✔ Updated · fixed calories + added a chewier option and brown sugar swap
These chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar use plain white sugar, so you can bake even when the brown sugar is gone or rock hard. They bake up golden with crisp edges and a tender middle, and ours rarely reach the cookie jar.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Want them chewier? Add 1 tablespoon of molasses or honey with the eggs, and chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- No brown sugar needed, just white sugar and pantry staples.
- Crisp, golden edges with a tender, buttery middle.
- Big batch: about 40 cookies, and the dough freezes well.
Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
Most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for brown sugar, white sugar or both. This one uses only white granulated sugar, so it works when the brown sugar is missing or rock hard.
Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses, which adds moisture, chew and a caramel note. Without it, the cookies come out a little paler, crisper at the edges and lighter in flavor, with the butter and chocolate up front.
| White sugar only | Brown sugar | |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | Crisp edges, tender middle | Softer and chewier |
| Color | Lighter golden | Darker brown |
| Flavor | Buttery, clean | Caramel, toffee notes |
| Spread | Spreads a little more | Spreads a little less |
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Cream the butter and sugar well. Three to four minutes of beating dissolves the sugar a little and traps air, which gives the cookies lift and a finer texture. I set a timer, because I always want to stop too soon.
- Weigh the flour. 280 grams is the target. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and makes the cookies dry and cakey.
- Chill for thicker cookies. White-sugar dough spreads a little more than brown-sugar dough. Thirty minutes in the fridge keeps the cookies thicker.
- Pull them at golden edges. The centers should still look just set. They firm up on the hot sheet as they cool.
- Don't eat the raw dough. It contains raw eggs and raw flour, so bake it before tasting.
Video
Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
40
cookies15
minutes24
minutes140
kcal40
minutesClassic chocolate chip cookies made with white granulated sugar only: butter and sugar creamed until fluffy, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt and semisweet chips, baked at 350°F until golden. Crisp edges with a tender middle, and no brown sugar needed.
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients
280 g all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups, spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- Wet Ingredients
227 g unsalted butter, softened (1 cup / 2 sticks)
300 g granulated white sugar (1 1/2 cups)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Mix-In
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
Directions
- Make the Dough
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
- Add the flour mixture on low speed and mix until only a few streaks of flour remain. Add the chocolate chips and mix or fold just until no flour is visible. Don’t overmix.
- Bake
- Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each) onto the sheets, 2 inches apart. For thicker cookies, chill the scooped dough for 30 minutes first.
- Bake one or two sheets at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway, until the edges are golden and the centers look just set.
- Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough on cooled sheets.
Notes
- Store these cookies in an air-tight container, in a cool dark place for up to 2 weeks.
- If you have white castor sugar, you can substitute your white (or brown) sugar with an equal part castor sugar.
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Out of Brown Sugar? Easy Swaps
- White sugar: swap it cup for cup, as in this recipe. Expect crisper, paler cookies.
- Homemade brown sugar: mix 1 cup of white sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses (light) or 2 tablespoons (dark).
- White sugar plus honey or maple: add 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup per cup of sugar for a little extra chew.
- Coconut sugar: use it cup for cup for a darker, slightly caramel-flavored cookie.
Storing and Freezing
- Room temperature: store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. A slice of bread in the container keeps them softer.
- Freeze baked cookies: freeze them in a container with parchment between the layers for up to 3 months.
- Freeze dough balls: freeze them on a tray, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
More Cookie Recipes
For a soft, thick drive-thru style cookie, try our McDonald's chocolate chip cookies. Short on time? The Bisquick chocolate chip cookies are even quicker, and our peanut butter cookies without brown sugar also skip the brown sugar. If your dough turns out too soft, see how to fix sticky cookie dough. For a giant, gooey bakery-style cookie, try my copycat Crumbl chocolate chip cookie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Replace the brown sugar with the same amount of white granulated sugar, cup for cup. The cookies will be a little lighter in color, crisper at the edges and less chewy, with a cleaner buttery flavor instead of the caramel notes molasses gives.
Brown sugar contains molasses, which holds moisture, adds a caramel flavor and makes cookies softer and chewier. White sugar cookies spread a little more, brown at the edges and bake up crisper and paler, with a tender middle if you pull them on time.
Here’s my favorite fix: add 1 tablespoon of molasses, honey or maple syrup with the eggs, swap one of the eggs for 2 egg yolks, and chill the dough for 30 minutes. Bake until the edges are just golden and the centers still look slightly underdone.
How do I make brown sugar from white sugar?
Mix 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses for light brown sugar, or 2 tablespoons for dark brown sugar. Rub it together with a fork or your fingers until evenly colored, then use it cup for cup in any recipe.
Yes. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them on a tray until firm, then store them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Tasted good. Texture was soft but not at all “chewy” . If anything its a glorified sugar cookie, rather bland except for the chunks of chocolate chips. Cookies did not flatten while baking so I had cocholate chip cookie “balls” as a result. I would have liked to give 4 and 5 stars because I’m sure its hard to get a good chocolate chip cookie without the brown sugar that actually is normally what gives it a chewy texture, but It just wasn’t there for me. The recipe worked for me because I didn’t have brown sugar on hand, but I won’t be making again. I’ll just get some more brown sugar and try again next time with all the right ingredients.