Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

  

A fall walk led me to follow my bliss

right to my kitchen for some serious fall baking for Maple Brown Sugar Cookies, 

the perfect treat for a fall day. They're big on maple flavor with crisp edges, chewy centers, and delicious maple icing. The recipe makes 2 dozen cookies and was adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com 

Baking Tips: Only use pure maple syrup, not breakfast syrup. Pure maple syrup isn't enough to guarantee mega maple flavor so 1 teaspoon of maple extract was added to pump up the flavor.

The icing sets up quickly so make sure it's used when on the warmish side after the cookies are cooled to spread better. I iced a cookie one at a time and quickly added sprinkles.   

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Maple Icing

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
• pinch salt, to taste

Cookie Directions: 

• Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and beat on high until combined about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract, then beat on high speed until combined.
• Pour the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix on low until combined. Add the pecans, then beat on low speed until combined. The dough will be creamy and soft.
• Cover and chill the dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator (and up to 3 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, though, allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Set aside.
• Roll cookie dough into 2-inch balls. Bake each batch for 11 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
• Remove from the oven. If your warm cookies look puffy, lightly bang the pan on the counter when you remove it from the oven. Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing Directions:

• In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. 
• Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Taste. Add a pinch of salt, if desired. Ice the cooled cookies. Cookies stay fresh and covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.