These Maple Sugar Cookies are simple, stunning, and delicious. Loaded with pure maple syrup, they are a perfect treat any time of year, especially during the holiday season!
Nordic Ware sent me these Geo Cookie Stamps and Naturals Big Baking Sheet pan to try out, but have not compensated me monetarily for this recipe. All opinions are my own.
If you haven’t already noticed, I’m 100% in holiday mode. My holiday baking has been going on for a few weeks now, and I don’t intend to stop until the clock strikes 2016. Christmas is slowly starting to infiltrate our apartment, and we’ll be putting up our tree next weekend (which is actually a week later than we usually do it). LOVE this time of year! I’ll be focusing on holiday cookies for the next little bit because: 1) they’re easy (usually); 2) there’s a bunch of cookie exchanges going on, and; 3) they’re delicious. This week it’s these yummy Maple Sugar Cookies!
I’m all about simple, pretty, elegant designs, which is I think why I love the Bundt cakes so much. Nordic Ware is my go-to company for those, so I was super excited when they sent me these Geo Cookie Stamps and Naturals Big Baking Sheet to try out for this holiday season!
I’ve seen cookie stamps around, but honestly I was a little intimidated to try them. I don’t do cut-out cookies often and I wasn’t sure how the stamps would work out. I imagined them sticking to the dough and generally not being very user-friendly. Thankfully I was wrong!
There’s a couple of ways you can make cookies with cookie stamps. There’s the easy way, and then there’s the way that I did it. Sigh. I’m going to tell you about both and you can decide which is best for you.
The way *I* did it was to chill the dough, roll it out, stamp the cookies, use a cookie cutter to cut them out, then chill the cookies again before baking. This is a longer process, but does give you clean/sharp edges on your cookies.
The easier method is just to scoop the batter right away, roll it into a ball, use the cookie stamp to press it down, and then chill the cookies. I realized this when I was using up my last scrap of dough — I just rolled it into a ball and stamped. I’m not sure why I didn’t think this idea would work in the first place. I thought the dough would stick to the cookie stamp because it wasn’t chilled, but it totally didn’t and was perfectly fine! This way gave more defined lines, as the dough was softer, but the edges of the cookie were more rounded.
Either method you decide (I’ve included both in the recipe below), you’re sure to have stunning cookies that will impress friends and family!
To make sure my cookie dough didn’t stick to the stamps, I dipped them into a small bowl filled with flour and brushed off the excess. This would do a few cookies, then I would dip again as needed – worked perfectly.
As with all Nordic Ware products, the quality of their Geo Cookie Stamps is amazing. They are quite rugged, made from heavy cast aluminum, and I love the vintage look of the wooden handles! The Naturals Big Baking Sheet is a winner too. It’s high quality, and it’s nice and large, which means you can bake more cookies at a time!
These Maple Sugar Cookies are simple and delicious. You don’t need a ton of ingredients or fancy decorations – they are perfect on their own. Sweet and soft, with the yummy flavor of pure maple syrup. If you’d like to kick it up a notch, you can dip them in a maple glaze or brush them with maple syrup straight out of the oven and then dust them with coarse sugar. I did a few with the maple glaze (not pictured) so I’ve included the recipe for the glaze below.
Happy Holiday Baking!!
Maple Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Glaze (optional):
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1-2 Tbsp water as needed
Instructions
Prep:
- Beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins.)
- Reduce speed to low and add egg yolk, mix until fully combined.
- Add maple syrup, mix until fully combined.
- Add flour and salt and mix until just incorporated.
Method #1:
- Scoop dough using a medium cookie scoop,(approx 1.5 – 2 Tbsp) roll into a ball and place on lined baking sheet. Dip cookie stamp into some flour and brush off excess. Press into cookie dough to flatten.
- Chill cookies until firm (approx.1 hour).
Method #2:
- Divide dough in half, shape into discs, chill for 2 hours.
- Roll dough out between 2 pieces of parchment to 1/4″ thickness. Dip cookie stamps in flour, brush off excess. Press cookie stamps into dough, then use a round cookie cutter to cut cookies out. Reroll scraps as needed. Transfer cookies to lined baking sheet and chill until form (approx 30mins).
Baking:
- Preheat oven to 325F. Bake cookies for 15-20mins or until lightly browned on edges. Cool on baking sheet for 5mins, transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve as is, or glaze with a simple powdered sugar and maple syrup glaze. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
This is not a sponsored post. Nordic Ware sent me the Geo Cookie Stamps and Naturals Big Baking Sheet for review. All opinions are my own.
Dee Presto says
I was recently gifted a box of Rustic Bakery maple leaf cookies (SF Bay Area) and I’m trying to duplicate them ~because I ate the entire box~. These are close!
Easy to put together; I opted to roll them out and use cookie cutters to get them thinner. The dough rolls out beautifully. I discovered that baking them at 325 results in a lighter-colored, slightly chewy cookie, and upping the temp to 350 for the last 5 minutes or so results in a bit darker, (due to caramelized sugars) crisper cookie. Both are good!
I do wish there was a more pronounced maple flavor—-may try adding a little maple extract.
At any rate, thank you for the recipe. Going into the rotation.
Olivia says
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback, Dee! Maple extract will definitely help kick the flavour up a notch.
G. says
Hi Olivia
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Was just wondering how long I can keep the dough in the fridge before baking. Could I prep the dough a few days before.
