Maple cookies

This is an easy recipe for maple cookies, a play on sugar cookies, made with maple sugar and maple fudge candies.

This maple cookie recipe is one I developed while taking an online baking class with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar (I highly recommend the book, which is available on Amazon). The base for this recipe is the Milk Bar sugar cookie, but modified in a few important ways to bring maple flavour into the recipe.

Special ingredients to make these

Please note that you will probably have to go shopping for this recipe and if you don't live in an area where maple products are sold year round, you may have to do some ordering online:

• all the granulated sugar is replaced with maple sugar, which is made from 100 % maple syrup, boiled down and crystallized. If you live outside of an area that produces maple syrup, you might have to order maple sugar from Amazon.
• the vanilla extract was replaced with a hefty dose of imitation maple extract because maple is a delicate flavour and if you want to taste it, the extract helps boost the flavour. Your grocery should carry maple extract, but if not, get it on Amazon.
• maple flakes are incorporated into the dough but also sprinkled on top of the scoops of cookie dough, which adds a crunchy texture and a lot more maple flavour. Maple flakes are sold in most grocery stores in Quebec and at local markets. Outside of the area, you may have to order them from Amazon.
• chunks of maple fudge candy, made from 100 % maple syrup, is paddled into the cookie dough to add even more maple flavour. You can buy it on Amazon.
• maple leaf cookies, also called maple cream cookies are incorporated into the cookie dough as well to add a crunchy texture and more maple flavour. These cookies are sold in all grocery stores in Quebec, but outside of Quebec, you might have to order a box from Amazon.

Check out my list of Milk Bar baking essentials on Amazon!

I also added a little homemade bacon brittle to the cookie dough to add a little salt and smokiness to the cookies, but it's entirely optional. I ground it down in the food processor into a fine but still granular mixture. This popcorn brittle could also work here, which makes pretty awesome popcorn brittle brownies.

Mixing method for cookies

To make these maple cookies, you will use the creaming method, where the butter and sugar are whipped for 3 minutes before adding the eggs, and then the mixture is whipped for another 8 minutes. Do not skip this and make sure to beat the mixture at each step for the full time to incorporate a ton of air but to also properly emulsify the fats with the other ingredients. Otherwise, your cookies may spread.

It's very important to scrape down the bowl between each addition to make sure that all the ingredients are combined and whipped together sufficiently. If you don't spend enough time on the creaming step, your cookies may spread too much and the texture will be off.

To scoop the cookies, I highly suggest you invest in a large cookie scooper that portions dough into roughly 90 grams scoops. The cookie scoop I used is by the brand Vollrath (specifically the  2-⅔ oz Stainless Steel Disher - Size 12) and you can order it from Amazon. This scoop is useful for making large cookies and also for scooping muffin batter. You can also use it for ice cream.

Check out my list of Milk Bar baking essentials on Amazon!

The cookie dough has to chill for 1 hour before baking in order to set the butter and firm up the dough so that the cookies don't spread too much. This is very important to achieving the perfect texture and look.

If the cookie edges do spread a little (especially because of the maple fudge), you can use a very large cookie cutter or the back of a spoon to gently push the edges back in towards the centre to help round out the edges. Be gentle!

These maple cookies have a crackled finish. On the first day they are baked, they are crispy/chewy on the outside, and almost fudgy on the inside. Stored in an airtight container, they soften a little and lose their crispy edges, but they still taste great! They store really well, actually.

If you haven't purchased it yet, I highly recommend the Milk Bar baking book, which is available on Amazon. It's a favourite of mine.