scale to help you measure your flour with perfect accuracy to get that chewy, gooey texture that you like. Also, an oven thermometer will help to correct any temperature disparities to make sure that your cookies bake perfectly. And a small cookie scoop helps to measure out your cookies to the exact size you'll need. You'll also want to grab a cooling rack and a large baking sheet -- I use the Nordicware Baker's Big Sheet lined with a Silpat ¾ sheet liner. You may also want to use an electric mixer for these cookies, but I usually mix them up by hand!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions and a recipe video, but here are the simple steps to make soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar:
Whisk together brown butter (or melted butter), sugar, and honey in a large bowl.
Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients -- flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients to form your chocolate chip cookie dough.
Fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Scoop cookie dough balls onto a lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown around the edges.
Hint: For the most soft chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar, be sure to take your cookies out of the oven when the center is not quite set -- they'll still look underdone in the middle, but as they cool they'll set into that perfect soft cookie texture!
What happens if you don't put brown sugar in cookies?
They'll still be delicious! You can substitute brown sugar in a recipe for equal amounts of white sugar and enjoy your cookies! But they won't be exactly the same. White sugar causes cookies to flatten out more and take on a crispier texture. Flavor-wise, white sugar is more sweet than brown sugar, without any rich molasses flavor. So your cookies will still be yummy, but won't have that iconic flavor and texture of a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe!
That's why in this recipe, we're making our chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar, but adding in a bit honey to maintain that moist texture. Honey also provides a bit more flavor than white sugar!
Substitutions
These chewy chocolate chip cookies can easily be adapted to fit your needs!
- To make eggless chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar, replace the egg with a flax egg or (use a store-bought egg replacer)!
- To make vegan chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar:
- Replace the egg with a flax egg or (use a store-bought egg replacer).
- Instead of honey, use maple syrup or agave nectar.
- Use vegan butter and dairy free chocolate chips like in my Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- Gluten Free - this chocolate chip cookie recipe works well with a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour! Be sure to check labels to make sure your other ingredients are gluten free as well.
Variations
Make this chocolate chip cookie recipe your own!
- Add nuts - make these cookies a little chunky with chopped walnuts or pecans!
- Brown your butter - for me, this is a MUST when making chocolate chip cookies. Check here for details on how to brown butter!
- Small batch chocolate chip cookies (no brown sugar) - Halve this recipe (using just the egg yolk) to make 12 perfectly-portioned, delicious cookies!
And check out my Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies or my Cake Mix Brownie Mix Cookies with White Chocolate if you're looking for another easy cookie recipe that's a fun twist on classic chocolate chip cookies!
Storage
Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze your baked cookies! Just let them freeze solid uncovered, then place them into an airtight container or freezer bag to stay frozen for up to two months. You can enjoy them one at a time — just let them thaw, uncovered, at room temperature.
Top tip
As always, for best results be sure to measure your flour correctly (preferably with a kitchen scale instead of a measuring cup) so that you don't use too much flour. If your dough is dry, your cookies are too thick, or they don't spread while baking, that's probably the reason! For more, see How to Fix Dry Crumbly Cookie Dough.
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter - melted or browned
- ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) honey
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon (7 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (156 g) all purpose flour - measured by weight or fluffed using the spoon-and-level method
- 2 teaspoon (4 g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- ¾ cup (135 g) semisweet chocolate chips - or chopped chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, and honey until combined.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon honey, ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- Add in egg and vanilla and whisk again until smooth.1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.1 ¼ cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients to form dough.
- Fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Use a small cookie scoop to place scoops of dough onto prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven 8-10 minutes, or until tops of cookies are almost set and edges are golden brown. For soft cookies, be sure not to over-bake.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Variations
Make this chocolate chip cookie recipe your own!- Add nuts - make these cookies a little chunky with chopped walnuts or pecans!
- Brown your butter - for me, this is a MUST when making chocolate chip cookies. Check here for details on how to brown butter!
- Small batch chocolate chip cookies (no brown sugar) - Halve this recipe (using just the yolk of the egg) to make 12 perfectly-portioned cookies!
