Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar: 7 Steps to Perfection

These chewy chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are easy and quick to make. You don’t need to chill the dough, and you can mix everything by hand! No need for a stand mixer for this recipe.

Is there anything wrong with brown sugar? Not at all! But I wanted to make a simple, no-fuss chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t need chilling, a stand mixer, or even an electric mixer, and still tastes amazing.

So that’s exactly what I did. I went back to my old recipe and decided I wanted thinner, chewy, more chocolatey chocolate chip cookies made only with white sugar.

“Treat yourself to the ultimate duo—soft, chewy vanilla cookies and rich condensed milk cookies. You won’t want to miss these irresistible bites!”

Why You Will Love These Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar

These chocolate chip cookies are a true classic!

This recipe doesn’t need you to chill the dough, and you don’t need a stand mixer. You can make it all by hand.

You can also keep a batch of these cookies in the freezer, and when you want a warm chocolate chip cookie, just bake them following the instructions.

Ingredients

Here are some notes on the ingredients used to make Chocolate Chip Cookies. Please see the recipe card for quantities.

Flour – Use standard-grade, plain, or all-purpose flour for these cookies.

Sugar – These cookies use plain white granulated sugar.

Egg – The egg helps hold the cookies together.

Butter – Butter adds flavor, softness, and moisture to the cookies. Sometimes, it also helps the cookies rise. I use New Zealand butter in my recipes, which has about 82% butterfat and is very yellow, similar to European or Irish butter. You can’t substitute butter with margarine spreads, but you can use baking margarine instead. If you use salted butter, you can skip the extra salt in the recipe.

Baking Powder or Baking Soda – Test if your baking powder or baking soda is fresh by putting a small amount in boiling water. If it bubbles and fizzes, it’s good to use!

Salt – Salt is important in all baked goods. I use table salt in my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt, which equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal salt.

Chocolate Chips or Chunks – For this recipe, I suggest using your favorite chocolate. In New Zealand, I think Whittaker’s is a great choice, especially their creamy milk chocolate with 33% cocoa. I also used some small pieces of 50% cocoa dark chocolate to melt on top of the cookies, but this is optional.

If you can’t get Whittaker’s, I recommend using milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate. Caramelized white chocolate or Caramilk would also be great in these cookies!

I like chopping up a chocolate bar or block for cookies because they taste better and get melty and gooey. But if you prefer chocolate chips, go ahead and use them!

Room Temperature Ingredients

Use room-temperature ingredients! This makes it easier for the ingredients in the batter or dough to mix together smoothly. Room temperature means around 20°C (68°F).

To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes.

To quickly bring butter to room temperature, cut it into cubes and microwave it at 20% power in 10-second intervals. You can also put the cubes in a bowl over warm water (like a double boiler) on low heat for 1 minute.

For milk, buttermilk, and cream, you can bring them to room temperature by microwaving at 20% power in 10-second intervals or warming them on low heat for a minute or two, swirling every 10-15 seconds.

Weighing & Measuring Ingredients

Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.

However, check out the recipe card for cup measurements. For these conversions, cups are equal to 240 millilitres/8 fluid ounces, tablespoons are 15 milliliters and teaspoons are 5mL

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar

Step 1 – Prep and Preheat
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F, or 170°C if using a fan-forced oven. Line two baking sheets with baking paper or silicone mats. If you’re using chocolate bars, chop the chocolate with a chef’s or santoku knife.

TIP – Crinkling the baking paper into a ball before placing it on the baking sheet can help keep it in place by removing the stiffness.

Step 2 – Partially Cream the Butter
Partially cream the softened (but not melted) butter in a large mixing bowl using a spoon.

Step 3 – Add the Sugar
Add the sugar and cream it by hand using a spoon or whisk for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 4 – Add the Egg and Vanilla
Add the egg and vanilla. Beat everything together with a spoon or whisk until well combined, which will take about 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 5 – Add the Dry Ingredients
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until most of the flour is blended into the wet ingredients.

Step 6 – Time for Chocolate!
Toss in the chocolate and mix it through. Then knead the cookie dough by hand a few times to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

TIP – Set aside 1-2 chunks of chocolate to place on top of the cookies if you want big chocolatey pools. Darker chocolate works best for this!

Step 7 – Portion and Bake
Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, scoop out portions of dough and place them on the baking sheet about 3 inches (7 cm) apart. You can also roll balls of dough about 3 cm (just over an inch) in diameter. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tips

TIP – If you have set aside some chocolate chunks, place them on top of the cookie dough balls before baking.

TIP – I usually bake about 3-4 cookies on a baking sheet that is 9″x13″ in size.

TIP – The cookies will spread out, so give them enough space so they don’t touch each other.

TIP – If you want perfectly round cookies, use a cookie cutter or a bowl that’s about an inch bigger than the cookie. Place it over the cookie and gently scoot the cookie into a circle shape.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

Ovens & Air Fryers

• The temperatures listed are for conventional ovens. If you’re using a convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted oven, or an air fryer, reduce the temperature by 20°C/25°F.

• Make sure the oven is fully preheated before baking, and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Try to open the oven as little as possible. For the best baking results, use an oven thermometer.

• Remember that all ovens can bake a little differently, so you might need to adjust the baking time for your specific oven.

Bakeware

• Metal bakeware is better for baking cookies, brownies, muffins, quick bread, scones, and cakes. It heats up and cools down faster than glassware.

• Glassware is heavier and heats up and cools down more slowly than metal. It’s better for things like bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles, and cobblers.

Storage and Freezing

• These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
• The cookie dough can be frozen in individual portions and baked whenever you want a warm cookie. To bake from frozen, preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F, and bake for 10-15 minutes.