These simple and elegant maple cinnamon star cookies are adorned with white chocolate, gold sprinkles, and edible glitter stars. Start with my sugar cookies and add maple extract and cinnamon for wonderful flavor.
Sugar cookies are fabulous, but adding an extra level of flavor changes everything. Brown butter sugar cookies, or vanilla bean shamrock St. Patrick’s Day cookies, anyone?
Why You’ll Love These Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies
Like my Christmas sugar cookies, today’s sugar cookie recipe is cookie cutter style. We get the same great flavor combination as these maple pecan snickerdoodles, but we’ll roll the dough out and cut into adorable stars. What makes these stars unique are the flavors mingling inside: cinnamon + maple. Combine these two powerhouse flavors with shimmering gold sprinkles, edible glitter stars, and white chocolate and we’ve got a sugar cookie putting many others to shame. You’ll love these cookies and here’s why:
- Elegant and festive
- Lots of warm cinnamon spice with sweet maple flavor
- Perfect for celebrations of any kind like holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays
- Fuss-free decorating– a simple dunk into white chocolate
- No royal icing needed
- Fun to make!
Video Tutorial
How to Make Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies
- Make cookie dough. With so few ingredients, it’s important that you follow the recipe closely. Creamed butter and sugar provide the base of the cookie dough. Egg is the cookie’s structure, while maple and vanilla extracts add flavor. Flour is an obvious addition, baking powder adds lift, salt balances the sweet, and cinnamon gives us cinnamon cookies. So many *little ingredients* doing *big jobs* to create a perfect cookie. By the way, you should try these chocolate sugar cookies too!
- Divide in two pieces. Smaller sections of dough are easier to roll out.
- Roll out the two pieces of cookie dough. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick or just under 1/4 inch thick. If you have difficulty evenly rolling out dough, try this adjustable rolling pin. Speaking from experience– it’s incredibly handy!
- Chill rolled out cookie dough. Chill the rolled out cookie dough for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days. Without chilling, these cookie cutter sugar cookies won’t hold their shape.
- Cut into stars & add gold sprinkles. Use a spoon to press the sprinkles into the cookies so they stay secure on top.
- Bake & cool. The cookies take about 11-12 minutes in the oven.
- Dip in melted white chocolate. Dip the cooled cookies into the white chocolate and allow chocolate to set completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Helpful Baker’s Tip
Have a little flour nearby when you’re rolling out the cookie dough. Keep your work surface, hands, and rolling pin lightly floured. This is a relatively soft dough.
The Order of Steps is Important
Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? That’s my trick and you can see me doing it in my sugar cookies video tutorial.
Let me explain why I do this. To prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough must chill in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough right after you prepare it, then chill the rolled-out dough. (At this point the dough is too soft to cut into shapes.) Don’t chill the cookie dough and then try to roll it out because it will be too cold and difficult to work with. I divide the dough in half before rolling it out and highly recommend you do the same. Smaller sections of dough are simply more manageable.
Another trick! Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator. Pick it up, put it on a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. If you don’t have enough room for two baking sheets in your refrigerator, stack the pieces of rolled out dough on top of each other.
Beautiful maple cinnamon stars! (Similar 3-inch star cookie cutter found here on Amazon.)
Maple Cinnamon Star Cookie Decorations
Let’s keep the garnishes simple– this way the cookie’s flavor can truly shine. Here are a few ideas for maple cinnamon star cookie decorations:
- White Chocolate: Instead of decorating with traditional royal icing, give the maple cinnamon sugar cookies a dip in melted white chocolate chocolate. For best taste and texture, I strongly recommend using pure white chocolate, not white chocolate chips. It’s usually sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. I love Ghirardelli, Bakers, or Nestle brands.
- Dark Chocolate: Try a drizzle of dark chocolate! All these flavors pair wonderfully together.
- Gold Sprinkles: I love this simple gold sparkly sugar and this gold sprinkle mix. Press the sprinkles down into the cookies before baking– this helps the sprinkles stick. Just use the back of a spoon.
- Gold Stars: How CUTE are these edible gold glitter stars?! Add the edible glitter stars after pressing the other sprinkles down. I don’t suggest doing this *before* pressing the others down because the stars will stick to your spoon instead of the cookie.
