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These sweet maple cookies feature crisp edges, a chewy center, and a delicious maple frosting. Sprinkle them with sparkling sugar for an extra-pretty finish!
Cookie season is the best season. There are just so many good cookie recipes to choose from for the holidays!
These frosted maple cookies are perfect for fall or winter. Maple is such a versatile flavor and one of my favorites.
Whether you make these chewy maple cookies for Thanksgiving or add them to your Christmas cookie list, they’re sure to be a hit.
FROSTED MAPLE COOKIES
In my opinion, maple is a totally underrated fall and winter flavor.
Between pumpkin, apples, cranberry, and peppermint, maple sometimes gets overlooked. But not around here!
I love the sweet, distinctive flavor of maple treats, whether it’s the maple glaze on my streusel-topped pumpkin bread, maple muffins, or the combo of maple and spices in my maple chai cinnamon rolls.
I love those little maple sandwich cookies that come out at Trader Joe’s every year, so I knew I wanted to make a frosted maple cookie with a similar flavor profile.
But I also love chewy cookies like pumpkin snickerdoodles and peanut butter blossoms. So instead of a thin and crispy cookie, I went for a thicker, chewier cookie.
This recipe is based off of my eggnog cookies from last year. These cookies have crisp edges and a chewy center. The maple flavor in the cookies themselves is subtle with a stronger maple flavor in the accompanying frosting.
I like sprinkling them with sparkling sugar for a pretty finish. I think they’d be a great addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table or any holiday cookie exchange!
HOW TO MAKE MAPLE COOKIES
These frosted maple cookies are pretty easy to make. And kids will love helping to frost them, so don’t hesitate to get your kids or grandkids involved!
Ingredients you’ll need
For the cookies themselves, you will need:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
When researching maple cookie recipes, a lot of the ones I saw only had a little bit of maple syrup in the dough. This recipe has a full ½ cup of maple syrup in the dough so you get that beautiful maple flavor throughout the cookies.
I used brown sugar instead of granulated sugar in this recipe for two reasons. Brown sugar helps make cookies a bit chewier, and I love the way the flavor pairs with maple.
You only need egg yolks for these maple cookies. Save the egg whites and make yourself a batch of pumpkin donut holes.
For the maple frosting, you will need:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- Tiny pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon milk
Why use both maple syrup and maple extract? Maple extract boosts the maple flavor of the frosting without adding any sweetness, so it helps really round out the maple flavor of this recipe.
Helpful resources
- Before getting started, make sure you know how to measure flour and how to cream butter and sugar, that way these maple cookies come out beautifully every time.
- When measuring powdered sugar, use the same fluff, scoop, and level method that you use for measuring flour.
- Sometimes brown sugar can harden in the pantry. Don’t stress if this happens – I have tips on how to soften brown sugar that can save you a trip to the store.
- Similarly, don’t panic if you are out of brown sugar. Make a 2-ingredient brown sugar substitute using granulated sugar and molasses.
- If you forgot to set out your butter to soften ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly.
Making these cookies
To start, whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Next, use a mixer to cream the butter and brown sugar together for about 3 minutes. Add the maple syrup, egg yolks, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined.
Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour before scooping and baking.
When you’re ready to bake, line your baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 325°F (yes, that’s not a typo! Really 325°F).
I use a medium cookie scoop – about 1.25-1.5 tablespoons in volume – to portion the dough. Place the dough scoops about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 17-19 minutes. The edges should be barely golden and the centers should be set.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cool, mix up the maple frosting.
Add the butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, maple extract, salt, and half of the milk to a bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat the ingredients until combined, then increase speed to high and mix for 2-3 minutes.
Add more of the milk if needed to reach your desired consistency.
Spread the frosting over the cookies. If you want to add sparkling sugar or other sprinkles, do so immediately before the frosting crusts.
STORAGE
Store frosted maple cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you want, you can definitely freeze these cookies. You can either freeze them before or after frosting them.
If you freeze them after frosting, make sure to let the frosting crust up before placing them in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper between the layers. Freeze for up to a month.
FAQS
Can I use pancake syrup instead of maple syrup?
You definitely need to use real maple syrup in this maple cookie recipe. Pancake syrup is sweet but doesn’t have the same flavor as maple syrup, so you won’t get the right result.
Even though maple syrup is more expensive than pancake syrup, you need less than 1 cup for this recipe, so you can buy a small bottle.
Do I have to use maple extract in the frosting?
You do not have to use the maple extract in the frosting for these cookies, but it does boost the maple flavor without adding extra sweetness. If you don’t use it, the maple flavor will be much more subtle.
Does the frosting on these maple cookies harden?
This frosting won’t harden the way that royal icing does, but it will “crust up” the way that buttercream frosting does. So you can stack a couple of layers of these frosted maple cookies in a container without the frosting getting smashed.
I do recommend placing parchment or waxed paper between the layers, but that’s not 100% necessary.
Frosted maple cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- Tiny pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon milk
- sparkling sugar for sprinkling optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add maple syrup, egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
- Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are barely golden and the centers are set, 17-19 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, prepare the frosting.
- Add the butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, maple extract, salt, and half of the milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to high and mix for 2-3 minutes. If needed, add the remaining milk to reach your desired consistency.
- Spread frosting onto cookies. If desired, sprinkle with sparkling coarse sugar immediately.
Video
Notes
- Before getting started, make sure you know how to measure flour and how to cream butter and sugar, that way these maple cookies come out beautifully every time.
- When measuring powdered sugar, use the same fluff, scoop, and level method that you use for measuring flour.
- Sometimes brown sugar can harden in the pantry. Don’t stress if this happens – I have tips on how to soften brown sugar that can save you a trip to the store.
- Similarly, don’t panic if you are out of brown sugar. Make a 2-ingredient brown sugar substitute using granulated sugar and molasses.
- If you forgot to set out your butter to soften ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family loved these cookies . I have made them 3 times this fall. They are soft and delicious. I will make them a yearly fall cookie.
Hello! I’ve made this recipe several times and it is to die for! It’s going to sound strange, but I actually even top it with a homemade candied sage. It is wonderful! I do have a quick question though! I always use light brown sugar when making these. Have you ever tried dark brown sugar? If so, how did it go? I may have to experiment myself one of these days. Thank you again!
Hi Hannah – I haven’t tried dark brown sugar in this recipe, but I’m sure it would be delicious. It should give them more of a molasses-y flavor. Let me know if you try it!
This worked exactly as written, thanks! This recipe was completely amazing. I made them for my class and everyone just fell in love and was so suprised at how good they were.
So happy to see that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie