Brown sugar shortbread is all about the magic that happens when you combine butter, brown sugar, and flour in just the right way to create a simple melt-in-your-mouth cookie with caramel and toffee notes.
If you’re a regular around these parts you know I love shortbread. I’m guessing if you’re reading this that you do too. Or at least you’re shortbread curious. I’m excited to have you either way because today’s recipe for brown sugar shortbread is fantastic: soft and crumbly with a delicious lingering buttery toffee flavor.
Funny how such a little tweak to my classic shortbread recipe can have such a profound effect. I use dark brown sugar in this shortbread cookie instead of regular sugar and that little bit of molasses makes it all happen. Promise me you’ll try one warm from the oven.
my 5 top shortbread recipes
- Scottish Shortbread
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Butter Pecan Shortbread
- Fresh Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
This is a cookie that delivers so much more than the simple ingredient list would suggest. It’s a cookie in the absolute most elemental form, made with just the basic building blocks of baking. Butter, sugar, and flour combine to make a wonderfully rich but utterly uncomplicated treat. I can’t tell you how much I love this brown sugar shortbread!
ingredient overview
Don’t blink, this is a short list.
- unsalted butter
- dark brown sugar
- all purpose flour
- salt
- vanilla bean paste
- vanilla is a universal flavor enhancer in so many recipes. I love the way it blends with the brown sugar, and if you’re a vanilla lover you’ll want to have vanilla bean paste on hand. The flavor is so much richer and deeper than extract, but it’s not nearly as pricey as a vanilla bean. Look for it in better grocery stores, and online.
why dark brown sugar?
Dark brown sugar: Has a rich, complex flavor due to the high molasses content. It offers caramel and toffee-like notes and is the defining flavor in gingerbread. This contrasts with regular sugar, with is merely sweet, with a neutral flavor.
You can use golden brown sugar if you prefer, but your flavor will be milder:
- Golden brown sugarย (or light brown sugar) contains aboutย 3.5% molassesย by weight, giving it a lighter color and milder flavor.
- Dark brown sugarย hasย 6.5% molasses, making it richer, darker, and more intense in flavor.
what to expect from brown sugar shortbread
This is shortbread the way I like it, nice and soft and plush so that it melts in your mouth. It’s got a toffee-like sweetness from the molasses in brown sugar. And that brown sugar adds a deeper, more caramel-like flavor to the cookies than you get from traditional shortbread. The higher moisture content in brown sugar also contributes to that softer texture I love so much.
Definitely add brown sugar shortbread to your holiday baking schedule. I’ve found that it’s always the simple homey cookies that disappear the quickest, and I predict these will be a hit.
brown sugar shortbread variations
Want crunchier shortbread cookies?
- Roll your dough thinner and/or bake a little longer. Remember shortbread will be soft when it comes out of the oven and will firm up as it cools.
Bake in a square or round pan
- Spread the brown sugar shortbread dough in an 8 or 9″ pan. Bake for 30+ minutes. The dough should be just starting to puff and have a matte appearance. Let cool before slicing.
Add chopped nuts
- This recipe will work well with chopped walnuts or pecans.
Use maple sugar
- Maple sugar and brown sugar are both examples of unrefined or minimally refined sugars that retain additional flavor and characteristics beyond simple sweetness. Using maple sugar will give you the warm maple flavor in your cookies. They won’t have the same golden color (because maple sugar is pale,) but they’ll be delicious! Buy maple sugar online.
more cooking with brown sugar
- Apple Butter Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream
- Brown Sugar Bourbon Icebox Pie
- Butterscotch Steamer
- Christmas Cracker Candy
- Easy Apple Butter Recipe
- Brown Sugar Peach Cake
Brown Sugar Shortbread
Equipment
- standard half sheet baking pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- Cream the butter, the sugar, and the salt together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the vanilla.
- Fold in the flour and gently mix until a soft dough forms. It will be moist and crumbly.
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and bring together with your hands. Pat into a disk shape and smooth the top and edges. Place another piece of parchment paper (or plastic wrap if you find that easier) on top and roll out the dough to about 1/3" thick.
- Cover with plastic and refrigerate the rolled out dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Remove the dough from the fridge and cup out into 2" rounds. Place on a fresh parchment lined baking sheet, about 1-2 inches apart. If you like you can prick the surface of the cookies with the tines of a fork for a classic shortbread appearance, but it's not necessary. (Pricking shortbread is traditionally used to allow steam to escape and to encourage even baking, but I don't find this is necessary in cookies.)
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes, maybe a little longer for thicker cookies. The cookies will still be pale and soft, but will firm up as they cool.
- Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then cool completely on a rack.
This recipe was simple & delicious! Honestly, I did not get toffee & caramel notes. I rolled the dough in a 2″D log & refrigerated it for 1.5 hrs before slicing & baking.
Vanilla paste is not carried in our stores. Can vanilla extract be used? If so, how much? Thanks, in advance, for your reply!
Hi CathyAnn ~ yes, you can use a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract. The reason I’ve been switching to vanilla bean paste is that I think vanilla extracts have gotten a lot less potent. Look for a good brand, I like Nelissen Massey.
Thanks for the reply, Sue. I love Neilsen Massey vanilla. It’s pricey but worth it.
My entire family adores shortbread, but this brown sugar version sounds even better! Question: I have a fancy nordic Ware shortbread pan, would this recipe work in that? Thanks so much!
I think this recipe might be too soft for your pan Lisa. The brown sugar makes it softer and it might not hold the pattern. I think it’s worth a try, though. You might check my Scottish shortbread post for tips on using the pan for best pattern retention.
I noticed in the pics that the cookies have been pricked with a fork, yet it doesnโt say to do so in the instructions. Is it necessary to prick with a fork?
I forgot to mention that, it’s not necessary, I like to do it for the ‘shortbread’ look. So go with what you like.