One Last Success Tip
Use maple extract– not pure maple syrup. While I typically reach for the latter in my baking, sugar cookie dough is notoriously picky when it comes to add-ins. Maple extract is potent and a little goes a long way. We’d need a few Tablespoons of pure maple syrup to achieve the same flavor that only 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of maple extract has. This larger amount of pure syrup would radically change the sugar cookie dough because there would be too much liquid. We could add more flour to make up for it, but the cookies would be dry. It’s frustrating! To avoid all this, use the maple flavoring. (I use it in my maple brown sugar cookies, too!)
Print
Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: about 28 3-inch stars
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Flavorful maple cinnamon star cookies are made from a basic and easy sugar cookie dough. Dunk in white chocolate for an extra special treat!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons maple extract*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- gold sprinkles and/or edible glitter stars
- optional: 8 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, maple extract, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be a bit soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it. Using a cookie cutter, cut into star shapes. Transfer the cut cookie dough to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Before baking, top with sprinkles. Use a spoon to press the sprinkles into the cookies so they stay secure on top.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before dipping into chocolate.
- If using, melt the chopped white chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Dip the cookies into the white chocolate and allow chocolate to set completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies (without white chocolate) freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Prepare the dough through step 3, divide in half, flatten both halves into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill as directed for 1 hour.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Rolling Pin or this Adjustable Rolling Pin | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Star Cookie Cutter | Gold Sugar | Gold Sprinkle Mix | Edible Gold Stars
- Room Temperature: Room temperature butter is essential. If the dough is too sticky, your butter may have been too soft. Room temperature butter is actually cool to the touch. Room temperature egg is preferred so it’s quickly and evenly mixed into the cookie dough.
- Maple Flavor: I used McCormick brand maple flavor found in the baking aisle with the flavor extracts and seasonings. Do not use real maple syrup– see post for details.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: maple cinnamon cookies
I followed the recipe exactly and it was spot on. The maple flavor was such a nice break from gingerbread, chocolate, and sugar cookies. I looked at my drying rack after I finished; with the dipped portion at the bottom of each cookie on the rack, it looked like rows of men wearing glittery disco pants. (Stayin’ alive!) So tasty!
★★★★★
I love this recipe and the maple flavor. I make these ever year as part of my cookie trays. But I just noticed that you use a 3 inch star for the cookies! I’ve been using a very small 1 inch star! That’s why I get million cookies from the recipe. They look lovely scattered across the top of the cookie trays.
★★★★★
These are SO good. We always make your regular sugar cookies for Christmas but decided to try these and they will definitely be the new go-to! We all loved them, thank you for this awesome recipe!
★★★★★
Hi! I was wondering how long theseast after baking at room temperature and in the refrigerator. I am making these before Christmas and traveling with them. Thanks!
Hi Lindaay, the cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
Sally you outdid yourself with this one. Such delicious cookies!!!
This is my thorough review of the recipe:
I’d describe the flavour as sophisticated. It’s not too sugary, or too anything. It’s got hints of warm cinnamon and a subtle maple flavour. Texture wise it’s crunchy on the edges and softer in the center. I’m not a big fan of chocolate chip cookies or cookies with frosting as they’re all too sugary for me. But these are perfection!
I needed to add a few extra tablespoons of flour, which is often the case for me anyway (probably because of high humidity?). Don’t be afraid to feel your cookie dough and adjust accordingly. If it’s too sticky to roll and cut, carefully add more flour. I used the Clubhouse brand maple extract because it’s the only one available where I live. I’d recommend adding between an extra 1/2 and 3/4 teaspoon if using that brand. As another reviewer said, the flavour isn’t as potent with that brand.
Thank you for the lovely recipe, I’ll gift it to several friends this Christmas!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Li — we truly appreciate it!
I made these for a neighborhood gathering. Several people thought the flavors were just right, while a few of us though the maple was a tad too strong. I will cut the maple by 1/2 tsp. next time. My house smelled wonderful while baking them though!
★★★★
Hi Sally,
I think I’d like to make these cookies for Christmas this year, but I’m not a fan of white chocolate. Is it possible to make a bowl of your easy, non-royal icing glaze and just dip the cookies into that as an alternative? Or should I go without an icing decoration instead?
Hi Laura, absolutely! Easy glaze would be delicious with these cookies.