Storage
Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze your baked cookies! Just let them freeze solid uncovered, then place them into an airtight container to stay frozen for up to two months. You can enjoy them one at a time — just let them thaw, uncovered, at room temperature.Nutrition
FAQ
Definitely! You can swap white sugar for brown sugar whenever you want a richer, more flavorful sweetness or a softer texture. In fact, you can make chocolate chip cookies without white sugar -- my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter and Sea Salt are a delicious example!
As I mentioned above, white sugar mixed with a little maple syrup, honey, or agave can replicate the texture and flavor of brown sugar. You can also use coconut sugar, which is unrefined and has a bit of the caramel flavor that brown sugar has. Or you can always just use white sugar in place of brown sugar!
You can definitely make your own brown sugar using white sugar! Just add 1 tablespoon of molasses to a cup of white sugar to make light brown sugar. Add two tablespoons to make dark brown sugar.
Holley
I love this cookie recipe! Swapping the brown sugar for honey is just genius and even more delish!
Chenée Lewis
I think so too! It's a great alternative!
Shelby
Incredibly tasty and perfectly sweet, even without the brown sugar. Yum!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you think so! I love these cookies!
Sara Welch
Whipped up a batch of these this afternoon and they did not disappoint! Easy, fluffy and delicious; the best way to cure my sweet tooth, indeed!
Chenée Lewis
Wonderful! These cookies are perfect for any sweet craving!
Colleen
I was out of brown sugar, so I thought I would give these cookies a try. They turned out perfectly. Thank you!
Chenée Lewis
So glad to hear that!
Jess
I ran out of brown sugar and these showed up on Google. They peaked my interest with the honey, I have an addiction to honey sourced from berry nectar and substitute when I can. These are incredible cookies. Soft with a perfect amount of chewiness, plus they’re very pretty. They didn’t fall flat. My new go to. Thank you!
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad you liked them! I love the bit of flavor that honey adds to the cookies!
kushigalu
An interesting variation to regular chocolate chip cookies. Thanks for sharing. Pinned.
Chenée Lewis
Thanks hope you like them!
Katherine
I love the texture of these fluffy cookies, without the brown sugar!
Chenée Lewis
Yes they're perfect for if you run out!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
So good to know that I can use a differnet sugar as brown sugar always seems to run out first in my house.
Chenée Lewis
Same here!
Tavo
delicious chocolate chip cookies. I am making them again!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you like them!
Caitlin
Really delicious cookies! Love adding the brown butter too.
Chenée Lewis
It's my favorite part! 🙂
Gina Abernathy
I love a good cookie recipe and this one is great.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!
Renée
You gotta love a good chocolate chip cookie! These are a little crispier and lighter-colored than our regular chocolate chip cookies, which is a nice change. Thanks for the recipe!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them!
Anjali
This is easily one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes! I've used it a few times now and the cookies always turn out perfectly - moist, sweet, and totally delicious!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like them!
Kim
These were delicious! Had the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor and still soft. Great simple recipe!
Chenée Lewis
Great! Glad you like them!
Kate
I added walnuts to my cookies and they turned out amazing! They were so chewy and delicious! I can't wait to make another batch over the weekend!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them!! 🙂
Jazz
These chocolate chip cookies are just perfect. I added chopped nuts to half the dough for a little variety and they all came out wonderful. I'll be making these again for Christmas cookie swap!
Chenée Lewis
What a great idea! So glad you liked them!
Krys
This is my favorite chocolate chip recipe and it's perfect for kids because it has some sugar but not a ton. I swapped the honey for agave and it worked perfect. This chocolate chip cookie recipe is on regular rotation at my house.
Chenée Lewis
Great to hear that you like it! Thanks so much!
Robin
You are my go-to person for baking tips - I actually didn't have brown sugar but did have agave and honey. I chose to use the former and the cookies came out soft, chewy and incredibly good.
Chenée Lewis
Wonderful! So glad you liked them!
Marta
These chocolate chips tasted like something out of a fancy bakery. They were perfectly fluffy and so addicting. This will definitely be my go-to recipe.
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them!!
Kanyi
beautiful images and cookies, Chenée!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!