This is the cookie you see in every high end farmer’s market and orchard store across the country. Which is only proper! No one should ever buy a Halloween pumpkin without facing a maple cookie temptation. Alas, but many of those versions aren’t up to par and sometimes (gasp!) they aren’t even available. So here you go.
It is a simple enough recipe, but one that takes a lot of fidgeting to nail down just… exactly… right. This one’s nailed. Is it ever. The only thing to add are the nuggets of experience you’ll want for making your own adjustments.
1. Pecans and maple really do love each other as much as we always think. I tried the cookie with walnuts, and it worked, but it just wasn’t the same. A “7” instead of a “10”.
2. There’s no getting around the maple extract because syrup alone won’t provide the requisite oomph. I’d be curious to try a recipe with maple sugar, and even more curious to use the darker Grade B syrup, but neither are easy to find in my part of the country.
NOTE: We only use natural maple syrup in our house, and that is what we used in the testing. I have no idea how the cookie would work with the flavored corn syrup “artificial” version. Let us know if you do the experiment.
3. That final hit of maple high notes in the glaze/icing/frosting are what send this up to the next level. Don’t leave it out. These photos show a frosting, i.e. the thickest version, but that’s really just a matter of what you want.
NOTE: Give it 24 hours and the topping will dry out enough to pack in a tin without real worry.
4. We’ve gone back and forth on the salt level. My personal preference would be an extra quarter-teaspoon (call it a full 1 tsp. of kosher salt), but Kate thought that gave the cookies a little too much edge, especially before you add the topping.
5. Molasses really helps the flavor by broadening the base of the pyramid. Don’t be tempted to skip it. This amount translates to basically the same thing you’d get from using (a) dark brown sugar in place of the specified white, or (b) light brown sugar plus a single tablespoon of molasses.
That’s about it. Simple cookie, great flavor, with almost no fuss, muss, or bother. Enjoy!
