These Maple Sugar Cookies are a perfect fall twist on my favorite cut out sugar cookies. They have a nice light maple flavor in every bite of the soft cookies, and are topped with a sweet maple flavored icing as well.
These sweet Maple Sugar Cookies will be your new favorite sugar cookies, thanks to using pure maple extract in the cookies, the cookies need minimal chilling and will still give you those beautiful crisp edges.
Why make this Recipes
- Warm, Comforting Flavors – Our favorite sugar cookies, with a fall twist. The maple extract, and syrup add such a rich and cozy flavor that is perfect for fall.
- Minimal Chilling – Instead of chilling the dough for an hour or two before cutting out the cookies we’re going to roll out the dough, cut out our shapes and chill the cookies directly on our baking pan for only about 15 minutes before baking. That means the cookies are baked and ready in less than 1 hour.
- Great for Sharing – This recipe makes about 30 medium sized cookies, and can easily be doubled for a large group. They’re great for sharing at a cookie exchange, or holiday parties, along with our Fruitcake Cookies, or Peppermint Brownie Cookies.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Maple Sugar Cookie Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in my baked goods, but if you buy salted you can cut the added salt in half
- brown sugar – brown sugar adds an extra flavor and chewiness to these cookies, but you can substitute for granulated if needed
- one egg – just one egg to help bind the dough, and keep it from spreading too much
- vanilla extract – enhances the flavor
- maple extract – gives the cookies their maple flavor. Use a pure maple extract
- all purpose flour – forms the base of the cookies and helps them hold their shape when cut out
- baking powder – helps the cookies rise a bit, but not spread. Do not use baking soda.
- salt – balances the sweetness, and enhances the flavors
- pure maple syrup – this gives the cookie icing a nice maple flavor, do not use pancake syrup.
- powdered sugar – to add sweetness and structure to the icing
How to make Maple Cut Out Cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter and brown sugar. You’ll mix them together for about 2 minutes to get the mixture light in color. Then add in the egg, vanilla, and maple extract.
Step 2: Add in the dry ingredients. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt, the dough will look dry at first, but continue mixing until it comes together and can form a soft ball (similar texture to playdough).
Step 3: Cut out the cookies and chill. Roll out the cookie dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to be 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the shapes, using as much of the dough as you can, and place them onto a lined baking pan about 1 inch apart. Place the whole pan in the fridge to chill for about 15 to 30 minutes, while you preheat the oven.
Step 4: Bake the cookies. Bake the cookies until the tops are no longer shiny, and barely look set. This will depend on how big your cookies are, but could be anywhere from 5 to 6 minutes for tiny cookies, 7-9 minutes for medium to large cookies (this is what mine usually are). Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
Step 5: Ice the Cookies. Whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and butter in a medium bowl until smooth. You want the icing to be thin enough to dip into, but not too thin that it won’t ever set. Dip the cookies one at a time into the icing, let the extra drip off the sides, then place them on a cooling rack to let them set. Top with sprinkles if desired.
Tips and Tricks
- Chilling – You can bake these cookies straight after making the dough, but your edges might be a little less crisp. Since its a minimal chilling process already, I usually just chill them, but if you’re in a hurry you can skip that step. They’ll still taste and look beautiful.
- Watch Closely – The cookies bake in just a few minutes, so you want to watch the last minute or two of baking time to keep them from baking too long in the oven. The tops of the cookies will look just set when you remove them from the oven for a soft cookie.
Storage Instructions
Once cooled and iced, let the icing set until hard and then you can store the cut out sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 or 5 days. Place a layer of parchment paper between the cookies if you will be stacking them, and know that they may get a little squished if stacking.
The cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. First flash freeze them in a single layer for about 1 hour, then you can transfer them to a freezer safe bag, or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
These Maple Sugar Cookies are a fun twist on traditional sugar cookies, giving them an extra cozy flavor, perfect for the fall season!
More Sugar Cookie Recipes
Maple Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Maple Cut Out Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (slightly softened)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple extract
- 3 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled or weighed)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the Maple Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 5 TBS pure maple syrup
- 1 TBS unsalted butter (melted, and slightly cooled)
- 1/2 tsp maple extract
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer), or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 1 cup unsalted butter , 1 cup brown sugar
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and maple extract and mix until combined, scraping the edges and side of the bowl as needed. 1 large egg, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp maple extract
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined and you have a nice soft dough. (It will look crumbly at first then will start to come together). 3 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Roll the cookie dough out on a lightly floured counter top to be 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut the cookies out into desired shapes.
- Place the cookies onto a lined cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Place the cookie sheet in the fridge to chill for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Continue rolling and cutting out additional cookies, pressing the scraps of dough together as needed.
- Place one pan of cookies into the oven at a time and bake for 7 to 8 minutes, for 2 to 3 inch cookies, or until the tops of the cookies are no longer shiny, and the cookies look set.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes to chill.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Maple Icing:
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, butter, and maple extract until you have a nice icing. 1 cup powdered sugar, 5 TBS pure maple syrup , 1 TBS unsalted butter, 1/2 tsp maple extract
- Dip each cookie into the glaze to coat the tops of the cookies. Shake the cookie off upside down in the bowl to get extra icing off, then let it tip to the side to get excess off.
- Place on the cooling rack and let the icing sit for a couple of minutes, then top with sprinkles if desired.
- Let cookies sit until the icing is set and hardened.
Notes
- Chilling – You can bake these cookies straight after making the dough, but your edges might be a little less crisp. Since its a minimal chilling process already, I usually just chill them, but if you’re in a hurry you can skip that step. They’ll still taste and look beautiful.
- Watch Closely – The cookies bake in just a few minutes, so you want to watch the last minute or two of baking time to keep them from baking too long in the oven. The tops of the cookies will look just set when you remove them from the oven for a soft cookie.
- Crisp Cookies – The cookies are soft as is, but if you prefer a crisp sugar cookie you can bake them for about 1 extra minute. Watch closely because you still want your cookies to be light in color, they only need a little extra time to crisp up a bit.
- Re-Roll the Scraps – You can scoop up and squish the cookie dough scraps back together and roll them back out into a flat surface to make even more cookies. This will keep you from wasting any dough, unless you want to sneak a bite and eat some before baking 😉
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