You might mistake these for a snickerdoodle or your average sugar cookie but really these Soft Brown Sugar Cookies are their own thing entirely. They’re not quite like any other cookie I’ve ever had. They have a dusting of sugar on the outside like a snickerdoodle, a dough that’s unmarred by nuts or chocolate like a sugar cookie, and yet they have a subtle brown sugar, caramel flavor that makes them a true standout. They’re easy to make and even easier to enjoy, which is just how I like my cookies.

The ingredients probably look familiar because they’re basic cookie ingredients, it’s just that you’re putting them together in kind of a unique way. You’re going to start with butter — that’s normal enough — but you’re going to start on the stovetop.

You want to melt most of your butter until it’s nutty and brown. (DON’T skip this. Be patient! The flavor is incredible.) You’ll then turn off the heat, stir in the rest of the butter until it melts (just so it’s not TOO rich), and then stir in your brown sugar, an egg, an egg yolk, and some salt, and vanilla.

You don’t need a mixer at all.

Set that butter mixture aside and in a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and a little more sugar (both brown and white). Then, stir the butter mixture into the dry mixture. That’s it.

It’ll be a kind of oily dough, but it holds together just fine, and you’ll then scoop it in to balls that you roll into sugar before baking.

You want to bake these just until they’re soft — don’t overdo it. They’ll set up a bit as they cool so don’t worry if they look underdone. The name of the game here is a soft, tender cookie. A soft, tender cookie that has a hint of caramel and toffee flavor and the slightest crunch of sugar on its crackled surface. It’s a beautiful thing, really.