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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Published on: April 2, 2011 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: February 27, 2024 Leave a Comment

    Maple Shortbread Cookies

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    Brushing maple shortbread cookies with maple syrup and decorating with maple sprinkles.

    Learn how to make the best maple shortbread cookies with this easy recipe. The maple cookie dough is made with maple sugar instead of white sugar for more flavour, and then the cookies are glazed with maple syrup and sprinkled with maple flakes after baking for extra maple flavour!

    A plate of maple shortbread cookies ready to be eaten.
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    These maple shortbread cookies are so easy to make. These cookies get their flavour from maple sugar, used in the dough instead of granulated sugar. This is a trick I also used for these bakery-style chewy maple cookies. These shortbread are cutout cookies brushed with a little maple syrup and sprinkled with maple flakes after baking, adding even more maple flavour to these simple maple cookies.

    Just like traditional shortbread cookies with a 1:2:3 ratio of sugar/butter/flour, these cookies are not too sweet, but have a lovely texture.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients to Make Maple Shortbread Cookies
    • Enhancing Maple Flavour in Cookies
    • How to Make Maple Shortbread Cookies
    • Maple Shortbread FAQs
    • Other Maple Recipes to Try
    • 📖 Recipe

    Ingredients to Make Maple Shortbread Cookies

    Like most shortbread cookie recipes, you don't need many ingredients to make them!

    Ingredients to make maple shortbread cookies from scratch with real maple syrup, maple sugar, and maple flakes.
    • butter, preferably unsalted butter is used to make these, but salted butter could work, but then skip the salt if you are baking with salted butter
    • maple sugar adds sweetness and maple flavour to the cookies
    • egg yolk adds a little moisture to the dough, helping bind the ingredients together and making the dough easier to roll, but can be replaced with 30 mL (2 tablespoons of whole milk). The egg yolk also contributes to the texture of the cookie
    • all-purpose flour gives these cookies structure so that they don't spread
    • salt, preferably Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using table salt, you may want to halve the salt to avoid these cookies being too salty
    • maple syrup and maple flakes to finish these cookies, adding extra maple flavour and crunch to the exterior.

    Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities and ingredients.

    Baking with Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar

    Don't forget that real maple syrup is not the same as maple-flavoured syrup or maple pancake syrup. Flavoured syrups and pancake syrups are made from corn syrup or glucose that is flavoured with artificial maple extract (or sometimes real maple flavouring).

    For this recipe, use real maple products that are produced from the sap of maple trees and sold in the New England, Quebec, and Ontario areas at sugar shacks, in grocery stores in the specialty aisle. You will need maple syrup, maple sugar, as well as maple flakes, which are also called maple sprinkles (though you can replace these with maple sugar as a garnish if you can't find the sprinkles).

    In general, maple flavour is very delicate and subtle, especially when combined in cookie doughs, so you should always buy a dark maple syrup with a more robust flavour to bake with.

    Enhancing Maple Flavour in Cookies

    Since the flavour of maple tends to get lost when mixed with other ingredients, you can brush these maple cookies with maple syrup as soon as they come out of the oven, and then sprinkle them with maple flakes. The maple syrup will add lots of flavour and act as a glue for the maple flakes, which add both texture and flavour to these cookies.

    You could also incorporate a little maple extract in the cookie dough to help reinforce the flavour of these.

    How to Make Maple Shortbread Cookies

    Creaming butter and maple sugar before whisking the dry ingredients separately and adding them to the mixer to make the dough for maple shorrbread cookies.

    Step 1: Cream together the butter and the maple sugar using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (image 1). When the mixture is evenly mixed, add the egg yolk and mix it in (image 2).

    Step 2: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (image 3), then add them to the mixer bowl and stir them in on low speed (image 4).

    Rolling out maple shortbread cookie dough and cutting out cookies with maple leaf-shaped cookie cutters.

    Step 3: When the flour has completely disappeared into the dough, the dough will be thick (image 5) so you can immediately divide it into two equal pieces and shape them into disks to roll them out (image 6). I like to cut out these maple shortbread cookies with maple leaf cookie cutters (image 7).

    Maple shortbread cookies on a sheet pan before and after baking.

    Step 4: Place the cutout cookies on a parchment-lined half-sheet pan, spacing them out to allow airflow (Image 8), then bake them until the edges begin to brown (image 9).

    Brushing maple leaf-shaped maple shortbread cookies with maple syrup after baking and sprinkling with maple flakes to decorate them.

    Step 5: As soon as the cookies are done baking, when they are still hot, brush them with maple syrup and sprinkle them with maple flakes or maple sugar (image 10). This last step gives them much more flavour and the maple syrup will create a glaze on the surface of the cookies that is set, not sticky!

