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    Home / Recipes / Cookies

    Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar

    Sep 11, 2023 · Updated: Sep 19, 2023 by Dee Dine · Affliate links disclosure.

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    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar pin.

    These chewy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are soft and even more delicious than classic chocolate chip cookies. Rich and buttery, these easy cookies are also dairy free, egg free, and need only 7 ingredients.

    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar broken on a cooling rack.

    Chewy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are delicious and easy to make dairy free and egg free with just 7 ingredients. Maybe you are out of brown sugar, or maybe you found your brown sugar is hard as a rock. Well, I got you! You'll love this simple recipe which makes a cookie with a soft texture, and crispy edges, even without the typically important brownie sugar.

    The ingredient list is short, the dough requires only a 20-minute chill, and you won't have to place a grocery order or run to the store for brown sugar.

    When you are done with these cookies, try my chocolate sugar cookies, my buttery milano cookies and my edible chocolate chip cookie dough, if you prefer not to cook at all. And if chocolate chips are your thing, you will definitely want to check out my oatmeal chocolate chip bars. Or if almond flavoring is your favorite, try my new almond sugar cookies, ready in 15 minutes, and my fun cut outs, 3 ingredient almond flour sugar cookies!

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This
    • Ingredients
    • Step by Step Instructions
    • Recipe Tips
    • Storage
    • FAQS
    • 📖 Recipe

    Why You'll Love This

    Simple ingredients, short chill time. These chewy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar need only 7 basic ingredients that are always in your kitchen. And the chill time is only 20 minutes, so you'll have cookies in your mouth in a short time.

    Why it works without brown sugar. The apple sauce in this cookie contributes the moisture to the texture that brown sugar normally contributes. Use store bought or homemade apple sauce.

    Make ahead cookies. You can make the dough or the cookies ahead of time, both freeze super well.

    Work for all diets. These cookies are dairy free and without eggs so vegans and vegetarians can eat them. Make them gluten-free by using a gluten free baking flour, and they are naturally nut-free.

    Ingredients

    ingredients for chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar.
    • flour. Use all-purpose flour or gluten free baking flour for best texture.
    • sugar. Organic cane sugar tastes best, and is less refined, but any cane sugar works.
    • butter. I used dairy free butter, but any butter works.
    • apple sauce. Use unsweetened. Pectin in apples works as the binder here, replacing eggs nicely.
    • baking soda, powder
    • vanilla, salt
    • chocolate chip. I used semi sweet mini chips by Enjoylife, but you can use your favorite.

    See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

    Step by Step Instructions

    For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.

    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar batter before stirring.

    Step 1: Cream room-temperature butter and sugar in a bowl, add apple sauce and vanilla and beat for about 2 minutes. Combine the dry ingredients and add those through a strainer.

    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar batter mixed.

    Step 2: Mix the batter for about 1 minute until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with a dish or plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

    raw batter for chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar.

    Step 3: Scoop using a 2-tablespoon scoop and space balls 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes. Look for golden brown edges, and pale centers with cracks.

    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar baked.

    Step 4: Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

    Recipe Tips

    1.Make sure your butter is at room temperature. Either put it out for a few hours before baking, or microwave it out of the paper, in a bowl, for 10 seconds.

    2. Since these cookies are missing brown sugar - a key ingredient to ensure soft texture - it is important to not overbake them. Remove them as soon as the top surface is dry, and the edges show a hint of brown. You don't have to worry about salmonella from eggs in under cooked batter because these cookies do not have eggs.

    3. Be sure to spend some time creaming the butter and sugar to be sure the sugar is dissolved. But barely stir the final batter, combining the wet and dry ingredients to prevent the cookies from becoming tough. That's because when over-stirred, flour releases gluten and makes a tough cookie.

    Storage

    Store cooled chocolate chip cookies at room temperature in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze the batter or baked cookies for up to 3 months.

    FAQS

    Is brown sugar necessary for cookies?

    Brown sugar is used in most chocolate chip cookie recipes to add moisture, chewiness, and a caramel flavor. Apple sauce that I use in this recipe instead of eggs, replaces the moisture and caramel flavor nicely as well as adds structure. I use apple sauce instead of eggs in many of my cake recipes.

