Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let's Get Started!
I know you’re probably thinking that you don’t need another chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I’m here to tell you that you’re 100% wrong. This is the recipe you’ve been missing!
Let me tell you why:
- There’s no white sugar. Using brown sugar will give you a slight caramel flavor, and makes a soft and chewy cookie
- They stay fluffy after baking. You’ll still want to keep an inch or so between each cookie on the baking sheet, but they won’t spread and flatten very much
- The dough or cookies are great for freezing. To freeze, place balls of dough on your baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer frozen dough balls to an airtight freezer bag or container. The dough will keep for 3 months. To bake, you can thaw for 30 minutes before baking, or bake frozen by adding 2 extra minutes to the bake time. You can freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container as well
- Use any kind of mix-ins you like. My favorites are chopped pecans and milk chocolate chips. This dough can handle anything you want to throw at it. Other options could be chocolate chunks, grated chocolate, caramel bits, cashew pieces, chopped Snickers, etc.
- They don’t taste like the classic chocolate chip cookie you typically think of. This is a delicious twist that might become your “go to” recipe like it is in our house
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
A Few Notes
I’m using butter flavored Crisco for this recipe. I use salted butter in most of my cookie recipes, but a few of them just work so well with the Crisco. They stay fluffy and have a buttery taste!
The Crisco is already vegan, but you can replace the milk and egg with vegan options. Flaxseed is a great egg replacer in this recipe because the brown sugar already gives a caramel nutty flavor and the nuttiness of the flaxseed doesn’t stand out like it might in other cookies.
Use PURE vanilla extract, not the imitation stuff. Vanilla won’t change the structure of the cookie, but it’s used to enhance all the other flavors. I know it’s tempting to buy a bigger cheaper bottle of the imitation, but don’t do it. If you have a little time on your hands and don’t mind being grossed out, look up how they make imitation vanilla.
I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer, but you can use a hand mixer or even a bowl and spoon.
You can whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together to get it fully blended before adding it to your creamed mixture. I didn’t do that this time around. Don’t sift the flour for this recipe.
I usually chill this dough for about 20 minutes because I like to make sure it doesn’t spread too much when it’s baking. This isn’t necessary and might just be in my imagination.
These can be baked using a silicon baking mat or parchment paper to cover your baking sheet.
I use cookie scoops for faster scooping and uniform cookies.
Don’t overbake these cookies. 8-10 minutes is plenty. They might look slightly underdone, but will finish setting up after you remove them from the oven. Let them sit for a few minutes before transferring them to wire baking rack.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Shortening
- 1 1/4 Cups Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1 Egg
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
- 1 Cup Chopped Pecan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper if you wish and set it aside.
- In your mixing bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar for about 30 seconds.
- Add the milk, vanilla and egg. Mix until creamy.
- Slowly add dry ingredients and mix-ins until fully incorporated.
- Form the dough into 2 inch balls, or use your cookie scoop. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are slightly golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling racks.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.