With big flavor, crisp edges, and mega chewy centers, these maple brown sugar cookies are a definite favorite. Top with maple icing for the ultimate fall cookie! Chilling the cookie dough is imperative, so set aside 2 hours or prepare the cookie dough the day before.
We’re approaching a new season, so a new cookie recipe is in order. 🙂
I may say this a lot, but nothing has been truer than in this very moment… (dramatic? who me?) … these maple brown sugar cookies are the best cookies I’ve ever made. And that statement holds big weight considering I authored an entire cookbook of JUST cookies.
Maple brown sugar cookies > every other cookie.
I know a good one when I bite it!
These Maple Brown Sugar Cookies Are:
- Not cakey
- Brown sugared and buttery
- Unbelievably chewy and soft in the center
- Crisp on the edges
- Filled with pure maple syrup
- Topped with luscious maple icing
The maple icing sets, so these are perfect for stacking and transporting. Because, trust me, you’ll want to bring these everywhere you go. Football game? Bring them. Party? Bring them. Bake sale? Sell them. No occasion at all? Make them.
Video Tutorial
10 Ingredients in Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
We use most of these in maple pecan snickerdoodles, too!
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is the structure of the cookie. I played around with different amounts. 2 and 1/4 cups wasn’t enough and 2 and 1/2 cups was too much. 2 and 1/3 cups was the perfect amount to hold up to the liquid maple syrup.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda provides lift.
- Salt: Salt balances the flavor.
- Butter: 1 stick (1/2 cup) is plenty for the maple cookies and be sure you use room temperature butter. It should be cool to touch and not melted in the slightest.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Ditch basic white sugar. For optimal flavor and texture, reach for brown sugar instead. I recommend dark brown sugar for extra flavor, but light brown sugar works too.
- Egg: 1 egg provides structure, stability, and richness.
- Pure Maple Syrup: We can’t make maple cookies without pure maple syrup. Avoid “breakfast syrup” which doesn’t have the same robust maple flavor that pure syrup contains. I played around with different amounts and 1/3 cup is plenty. And, as a bonus, the pure syrup helps create slightly crisp edges.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor. Have you tried homemade vanilla extract yet?
- Maple Extract: Pure maple syrup isn’t enough to guarantee mega maple flavor. Without the crutch of maple extract, the cookies were lacking. Pure maple extract is difficult to find, so reach for imitation. I prefer McCormick brand because the flavor doesn’t taste fake. You can use it in maple pecan snickerdoodles, maple walnut tassies, and maple bacon doughnuts, too!
- Pecans: Nuts are an optional ingredient, but they add awesome (and complementary!) flavor and texture. If you love these maple pecan snickerdoodles, you’ll also love pecans here.
Which Pure Maple Syrup is Best?
Grade A is good, but Grade B is darker and more flavorful because it’s produced later in the season. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either here!
How to Make Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Minimal effort, mega results. ♥
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
- Beat in the egg, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients together.
- Add the pecans.
- Chill the cookie dough. This cookie dough contains an additional liquid (maple syrup), so chilling the dough is crucial. Set aside 2 hours to chill this cookie dough. Without chilling, the cookies will spread into a greasy puddle.
- Roll cookie dough into balls. Each dough ball is about 1.5 Tablespoons.
- Bake until the edges are set. Cookies are done in about 13 minutes.
Then we’ll obviously drizzle maple icing all over the tops!
That Irresistible Maple Icing!!
You only need 3 ingredients for this super easy maple icing: butter, maple syrup, and confectioners’ sugar. To avoid any lumps, sift the confectioners’ sugar. If desired, a pinch of salt adds exceptional depth of flavor. The wonderful thing about this maple icing is that it eventually sets, so these cookies aren’t sticky or difficult to store.
You have my full support to use this maple icing for anything and everything. Some ideas: banana scones and pumpkin scones, obviously.
By the way! Today’s cookies differ from the Soft Glaze Maple Cookies in Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Those are ultra cakey (think pancakes!) with moderate maple flavor. These are more similar to chewy chocolate chip cookies in terms of texture.
Loving These Fall Cookies Too
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- Butter Pecan Cookies
- Snickerdoodles (no cookie dough chilling!)
- Oatmeal Scotchies
- Caramel Apple Spice Thumbprints
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pecan Sugar Cookies
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 28-30 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With big flavor, crisp edges, mega chewy centers, and maple icing, these maple brown sugar cookies are a definite favorite. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative, so set aside 2 hours or prepare the cookie dough the day before.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar*
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract*
- 1 cup (130g) chopped pecans*
Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar*
- pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and beat on high until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract, then beat on high speed until combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix on low until combined. Add the pecans, then beat on low speed until combined. Dough will be creamy and soft.