Olivia says
Hi G! It will last a week or so in the fridge. Let me know how you like these!
Terri says
Will this recipe work for regular cut out cookies? Do I need to make any modifications?
Olivia says
Hi Terri! Yes, it should work fine.
Marty says
I made these cookies two nights ago and they came out beautifully. The cookie is not overly sweet and the maple syrup flavor comes through really nicely. I made method #1 but still used a cookie cutter afterwards to get perfect edges, but I think I will try rolling the dough out next time to achieve a thinner cookie which is more to my liking. Thanks for this recipe.
Olivia says
Hi Marty! I’m so glad you loved these. Thanks for the feedback!
Tula says
OMG I tried this and it was the best!!!!!!! 100% recommend! I added an extra 1/3 cup syrup and it turned out amazing! I dyed it with food dye, and made fun patterns on it! When it came out of the oven, it was better than anything you could ever imagine! Thank you Liv for giving me this wonderful experience!
Olivia says
Hi Tula! So happy you loved these. Thanks for the feedback!
Paulina says
Made this recipe as vegan and gluten-free cookies and everyone that tasted them raved about how delicious they were! No one complained about the lack of gluten or lactose
Olivia says
Hi Paulina! So happy everyone loved them 🙂
pearse says
Any substitution for maple syrup?
I d wanted to try a stamp before the holidays without investing on maple syrup.
Olivia says
Hi Pearse! I haven’t experimented with replacing the syrup but you could try something like honey.
Joyce says
There is neither baking powder nor baking soda in this recipe? Please confirm for me.
Olivia says
Hi Joyce! No, in order to ensure the cookies maintain their shape I leave it out.
Holly says
Terrible recipe. The dough was so sticky I had to chill before rolling it out AND after cutting them out just to be able to move them to the baking pan. And then they COMPLETELY lost shape and stamp in the oven! This recipe is not good for stamping or even cut-out cookies. I don’t want to be mean, but I do want to save others from the headache of a bad recipe.
Olivia says
Hi Holly, sorry to hear you had trouble with this one, but it seems like something might have been off with your measurements. The dough should not be that sticky!
c. says
I’m going to have to agree. I weighed the butter, sugar, and flour. There was no “measuring it wrong”.
227g butter
150g sugar (your recipe calls for 200g)
1 large egg yolk
1/2c dark robust maple syrup
390g all-purpose flour (your recipe calls for 375g)
1/2t table salt
I knew it was too wet the moment I touched it with my hands because it stuck like crazy. I used the Nordicware Christmas stamps for a few cookies (my first time using them, but I’ve used clay stamps before) and an engraved rolling pin for the rest. On the first roll-out, all of the embossing was indistinct and there was at least 1/4″ spread on 2 1/2in cookies. As I added more and more flour for each roll out, the embossing became more distinct. In short, you need more flour. Lots more flour. I’d start with 450g (roughly 3 1/2c) and see how it goes from there.
Also, I could barely taste the maple flavor, despite using the more flavorful grade of maple syrup. That’s the nature of the beast, though. You can’t add more syrup without adding more flour, and more flour means less maple flavor. It becomes a catch 22. You’d be better off taking a regular sugar cookie recipe and substituting all of the sugar with maple sugar (which you can make at home if you have a candy thermometer and an electric mixer, which is a good thing because I’ve never seen it at the stores).
Stacey says
If you don’t want to stamp them, can you bake as the ball or do you need to flatten them before baking?
Olivia says
Hi Stacey! You should roll and cut them out.
Heather says
If you have a glass with a flat bottom, you can use that to do the first method. And you can also use a bowl of fine sugar rather than flour to keep things from sticking to the stamp/glass.
Olivia says
Awesome tips Heather! Thank you!!
Jan says
Hi Liv, I have just been given your site from my daughter in law. I am just an average baker, nothing fancy but, love to try new things. My question is , where did you but the cookie stamps form? . they are adorable.
Thanks for sharing your recipes, I for one will be trying a lot of them.
Sincerely
Jan
Olivia says
Hi Jan! I’m so excited that you’re going to try my recipes 🙂 The cookie stamps are from Nordic Ware. You can order them on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2vgrGGa
Kena says
Cookies are fabulous and a big hit with my family! Tried without the glaze, but just in case we add it next time, what is the 1/4 unit of maple syrup?
Olivia says
Ack, thanks for catching that Kena! It was 1/4 cup. I have updated the recipe. Glad you guys liked them!! 🙂
jacquee | i sugar coat it! says
These are super cute, Olivia!! Lucky girl – I had to pay for my addiction. 🙂
Olivia says
Thanks Jacquee! Sadly, I’ve paid for *most* of mine :D.
Jessica @ Sweetest Menu says
These are beautiful Olivia! Just love the addition of maple syrup. Pinned!
Olivia says
Thanks Jess! The maple syrup gives them such a delicious flavour!
Jess @ What Jessica Baked Next says
These sugar cookies are gorgeous, Olivia! I love the maple flavour! The design is so pretty – I definitely need to invest in some of those cookie stamps! 🙂
Olivia says
Thanks Jess! Aren’t the cookie stamps so pretty?? Love them :).
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
This New England girl love all things maple! Gorgeous cookies and perfect for exchanges and dipping in my maple pumpkin dip. Oh yes. Love the cookie stamps!!! Simple and elegant.
Olivia says
Ooooh I’m gonna need to go check out that dip! Thanks Allie! 😀