Sally! First of all, I LOVE all of your recipes!! I am a relatively new baker – My foray into baking actually began with your super moist chocolate cupcake recipe (which is just incredible) in June and am now hooked and now can’t seem to go more than a week without baking something. Thank you for all your delicious recipes and pro-tips! Everything I’ve made has gone over really well with my friends and housemates. Specifically commenting here because I made little variety-pack holiday cookie boxes this year (in a COVID-safe way of course) and these maple cinnamon stars were particularly a HUGE hit among everyone. Happy Holidays 🙂
★★★★★
I replaced the maple extract for rum extract, equal parts. They taste like eggnog cookies, therefore I just renamed when gifting them. I chilled my dough overnight, rolled 1/4” and they only baked slightly thicker than that, yeilding a thin crispy cookie with a wonderful short-bread texture. I decorated with gold sprinkles, silver sprinkles and painted some with white chocolate.
With the rum extract, I replaced the vanilla extract with the rum extract (equal parts) in Sally’s Butterscotch Pretzel Chocolate Chip cookies… do it. The rum extract enhances the butterscotch flavor (tie butterbeer).
★★★★★
These not only taste heavenly, but they smell heavenly when they are baking, too! Made these for a cookie box and I’m looking forward to giving it to the recipient. 🙂
★★★★★
These cookies taste amazing! I just made a batch and froze a second one! However, I’m wondering if I didn’t mix the dough enough? Is it supposed to be super soft? After chilling for 2 hours, had a lot of difficulty peeling the star cut cookies off my silicone mat. I used a offset spatula to try to scrape it off. The bottom is not the prettiest. I feel like I made a mistake somewhere!
★★★★★
I made these today with the kids since it’s rainy and cold outside. They turned out delicious! We can’t eat milk or eggs so I used a flax egg and dairy free butter and they still came out wonderfully. My only problem was that they stuck to the parchment when chilling (I don’t usually use the brand of parchment I have now, so that may be to blame.) So I just rerolled and cut them, then chilled the pan before baking. Next time I’ll try with a Silpat mat. Thanks for making our rainy day so yummy!
★★★★★
These cookies are amazing!!! I skipped the white chocolate glaze and just put sprinkles right on the cookie (gold and silver). I wasn’t sure what to expect with being a maple cookie – I haven’t had much maple flavored desserts in general. These are definitely going to be a tradition every year. Next year, I will try different shapes. I used snowflake cutters this time around.
★★★★★
I saw a beautiful fall leaves cookie wreath on another site but the recipes were vegan. I used this recipe to make the leaves and they were perfect and delicious. I did end up cooking almost 14 min before the edges began to brown slightly. I also made the royal icing per your recipe. It never completely hardened. Is that the way it’s supposed to be? It was firm but I couldn’t stack cookies without “smooshing” the icing.
Love your recipes. I’ve made your pumpkin streusel bars several years now and everyone loves them.
★★★★★
Hi Julie, That sounds beautiful and I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! For the royal icing depending on how thick it’s applied it can take anywhere from a few to 24 hours to really fully harden.
Hi Sally, I would like to make these before the holidays and freeze them but why do your instructions state to freeze without the white chocolate? Have you tried it? How bad would it be if I froze them WITH the chocolate? Thanks!
Hi Elle! Sometimes chocolate can “turn” when frozen (it can become streaky and discolored), so for best results I recommend freezing these cookies without white chocolate. They would taste perfectly fine if you do freeze them with the chocolate, though 🙂
Hi Sally!
Made these cookies today, and I had so much fun with them 😀
Used cowboy boot cutouts and dipped the bottoms of the boots in milk chocolate. Call ’em my mud kickers!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Can’t wait to try more!
Let me start by saying that I’ve baked many of your cookie recipes, Sally, and have loved them all. I’m not much of a sugar cookie fan though – cookies need lots of chocolate, in my opinion, lol.
I tried these for NYE this year for the first time however, as they looked so festive. OMG, cookie perfection!! These are seriously amazing, and now definitely among my absolute favorite cookies of yours! The maple flavor is perfect, along with the crunch of the cookies and the bit of sugar sprinkles on top. The white chocolate is just the icing on cake (er, cookie). They’re equally delicious even without the chocolate.