    Maple Shortbread FAQs

    How do I store maple shortbread cookies?

    Once they have cooled down completely, the maple syrup glaze on these cookies will have set and will appear slightly shiny though it is dry. Store these in an airtight container once cooled. They aren't fragile so you can pile them up in a container without worrying too much.

    Can I use maple-flavoured pancake syrup?

    Do not use maple-flavoured pancake syrup. It is not the same as maple syrup and if you brush it on the cookies, it may stay sticky. Plus the flavour isn't nearly as good! For the maple sugar in the cookies, you could try replacing it with the same weight of brown sugar but the results will vary.

    A sheet pan of freshly baked maple cookies.

    Other Maple Recipes to Try

    These maple shortbread cookies are perfect for making the quintessential maple cream cookies (also called maple leaf cookies) that are maple-flavoured sandwich cookies filled with a maple butter filling.

    You can bake the leaf shapes of dough by pressing them over an inverted mini muffin pan to make cookie cups that you can fill with maple mousse.

    • Swirls of maple-flavoured whipped cream with maple flakes sprinkled on top.
      Maple Whipped Cream
    • Spreading maple butter filling on maple shortbread to sandwich together and make maple cream cookies.
      Maple Cream Cookies
    • Maple cookies cooling on a sheet pan.
      Maple Sugar Cookies
    • Bourbon-maple glazed cheddar bacon biscuits | bakeschool.com
      Cheddar bacon biscuits with bourbon maple glaze

    If you tried this recipe for maple shortbread cookies (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

    📖 Recipe

    Maple shortbread cookies glazed with real maple syrup and maple flakes

    Maple Shortbread Cookies

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    Learn how to make these easy maple shortbread cookies that are glazed with maple syrup and sprinkled with maple flakes after baking for extra maple flavour.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 6 minutes mins
    Chill time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 21 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Canadian
    Servings 56 cookies
    Calories 51 kcal

    Equipment

    • 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
    • GIR spatula
    • Rolling pin
    • Maple leaf cutters
    Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 178 grams unsalted butter softened
    • 100 grams maple sugar
    • 1 large egg yolk(s)
    • 310 grams bleached all-purpose flour
    • 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 30 mL pure maple syrup I used dark maple syrup
    • 30 mL maple flakes

    Instructions
     

    • In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the maple sugar for several minutes until smooth, creamy, and light.
    • Add the egg yolk, and mix to combine, scraping down the bowl as needed.
    • Stir in the flour and salt with the mixer on low, scraping the bowl as needed so that the butter mixture is incorporated with all the flour. Continue mixing until the dough holds together when pressed.
    • Divide the dough into two equal disks, pressing the bits of dough together to form two smooth disks. Wrap half in plastic wrap to prevent drying while you work with the rest. If your kitchen is warm, you may have to chill the dough for 30 minutes at this stage to help the butter firm up.
    • Roll out the first disk of dough on a lightly floured surface until it's ⅛ inch (3–4 mm) thick. Cut into the maple leaf shapes with a 2¼ inch (5.7 cm) cookie cutter. Transfer all the cookies to a parchment-lined sheet pan. You should be able to fit 15 per sheet.
    • Refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking while you preheat the oven.
    • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
    • Bake until the edges begin to brown lightly, 13–15 minutes, rotating if necessary partly through the baking time so that the edges brown evenly.
    • As soon as the sheet pan of cookies is out of the oven, immediately lightly brush the top of each cookie with maple syrup and sprinkle with a few maple flakes. Let cool before storing in an airtight container.

    Notes

    • Real maple syrup is different from maple-flavoured syrup or maple pancake syrup. Flavoured syrups and pancake syrups are made from corn syrup or glucose that is flavoured with artificial maple extract (or sometimes real maple flavouring). Do not use maple pancake syrup for this recipe!
    • For this recipe, use real maple products that are produced from the sap of maple trees and sold in the New England, Quebec, and Ontario areas at sugar shacks, in grocery stores in the specialty aisle. You will need maple syrup, maple sugar, as well as maple flakes, which are also called maple sprinkles (though you can replace these with maple sugar as a garnish if you can't find the sprinkles).
    • In general, maple flavour is very delicate and subtle, especially when combined in cookie doughs, so you should always buy a dark maple syrup with a more robust flavour to bake with
    • Please note that I bake with uncoated aluminum sheet pans that are light in colour. If you are baking this recipe with darker bakeware, you may have to drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C) to prevent your baked goods from browning too quickly.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 51kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 18mgPotassium: 13mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 82IUCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
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