These Maple Brown Sugar Cookies are chewy on the inside, slightly crispy on the outside, and are bursting with rich maple flavor. Top with an optional maple brown sugar frosting to take them to the next level.
Why you’ll love these
- Festive. Move over peppermint, gingerbread, and egg nog (although don’t worry, I still love you)… and say hello to the new crowd favorite holiday flavor: brown sugar maple!
- Versatile. Roll them in granulated sugar or powdered sugar, and/or top them with the dreamiest brown sugar maple frosting. Serve with or without crushed pecans for decoration…the options are endless!
- Cookie perfection. The cookies are so soft and chewy and rich in cozy brown butter, dark brown sugar, and maple flavor! What’s not to love?!
Ingredient notes
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Butter – salted or unsalted butter both work fine in this recipe. A plant-based stick butter may also work if you need a dairy-free option. I love browning the butter for extra flavor, but you can skip that step, if necessary. In that case, you’ll only need 8 tablespoons butter (vs the 10 tablespoons listed).
- Brown Sugar – use dark brown sugar for the best flavor, but light brown sugar will also work. If you don’t have brown sugar on hand, make your own by mixing together 1 cup granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses.
- Egg – you’ll need 1 large egg. I have not tried any egg substitutes, but I imagine making a flax or chia egg may work in a pinch.
- Maple Syrup – use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup for the richest flavor. Using a “Grade A Dark Robust / Very Dark” will give you the strongest maple flavor.
- Maple Extract – I highly suggest keeping this in the recipe to really allow the maple flavor to shine. It’s easily found at major grocery stores. If for whatever reason, you need to omit it, you can replace it with vanilla extract.
- Flour – I only suggest using all-purpose flour in my cookie recipes unless otherwise noted.
- Cinnamon – can be omitted, if necessary.
- Baking Soda – not baking powder.
- Salt – table salt was used in the original necessary, but another type of salt (such as kosher) may be used. If using kosher salt, you’ll likely need to double (or 1.5x) the amount listed.
Optional Maple Brown Sugar Frosting
- Brown Sugar – again, use dark brown sugar for the best flavor, but light brown sugar will also work. If you don’t have brown sugar on hand, make your own by mixing together 1 cup granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses.
- Cream – heavy cream is best, but half-and-half is also fine.
- Butter – salted, unsalted, or plant-based stick butter will work.
- Maple Extract – again, I highly suggest keeping this in the recipe to really allow the maple flavor to shine. It’s easily found at major grocery stores. If for whatever reason, you need to omit it, you can replace it with vanilla extract.
- Salt – again, table salt was used in the original necessary, but another type of salt (such as kosher) may be used. If using kosher salt, you’ll likely need to double (or 1.5x) the amount listed.
- Powdered Sugar – there is no substitute for powdered sugar. If you’re in a pinch, try blending granulated sugar (with a touch of cornstarch) in a high powered blender until it resembles powdered sugar.
How to make
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Optional: Brown the butter, then set aside to cool slightly.
- Whisk in brown sugar, then whisk in egg, maple syrup, and maple extract.
- Mix in flour, cinnamon baking soda, and salt.
- Scoop into balls, then optional: roll in sugar of choice.
- Bake, then cool before frosting (if desired).
Optional Maple Brown Sugar Frosting
- Whisk together brown sugar and cream over medium heat.
- Boil, then remove from heat and whisk in butter, maple extract, and salt.
- Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.
- Frost cooled cookies.
- Top with optional pecans, and enjoy!
Pro tip
When you brown butter, some of the liquid evaporates, which is why we’re using 10 tablespoons of butter (10 tablespoon butter should brown and reduce to 8 tablespoons). If you’re skipping this step, simply melt 8 tablespoons of butter, then make the remainder of the recipe as directed.
Tips
- Bake a test cookie. After I scoop the dough, I like baking one cookie to see if I need to chill the dough or not. If it spreads too much, chill the dough for a couple hours.
- Serve them different ways. I like rolling some in granulated sugar or turbinado sugar for mega crunch, rolling some in powdered sugar, and also rolling some in granulated sugar then topping with the maple brown sugar frosting (my favorite version). You could even turn them into sandwich cookies by sandwiching two cookies together with the frosting in between and rolling the outside in chopped pecans!
How to store
Baked and Frosted
Allow frosting to fully set, before storing them in layers (using parchment or wax paper to separate) in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Baked and Unfrosted (Recommended)
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container, again, with parchment paper between layers, at room temperature for 1 week (then frost right before serving) or in the freezer for 3 months.
To enjoy again, thaw at room temperature, then (optional frost) and enjoy!
Cookie Dough
- Make the cookie dough as directed, (option to roll in sugar), then place dough balls on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat so they’re not touching.
- Freeze until firm, about 1-2 hours, then transfer them to a sealed ziplock baggie and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Bake from frozen, adding an additional 1-3 minutes to bake time, if necessary.
– Jennifer
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
These Maple Brown Sugar Cookies are chewy on the inside, slightly crispy on the outside, and are bursting with rich maple flavor. Top with an optional maple brown sugar frosting to take them to the next level.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 18 cookies
Equipment for this recipe
(equipment shown are affiliate links)
Ingredients
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter *
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons maple extract
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Turbinado, granulated, or powdered sugar optional for rolling
Maple Brown Sugar Frosting
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- Chopped salted, roasted pecans optional for topping
Instructions
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large stainless steel pan over medium heat.
- Once melted, whisk continually until brown bits start to form and the butter is foaming, golden in color, and has a nutty aroma, about 1-5 minutes.
- Carefully and quickly pour into a large mixing bowl (you should end up with 1/2 cup brown butter) and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Once cooled, whisk in brown sugar until combined, then whisk in egg, maple syrup, and maple extract until smooth.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until smooth.
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the dough into 18 dough balls, roll in optional sugar of choice, then place 9 dough balls onto each prepared baking sheet.
- Optional: cover with saran wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, then working with 1 baking sheet at a time, bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and set but the centers still look soft.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely before topping them with optional frosting.
Maple Brown Sugar Frosting
- Whisk together brown sugar and cream in a medium sized saucepan, then bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Once boiling, boil for 3 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in butter, maple extract, and salt until the butter has melted.
- Whisk in sifted powdered sugar until smooth, then spoon the frosting over the cooled cookies.
- Optional: top with chopped pecans, then enjoy!
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STORING
Room Temp:3-7 Days
Refrigerator:N/A
Freezer:3 Months
Reheat:Thaw at room temperature, if frozen
*Storage times may vary based on temperature and conditions
Notes
*If you would like to skip browning the butter, change the amount to 8 tablespoons (instead of 10), melt the butter, then proceed with the recipe as written. There are a lot of ways to serve these cookies (rolled in different sugars, frosted or not, etc.). My favorite way to enjoy these is by rolling them in granulated sugar, baking, cooling, then topping with the maple frosting and a few chopped pecans!
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
Amount Per Serving (1 frosted cookie)
Calories 295 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Trans Fat 0.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 36mg12%
Sodium 269mg12%
Potassium 76mg2%
Carbohydrates 51g17%
Fiber 0.5g2%
Sugar 37g41%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 326IU7%
Vitamin C 0.04mg0%
Calcium 39mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
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