    What I can I used instead of brown sugar in baking?

    If you don't have brown sugar, use cane sugar or coconut sugar at a 1 to 1 ratio. Other healthy sweeteners include date paste and maple syrup although the recipe might require added flour.

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    📖 Recipe

    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar broken on a cooling rack.

    Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar

    Created by Dee Dine
    These chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are soft and even more delicious than classic chocolate chip cookies. Rich and buttery, these easy cookies are also dairy free, egg free, and need only 7 ingredients.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved! Rate Recipe
    Prep Time 25 minutes mins
    Cook Time 12 minutes mins
    Total Time 37 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 15
    Calories 250 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 large mixing bowl
    • 1 Hand-mixer
    • 1 cookie scoop set
    • 1 baking sheets

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ½ cups (192g) all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup (62g) applesauce unsweetened
    • ¾ cup (150g) cane sugar
    • ½ cup (113g) butter softened, dairy free
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • pinch of salt
    • ¾ cup (127g) mini chocolate chips (also ½ a chocolate bar chopped - optional)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Prep

    • Preheat oven to 350 F (180°C) .
    • Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
    • Make sure the butter is at room temperature. You can microwave it for 10 seconds to help it along, but letting it sit out for 2 hours is more advisable.

    Make Cookies

    • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, stirring or mixing about 2-3 minutes with a spoon, hand mixer or stand mixer.
      ¾ cup (150g) cane sugar, ½ cup (113g) butter
    • Stir in applesauce and vanilla for another 1 minute or until incorporated.
      ¼ cup (62g) applesauce, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • Sift the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredient mixture. Be sure to measure the flour exactly - I used the spoon and level method. If you don't want to sift, simple stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, and then dump that on top of the wet ingredient mixture.
      1 ½ cups (192g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, pinch of salt
    • Mix the batter until just combined either with a spoon and by hand, or with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Mix only about 1 minute. Don't overmix or you'll create a rubbery batter.
      ¾ cup (127g) mini chocolate chips
    • Fold in the chocolate chips or chunks (or both) with a spatula.
    • Cover the batter with crinkle wrap and refrigerator for 20 minutes.
    • Scoop using a 2-tbsp size scoop and space the dough balls 2 inches apart. This will make 15-18 cookies.
    • Bake 350 F for 10-12 minutes. Do not over-bake these chocolate chip cookies! Look for golden brown edges, and pale centers that look just dry, and are beginning to show slight cracks.
    • Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

    Store

    • Store these chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

    Video

    Notes

    Soften the butter. Make sure the vegan butter is softened to room temperature. This will help it cream more easily with the sugar and create a light, fluffy texture.
    Measure the flour accurately. Make sure to measure the flour accurately by using a kitchen scale or spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife. 
    Pack the brown sugar. The ½ cup of brown sugar should be packed when measuring it. 
    Chill the dough. Chilling the dough for at least 20 minutes before baking will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven and will give them a better texture.
    Your cookie dough texture.  After 20 minutes of chilling, the cookie dough should be soft, slightly sticky, and easy to scoop.  If the dough is too wet, you can add more flour in ¼ cup increments, not going over ½ cup, and mixing well between each addition. If your dough is dry and crumbly, you can add milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, not exceeding ¼ cup, until you reach the texture you want. If you're unsure about the texture of the dough, you can always test it by baking two cookies to see how they turn out.
    Don't overbake the cookies. Keep a close eye on the cookies while they are baking and remove them from the oven as soon as the edges start to turn golden brown. Overbaking the cookies can make them dry and hard.
    Let the cookies cool before serving. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This will help them set and prevent them from falling apart.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 250kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 96mgPotassium: 44mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 225IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About Dee

    Hey! I'm Dee Dine, and on my blog, I share healthy recipes with wholesome ingredients. I'm also a chocolate and ginger enthusiast, animal lover, an avid blender juicer, and am probably making no bake brownies in my Washington DC kitchen right now. Read about me → »

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    chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar pin.
    dee dine

    I'm Dee! Welcome to GSG! Eating healthier and lighter, with plenty of fruits and veggies, can be delicious, especially when chocolate and desserts are involved. Here you'll find wholesome recipes that everyone will love. About Dee →

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