Roll out cookies make me nervous, but these came together beautifully. I rolled the dough out on silicone mats, and refrigerated it. I found it impossible to cut out shapes with the cold dough on silicone. The dough felt like it was almost cemented to it. I scraped it off with a bench scraper, and rerolled it on parchment paper. That did the trick, and I had no problems cutting the star shapes out after that.
I did have to bake them at a higher temperature (375) and for a longer time (5 extra minutes) to get the nice browned color yours have. It may just be because I have an electric oven.
I also had no problems finding the McCormick maple extract at my regular grocery store (Giant Eagle). I think I’m going to make these again in the fall, using a leaf cookie cutter, and leaving off the white chocolate.
Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you decided to give these a try and that you enjoyed them so much, Laura! These would be so fun as leaves in the fall!
I made these for thanksgiving and they came out pretty good. I liked the different flavor than normal sugar cookies or gingerbread, but it wasn’t my all time favorite. I think maybe I should have made them thicker so they wouldn’t be as hard and crunchy. Overall they were good and I think they are a perfect cookie to go with coffee.
I live in Germany and brought maple extract back from my last trip home to Canada specifically so I could try these cookies! They’re delicious, and the flavour really reminds me of home
I found the dough really easy to work with and it didn’t spread at all. Thanks for the recipe!
These are so good! I mean wow. I love the flavours. I dipped some of them in dark chocolate after I ran out of white and they were just as good. This is my new favourite recipe!
I cannot find maple extract in any store! I do have pure maple syrup. Would you recommend using maple syrup or just leave it out?
Hi Julie! You can reduce the maple syrup down on the stove so it has a more potent flavor in these cookies. Or you can leave it out.
Made these for a party and a friend told me they were the best cookies she’s ever eaten in her life. I’m not normally a sugar cookie fan but I was a fan of these, too!
Hi Sally,
I really cant find Maple extract. What can I use instead?
Thanks
Any flavor you like best– you can use vanilla in its place (also leaving the vanilla already called for in the recipe) or another flavor extract. Orange would be great, peppermint extract, rum extract is yummy, butter extract, etc.
I just made these tonight. They were so good. My two year old loved them and my husband could smell the maple and cinnamon as soon as he walked in the door. I did add some maple syrup to the white chocolate. Yum!
Another Sally’s Baking Addiction hit in my household.
These look great!! I’m making them right now! What type of white chocolate did you use? Do you think a Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar would work? Thanks!
That’s the kind I always use!
I am so excited to make this, have my dough chilling in the fridge right now. Your recipes are phenomenal! I have a question, and since you are the baking guru, thought I’d see what you think. I just recently purchased a large baking sheet (15 x 21 inches) — do you know if it’s okay to try to bake all of the cookies on the sheet at once? Or is it better done in small batches?
Thanks a million. Can’t wait to watch my family enjoy your delicious recipes 🙂
Hi Robyn! I would bake as many as you can fit onto the sheet. Perhaps 15 at once?
I am making them right now. I tasted the dough before I baked them and I am not really tasting the maple flavour. I used Clubhouse brand imitation. I even add a bit more. Does it come out more when they are baked? Don’t get me wrong they are super tasty still!
The maple is so potent when I use McCormick, especially in the dough! I wonder if it is the brand you are using? Do you like how they taste baked? You can always add more extract next time.
omg…so good..can’t stop eating them!! love from Mtl
These cookies are delicious! Dough is very easy to roll out. I used confectioners sugar to roll them out and the cookies did not get tough from using the scraps. I tried one before dipping it in the white chocolate and the texture is tender with a buttery maple-cinnamon flavor. I was concerned there was too much maple extract in the dough before baking [used Mc Cormicks maple extract] but it was just right. A new cookie to add to my Christmas cookie try–thanks Sally!
I thought they were really good! However I thought they did not have enough spice flavor, next time I might add some ground cloves to pick up the flavor a little bit more. I didn’t have the sprinkles, so I finely chopped pecans and sprinkled on top of the cookies, thrn6drizzled white chocolate and they looked beautiful. Perfect tea cookie!
★★★★
Added these to our baking list – will be making a vegan version with Earth Balance spread for some little ones with allergies. But can I substitute some reduced maple syrup for the extract or will that not be enough flavor??
Reduced maple syrup could potentially work, yes!
What is the texture of these cookies? Crunchy or chewy? They look perfect but I’m not a fan of crunchy cookies 🙂
They’re crunchy! At least the edges are. The centers are softer.