- Cover and chill the dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator (and up to 3 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, though, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie. This cookie scoop is helpful. Bake each batch for 12-13 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven. If your warm cookies look puffy, lightly bang the pan on the counter when you remove it from the oven. That will help slightly deflate the cookies, creating lovely cracks as you see in the pictured cookies. Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Taste. Add a pinch of salt, if desired. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Icing will set after about 1 hour.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies, with or without icing, freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Small Saucepan
- Brown Sugar: I recommend dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor, but you can use 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar instead if needed.
- Maple Syrup: Avoid “breakfast syrup” which doesn’t have the same robust maple flavor that pure syrup contains. Grade A is good, but Grade B is darker and more flavorful because it’s produced later in the season. You can’t go wrong with either in these cookies.
- Maple Extract: Pure maple syrup isn’t enough to guarantee mega maple flavor. Without the crutch of maple extract, the cookies were lacking. I use McCormick maple extract. You can find it in the baking aisle.
- Pecans: The pecans are optional, but add wonderful flavor and texture. I recommend unsalted, un-roasted pecans but feel free to use salted roasted pecans. Or feel free to leave them out or replace with chopped walnuts.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: To avoid any lumps, sift the confectioners’ sugar.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: maple brown sugar cookies
Hello! Could I shape the cookies and then refrigerate, or do I have to chill them first before shaping?
Hi Kelsey, the dough is quite creamy and soft right after it’s mixed, so we find it easiest to chill the dough and then shape. However, you can certainly shape and then chill—it will just be a bit messy! Let us know how you like the cookies.
Hi! Can I use mapleine instead of maple extract?
Hi Lindsey, we’ve never tried it but would love to hear how it goes if you do!
Hi! I am making these for a meeting today and was wondering if I can use powdered sugar instead of confectioners sugar?
Hi Teya, powdered sugar and confectioners’ sugar are one in the same, so you can use sugar labeled either way in these cookies. Hope they’re a hit!
I love this recipe so much!! Have made them multiple and they always turn out great. Amazing flavor! Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
This is hands down one of my favorite cookie recipes ever! I’ve never been a big cookie baker- just the basics—until I found these! Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
I’m wondering if I could use maple butter to drizzle on top the cookies in place of the recommended icing? Looking forward to making these for my hubby!
Hi Erin, absolutely, feel free to use another favorite icing/drizzle. Hope the cookies are a hit!
I am a good baker so I don’t know why my balls spread out completely thin on a baking mat and was just a big layer of burnt stuff. The dough was in the fridge for a day before using it and I rolled the balls then baked them as directed when i took them out of the fridge. I’m wondering if it’s the butter from the stores these days? I triple checked that I had all of the ingredients correctly. I spoon flour out and weigh it. I used sams club unsalted butter. I usually spring for land o lakes when baking but didn’t. What brand of butter are people using? Thanks
★★★★
Hi Elizabeth, there are quite a few factors that can go into overly thin cookies. Was your butter a little softer than room temperature? Warm butter can often contribute to flat cookies. This post on tips to prevent cookies from spreading will be a helpful resource to review. Thank you for giving these a try!
Thank you and that was probably the problem this house gets so hot so quick and I leave my butter out on the counter way too long. I will go read that article.
Easy and worth every calorie!
★★★★★
These are the best cookies I’ve ever had! I’m not even a huge fan of maple or at least I didn’t think I was but these are so good. I’ve made them 4 times already. I like them without the icing but I’ve made it too and it’s really good as well.
★★★★★
Yummo! Followed recipe except had to sub maple sugar granules for extract. I will bebadding these to the Thanksgiving menu every year.
★★★★★
If you like the candy Maple Nut Goodies, you will love these. I’m so glad I gave them a try. Very simple to make. Before chilling the dough I shaped it into a rectangle and wrapped in plastic film. Then it’s easy to cut it into 28 or 30 identical pieces to roll into balls. Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
I wanted to love these but way too sweet. Would cutting down on the brown sugar affect the texture?
★★★
Hi Meryl! Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended. A sprinkle of course salt can do wonders for balance!
would i be able to halve everything to get fewer cookies or are there specific rations i have to follow?
Hi Brook! You should be able to halve all the ingredients for a smaller batch, though we haven’t tested it. Or, you can freeze extra dough balls or baked cookies to save for later – see recipe notes.
