Maple Sugar Cookies

Name: Maple Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Ingredients: 400 gm Flour; 200 gm Butter; 200 gm Castor sugar; 1 Egg; 10 ml Maple syrup; 5 ml Vanilla extract; 2.5 gm Nutmeg (grated); Pinch of Salt

These are the simplest sugar cookies you will make. With the flavors of maple syrup and vanilla it is the perfect tea time treat for fall. You can get creative with the shapes so stay traditional with the autumn leaves.

A good sugar cookie is one that holds its shape and has a good snap to it. So does this mean they are biscuits or do they stay under the term of cookies? This is a debate I leave to you as all I am interested in is making the perfect fall spiced cookies.

They are very simple to make and have a good snap to them. I like to have them with tea or coffee but you can have them with milk as well. There is no icing or frosting for these cookies but they are perfect for sandwich cookies as their shapes are precise. I have used this recipe to make a fall cookie wreath filled with autumn leaves. Once you have mastered the recipe you can make anything from them.

The ingredients needed to make these cookies are straight forward. You need butter, sugar, flour, egg and maple syrup. Now if you don’t have maple syrup you can use honey or golden syrup, they will give you the desired texture. I have added vanilla extract and a little freshly grated nutmeg to kick start the fall flavors.

Let us discuss the substitutes:

Butter – You want to use unsalted butter and add salt as required but if you are using salted butter then remove the salt from the recipe. I have use vegan butters like olive oil spread and sunflower seed butter. You can use any you like.

Sugar – The recipe works best with powdered sugar or castor sugar. I have used soft brown sugar to make them as well but I don’t the flavor want to over power the maple syrup.

Flour – I used all purpose flour to make this recipe. You can use cake flour, self raising flour, glute free flour mix and bread flour as well.

Maple syrup – If you don’t have maple syrup you can use honey or golden syrup this will change the flavor but you will still get a good biscuit and perfect texture.

Flavoring – I like adding a little vanilla extract to the mixture and grated nutmeg. This adds for a floral and earthy flavor making for a well balanced cookie.

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make these cookies either. I used a large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon. Once the dough is ready I wrap it in cling wrap and leave it to chill in the fridge. Ideally you need baking paper and a rolling pin to roll out the cookies but I have also used a wine bottle to roll out the dough. I used an assortment of fall inspired leaf cookies to contribute to the season. The number of cookies you will get are based on the size of the cookie cutter you use. The cookie gets baked for 10-12 mins. I let them cool on a wire rack before storing.

Once the cookies are cool you can store them in an air tight container for up to a week. I like to make a large batch of the dough and store it in zip lock bags in the freezer. When you are ready to take some fresh cookies, you can remove the dough. Leave it to thaw and roll as required. The cookies are great to give as gifts as well, hence you can wrap them up in little boxes as they travel well.

Now that we have covered how to make them, lets actually make some cookies. Happy Baking Ninjas!