Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

These easy-to-make maple brown sugar cookies are perfect for wintertime. They’re soft and chewy and full of maple flavor. Made with crunchy pecans and topped with irresistible maple glaze, these are about to become your new favorite cookie.

The holiday season is officially upon us and it’s time for baking Christmas cookies and shipping cookies to friends and family, and all-around cookie eating! I absolutely love this maple brown sugar cookie recipe because it makes the most moist, chewy maple cookies I’ve ever had. I use dark brown sugar to deepen the molasses flavor and real maple syrup for a flavor you just can’t beat. Chopped pecans are a great addition because they have the perfect buttery flavor that complements the maple, and they provide great added crunch and texture. They’re definitely one of my favorite Christmas cookies!

Is your mouth watering yet? Let’s get baking!

How to make maple brown sugar cookies

1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt.
2. Chop the pecans. Rough chop pecans so they are in small pieces that still produce a nice crunch.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and egg. Mix maple syrup together with the butter-sugar mixture. Then, add vanilla and egg, and combine. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated.
5. Gently add the dry ingredients. Pour your dry ingredients into the bowl and gently combine, being sure not to overmix the dough.
6. Add the pecans. Gently combine into the dough.
7. Chill the dough. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before rolling into balls. This is a pretty sticky dough, and it needs to chill in order to properly form the dough into balls before baking.
8. Bake and cool. Form the cookie dough into 1 ½ tablespoons balls – I use this ice cream scoop to do this. Bake the chilled cookies for 9-11 minutes on a parchment-lined sheet pan until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before glazing.

Note: I don’t use maple extract in my recipe because I prefer the flavor without it. I find that the maple syrup in the cookie dough as well as in the glaze adds enough maple flavor that extract isn’t necessary. But if you want to turn up the maple flavor, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of maple extract the same time you add the vanilla extract.

How to make the maple glaze

This recipe uses the same maple glaze as my pumpkin scones. And let me tell you, it pairs perfectly with these maple cookies.

1. Sift the powdered sugar to avoid any lumps.
2. In a bowl, combine melted butter, maple syrup, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
3. Glaze your cooled cookies with as much glaze as you like. You can either use a piping bag to drizzle it on or simply use a spoon. There’s no right or wrong way to glaze!

That’s it!

Tips for making perfect maple brown sugar cookies

• Don’t over mix your dough. This can result in tougher cookies, and we want them super soft and chewy. Once you add the flour, gently combine the dough until the ingredients just come together.
• Use real maple syrup. The flavor of real maple syrup can’t be beat, and I found that artificial maple syrup just doesn’t cut it.
• Use dark brown sugar instead of light. While light brown sugar will still produce soft and chewy cookies, the extra molasses in dark brown sugar contributes a lot of flavor to these cookies.
• Chill your cookie dough. I recommend chilling the cookie dough for at least an hour before baking. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much and keeps them thick.
• Don’t glaze your cookies until they are cool. To prevent the glaze from melting into the cookies, wait until they are completely cool to top them (trust me, I know it’s hard to wait. But totally worth it!).

More delicious holiday cookie recipes

• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Nutty brown butter adds an amazing caramel flavor to these soft chocolate chip cookies.
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: Pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice makes these chewy chocolate chip cookies perfect for the holidays!
• Soft Pumpkin Cookies: Soft and cake-like, these scrumptious pumpkin cookies are topped with more maple glaze (they’re incredible).
• Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies: The best thick and chewy peanut butter cookies you’ll ever have. Period.
• Soft Sugar Cookies: Buttery and bursting with vanilla flavor, these sugar cookies are one of my favorites for the holidays.

5 from 2 votes

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Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

The best chewy maple brown sugar cookies you'll ever have. Made with dark brown sugar and toasty pecans, these cookies are topped with a rich maple glaze for the perfect holiday treat.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 11 minutes

Total Time 26 minutes

YIELD 24 cookies

Ingredients

Maple Cookies

• 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup (150g) dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup (120 ml) real maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
• 1 cup (100g) chopped pecans

Maple Glaze

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup (60 ml) real maple syrup
• ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and dark brown sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup and beat until combined. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and maple extract, if using. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Then add pecans. Do not overmix.

3. Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour. If the chilled cookie dough is hard to handle after being chilled, leave it on the counter for a few minutes to soften.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line 2 pans with parchment paper.

5. Drop rounded balls of dough, 30g or 1.5 tablespoons each, onto prepared baking sheets (I like using this ice cream scoop to create my cookie dough balls). Leave 2-inches/5cm between each cookie. Bake for 10-11 minutes, just until the cookies begin to brown at the edges. Cookies will appear undone but will continue to bake on the warm baking sheet. Leave cookies to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

6. To make the maple glaze: Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stovetop or the microwave. Then, combine with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a whisk or fork. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

7. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months.