Soft Maple Sugar Cookies with Chewy Brown Sugar Centers
By Ethan Parker
Prep
20 min
Cook
9 min
Total
49 min
Servings
4
Ready in 49 minutes, these soft maple sugar cookies use a straightforward brown sugar dough and a quick maple icing. Pure maple syrup and maple extract give the cookies a warm maple flavor, while the centers stay soft and pleasantly chewy.
The dough starts by creaming softened butter and packed light brown sugar, then mixing in a room-temperature egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and maple extract. Flour, baking soda, and kosher salt provide structure and gentle spread. The icing combines sifted confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, cooled melted butter, maple extract, and salt for a thick drizzle that sets over cooled cookies.
Watch for lightly golden edges after 8 to 9 minutes; the centers should still look slightly underbaked when the pans leave the oven. They finish setting during the five-minute rest on the hot baking sheets. The main texture problem comes from overmixing after the flour goes in, which can make the cookies firmer, or using butter that is overly warm and causes excess spreading.
Serve the fully set cookies with coffee, black tea, or crisp apple slices. Keep iced cookies in an airtight container once the topping has set, using parchment between layers if stacking. For longer storage, freeze the baked cookies with parchment separating the layers, then thaw at room temperature.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Finishes in 49 minutes because the dough needs no chilling, and the simple maple icing is stirred while the cookies cool.
- Uses familiar baking staples such as flour, brown sugar, butter, and egg, with maple syrup and extract doing the focused flavor work.
- Keeps portioning simple with a 2-tablespoon scoop, which makes evenly sized dough balls and helps the cookies bake at the same rate.
- Avoids complicated decorating because the thick maple icing is simply spooned or drizzled over completely cooled cookie tops.
- Makes soft centers reliably when you remove the cookies with lightly golden edges, then let residual pan heat finish the bake.
- Stores well for several days in an airtight container after the icing sets, making the batch practical for snacks or holiday trays.
Ingredients
- •1 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
- •1 teaspoon baking soda
- •1 egg (large, brought to room temperature, approximately 70°F)
- •1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- •2.33 cups all-purpose flour
- •0.33 cup pure maple syrup (preferably Grade A amber or dark)
- •0.5 teaspoon kosher salt
- •1 teaspoon maple extract
- •0.5 cup unsalted butter (softened to approximately 70°F)
- •1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted and cooled to room temperature)
- •kosher salt (pinch)
- •0.25 teaspoon maple extract
- •0.5 cup confectioners’ sugar (sifted until free of lumps)
- •3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- 2
Place the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly until evenly distributed.
- 3
Add the softened unsalted butter and packed light brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed for approximately 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth, pale, and creamy.
- 4
Add the room-temperature egg and continue mixing until fully incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture.
- 5
Pour in the pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Beat on high speed until evenly blended, scraping down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl as needed.
- 6
Add the prepared dry ingredients. Mix on low speed only until the flour disappears and no dry streaks remain.
- 7
Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the dough and gently roll each piece into a ball. Arrange the dough balls on the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving approximately 2 inches between each cookie.
- 8
Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden-brown while the centers still appear slightly underbaked.
- 9
Allow the cookies to remain on the hot baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack and leave them until completely cooled.
- 10
While the cookies cool, place the sifted confectioners’ sugar, pure maple syrup, melted and cooled unsalted butter, maple extract, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl.
- 11
Stir until the icing is completely smooth and thick yet pourable. Incorporate the maple syrup gradually if needed to control the final thickness.
- 12
Once the cookies have cooled fully, drizzle the maple icing evenly across their tops.
- 13
Allow the icing to set before serving or storing the cookies.
FAQ
Reviews
Pin this recipe
Tap an image to save it to Pinterest.
