If you love maple desserts, you’re going to LOVE these maple cookies! They’re SO soft and chewy, packed with rich maple flavor, and have crunchy pecans throughout for a little texture. And then there’s the sweet maple glaze on top… YUM! They’re literally the perfect fall cookie and will leave your kitchen smelling sooo good!
Developing This Recipe
These maple cookies took a few batches to get just right! I like to keep my recipes simple and avoid adding harder-to-find ingredients when they aren’t necessary, so I tested a few different versions to see what would give me the best maple flavor without making the recipe more complicated.
Some batches were too sweet, while others spread more than I wanted. I also tested different chilling times to see how they affected the texture and spread. In the end, I found the combination that worked best, giving me soft, chewy cookies with plenty of maple flavor and just the right amount of pecans!
For the best maple flavor, I found that using both maple syrup and maple flavoring works best. Is the maple flavoring absolutely, 100% necessary?! Probably not… but since it makes such a noticeable difference, I definitely recommend not skipping it if you want the best version of these cookies. 😊
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft and chewy – Golden brown edges with a soft, chewy centre that stays tender.
BIG maple flavor – Maple syrup, maple flavoring, and a sweet maple glaze give these cookies plenty of maple flavor in every bite.
Pecans for crunch – Chopped pecans add a delicious nuttiness and just the right amount of crunch.
Easy to make ahead – The dough can be chilled for up to 48 hours, and I actually recommend chilling it overnight for the best flavor.
Perfect for fall – Cozy maple, brown sugar, and pecans make these such a good fall or holiday cookie!
For more cookie recipes, check out my crispy coconut cookies, shortbread cookies and melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies!
How to Make Maple Cookies
You can find the full list of ingredients for this maple cookie recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is just a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
Line a large baking sheet or plate with parchment paper and set it aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined. There is no need to sift the dry ingredients. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Using a hand or stand mixer on medium speed, cream the mixture for 3 minutes until it’s light, fluffy, and creamy.
Add the egg and mix on low speed until well combined.
Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and maple extract or essence flavoring, then mix again on low speed until everything is well combined.
Add the premixed dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Remove any dough from the mixer attachments, as the rest of the mixing will be done by hand.
Add the chopped pecans and gently fold them into the dough using a spatula until evenly distributed.
Using a 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop heaped portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet or plate.
Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 48 hours. I find 24 hours to be the ideal chill time, so I recommend chilling the dough overnight if you can.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) conventional. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
Arrange the chilled cookie dough balls on the prepared trays, leaving a few inches of space between each cookie to allow for spreading. Working quickly, roll each cold dough ball between your hands to smooth it out, then place it straight onto the baking tray and then into the oven. Keep the dough balls chilled and avoid letting them sit out and soften before baking.
Bake one tray at a time for 11–13 minutes, or until the edges look set and lightly golden while the centres still look slightly soft. Do not overbake. The cookies will continue to bake from the residual heat as they cool.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Maple Glaze
While the cookies cool, make the maple glaze. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the unsalted butter and maple syrup and heat in the microwave until melted and smooth.
Add the powdered sugar and a small pinch of salt, then stir until you have a smooth glaze with no lumps.
Once the cookies have completely cooled, generously drizzle the maple glaze over each cookie. I like to use a tablespoon to drizzle the glaze over the tops. Allow the glaze to set for about 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!
How to Store Maple Cookies
Store the cooled maple cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. If you’re stacking them, place a sheet of parchment paper between the layers to prevent the maple glaze from sticking to the cookies.
Maple Cookies (Soft & Chewy!)
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter - room temperature (see note 1)
- ½ cup (100 g) soft light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- ⅓ cup (110 g) maple syrup - real or imitation are both fine
- 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 1 tsp maple extract/essence
- ½ cup (50 g) pecans - roughly chopped
Maple Glaze
- 2 tbsps (28 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ¼ cup (82 g) maple syrup - real or imitation are both fine
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet or plate with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined. There is no need to sift the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Using a hand or stand mixer on medium speed, cream the mixture for 3 minutes until it’s light, fluffy, and creamy.
- Add the egg and mix on low speed until well combined.
- Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and maple flavoring, then mix again on low speed until everything is well combined.
- Add the premixed dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Remove any dough from the mixer attachments, as the rest of the mixing will be done by hand.
- Add the chopped pecans and gently fold them into the dough using a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Using a 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop heaped portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet or plate.
- Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 48 hours. I find 24 hours to be the ideal chill time, so I recommend chilling the dough overnight if you can (see note 2).
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) conventional. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
- Arrange the chilled cookie dough balls on the prepared trays, leaving a few inches of space between each cookie to allow for spreading. Working quickly, roll each cold dough ball between your hands to smooth it out, then place it straight onto the baking tray and then into the oven. Keep the dough balls chilled and avoid letting them sit out and soften before baking.
- Bake one tray at a time for 11–13 minutes, or until the edges look set and lightly golden while the centres still look slightly soft. Do not overbake. The cookies will continue to bake from the residual heat as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for about 10 minutes (see note 3). After 10 minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Maple Glaze
- While the cookies cool, make the maple glaze. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the unsalted butter and maple syrup and heat in the microwave until melted and smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and a small pinch of salt, then stir until you have a smooth glaze with no lumps.
- Once the cookies have completely cooled, generously drizzle the maple glaze over each cookie. I like to use a tablespoon to drizzle the glaze over the tops. Allow the glaze to set for about 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