These were amazing! I had to leave out the nuts and I replaced them with pumkin seeds for a strict nut free event. They were still delicious, but with the pecans, my hubby couldn’t stop eating them. I did toast the pecans because I love that flavor that comes with toasted nuts.
★★★★★
I love maple and thought these would be good but WOW, they are great! My husband said they are his new favorite cookie. Followed the directions exactly and they turned out perfect. Wasn’t sure about the pecans but they add great flavor and crunch. I will toast them next time for even more. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
I have about a 1 cup of brown butter in the fridge, can i use this of will it mess up the flavor profile
Hi Terry, you can use the same amount of brown butter. Make sure it is softened to room temperature for the cookies so that it can be creamed with the brown sugar.
I’ve made these cookies twice, and both times they did not spread like yours did in the video. I don’t know what am doing wrong. Can you please give me some idea of what could be the issue?
Thanks
★★★
Hi Adrian, how are you measuring your flour? Are you spooning and leveling it? Usually cookies do not spread when there is too much flour (or dry ingredients in total). Spoon and level your flour, or weigh it, or you can slightly reduce the flour by 2 Tbsp.
I am planning to make the maple brown sugar cookies. I have an open bottle of maple syrup. Reading the bottle I found out that after opening it I have to keep it refrigerated. I didn’t know that. Anyway it has been in my pantry for several months. Can I use it or should I discard it? It seems a silly question but I just start learning how to bake cookies this year.
Hi Ruth, it is recommended that maple syrup be stored in the refrigerator after opening, so we would discard the bottle and purchase a new one. Let us know if you give the cookies a try!
This recipe is so easy and delicious!! It is so perfect for Fall and highly recommend giving it a try. Only thing to note is to make sure you take the cookies out when they still look raw because the bottom gets brown quickly and they are cooked through even though they look raw.
★★★★★
These were beyond a hit at my recent work pot luck. Another hit from Sally!
★★★★★
This is a quick and easy cookie to make. My only problem was after I chilled the dough for 2 hrs I had a hard time getting the dough out of the cookie scoop. It’s a fairly sticky dough even after chilling. The cookies have a nice maple flavor and the pecans are a great addition (I don’t even like nuts in cookies but
Delicious cookie. Very easy to make. I found that they didn’t spread much but I prefer puffy cookies so it was a win for me. The maple flavor along with the crunch of pecans scream Fall to me. The glaze is wonderful and a great addition to the cookie. These are absolutely going into my cookie rotation.
★★★★
I’ve made these several times- always a hit. I’d love a way to church up the look of them a bit.
I’m curious, Sally. Why do you recommend unroasted pecans? I understand you give the option, but I’m just curious. I typically always roast my nuts and wonder if there’s some occasions where it’s better not to.
★★★★★
I’m so glad to read that you love these cookies. You can absolutely toast the nuts if desired, but I skipped including it to shorten the time and instructions. I can’t think of any occasions where toasting nuts would be detrimental to a recipe; perhaps in a candy recipe.
Fantastic! I bake a lot of cookies and thought I’d try something new for fall. This recipe is spot on, great maple flavor, crunchy exterior, chewy interior! My only suggestion is to toast the pecans to heighten their flavor. Will definitely make these again!
★★★★★
Just made these! What a treat!
They are perfect and the glaze delicious. Thank you for testing your recipes until they are perfect! If people follow directions exactly, it’s science of course and works!❤️
I meant to give this recipe 5 stars!
★★★★★
These are absolutely divine. The texture and flavor are wonderful. Make sure to drizzle the topping or they are too sweet!
These cookies (along with Sally’s Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies) are some of the best I have had in a long time. I love the simplicity of these ingredients, brought together in the perfect combination of flavors. The batter and icing come together quickly. I appreciate the pinch of salt in the icing – it’s perfect. I’m planning to make another batch to take to a beloved friend’s birthday party on Friday night because I can’t keep this recipe to myself. Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
★★★★★
I have made these about 5 times now ! Huge hit , even my brother in has me making a batch for him to take him ( he’s from out of town )
Sally – My Family and I loved this recipe! I actually added Maple extract to the icing for more of a maple flavor!
Thank you.
★★★★★
Sally – My Family and I loved this recipe! I actually added Maple extract to the icing for more of a maple flavor!
Thank you.
★★★★★
Cookies look and smell great. Next time I’ll make 1/2 batch of the icing. Though now I have icing ready for the next batch. I don’t have a cookie scoop the right size, so I weighed 1 1/2 T. 1 ounce each. Made 28.
★★★★★