With big flavor, crisp edges, and mega chewy centers, these maple brown sugar cookies are a definite favorite. Top with maple icing for the ultimate fall cookie! Chilling the cookie dough is imperative, so set aside 2 hours or prepare the cookie dough the day before.
I may say this a lot, but nothing has been truer than in this very moment… (dramatic? who, me?) … these maple brown sugar cookies are the best cookies I’ve ever made. And that statement holds big weight considering I authored an entire cookbook of JUST cookies.
Maple brown sugar cookies > every other cookie. I know a good one when I bite it!
Plus, this recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
These Maple Brown Sugar Cookies Are:
- Brown sugared and buttery
- Unbelievably chewy and soft in the center—not cakey
- Crisp on the edges
- Filled with pure maple syrup
- Topped with luscious maple icing
The maple icing sets, so these are perfect for stacking and transporting. Because, trust me, you’ll want to bring these everywhere you go. Football game? Bring them. Party? Bring them. Bake sale? Sell them. No occasion at all? Make them.
Video Tutorial
10 Ingredients in Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
We use most of these in maple pecan snickerdoodles, too!
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is the structure of the cookie. I played around with different amounts. 2 and 1/4 cups wasn’t enough and 2 and 1/2 cups was too much. 2 and 1/3 cups was the perfect amount to hold up to the liquid maple syrup.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda provides lift.
- Salt: Salt balances the flavor.
- Butter: 1 stick (1/2 cup) is plenty for the maple cookies and be sure you use room-temperature butter. It should be cool to the touch and not overly soft and greasy.
- Dark Brown Sugar: For optimal flavor and texture, reach for brown sugar. I recommend dark brown sugar for extra flavor, but light brown sugar works too.
- Egg: 1 egg provides structure, stability, and richness.
- Pure Maple Syrup: We can’t make maple cookies without pure maple syrup. Avoid “breakfast syrup,” which doesn’t have the same robust maple flavor that pure syrup contains. I played around with different amounts and 1/3 cup is plenty. And, as a bonus, the pure syrup helps create slightly crisp edges.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor. Have you tried homemade vanilla extract yet?
- Maple Extract: Pure maple syrup isn’t enough to guarantee mega maple flavor. Without the crutch of maple extract, the cookies were lacking. Pure maple extract is difficult to find, so reach for imitation. I prefer McCormick brand because the flavor doesn’t taste fake. You can use it in maple pecan snickerdoodles, maple walnut tassies, and maple bacon doughnuts, too!
- Pecans: Nuts are an optional ingredient, but they add awesome (and complementary!) flavor and texture. If you love these maple pecan snickerdoodles, you’ll also love pecans here.
Which Pure Maple Syrup Is Best?
Grade A is good, but Grade B is darker and more flavorful because it’s produced later in the season. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either here!
How to Make Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Minimal effort, mega results. ♥
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
- Beat in the egg, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients together.
- Add the pecans.
- Chill the cookie dough. This cookie dough contains an additional liquid (maple syrup), so chilling the dough is crucial. Set aside 2 hours to chill this cookie dough. Without chilling, the cookies will spread into a greasy puddle.
- Roll cookie dough into balls. Each dough ball is about 1.5 Tablespoons, or 35g.
- Bake until the edges are set. Cookies are done in about 12–13 minutes.
Then we’ll obviously drizzle maple icing all over the tops!
That Irresistible Maple Icing!!
You only need 3 ingredients for this super easy maple icing: butter, maple syrup, and confectioners’ sugar. To avoid any lumps, sift the confectioners’ sugar. If desired, a pinch of salt adds exceptional depth of flavor. The wonderful thing about this maple icing is that it eventually sets, so these cookies aren’t sticky or difficult to store.
You have my full support to use this maple icing for anything and everything. We found it to be the perfect finishing touch on these pumpkin crumb cake cookies and these maple pecan slice & bake cookies. Some ideas: on banana scones, pumpkin scones, and apple cinnamon scones, obviously.
By the way! Today’s cookies differ from the Soft Glaze Maple Cookies in Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Those are ultra cakey (think pancakes!) with moderate maple flavor. These are more similar to chewy chocolate chip cookies in terms of texture.
Loving These Fall Cookies Too
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- Butter Pecan Cookies
- Snickerdoodles (no cookie dough chilling!)
- Oatmeal Scotchies
- Caramel Apple Spice Thumbprints
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pecan Sugar Cookies
- Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 50 minutes
- Yield: 28-30 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With big maple flavor, crisp edges, mega chewy centers, and crunchy pecans, these maple brown sugar cookies are a definite favorite. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative, so set aside 2 hours or prepare the cookie dough the day before. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/3 cups (292g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar*
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (113g/80ml) pure maple syrup*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract*
- 1 cup (120g) chopped pecans*
Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (113g/80ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar*
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make the cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat on high speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract, then beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Add the pecans and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Dough will be creamy and soft.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days).
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) If the dough has chilled for longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before shaping the cookies.
- Scoop and roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35g) of dough per cookie. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 12–13 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and set but the centers still look very soft. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the maple syrup, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar and salt. Taste. Drizzle over the cooled cookies. Icing will set after about 1 hour. Store cookies covered tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies, with or without icing, freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Small Saucepan
- Brown Sugar: I recommend dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor, but you can use light brown sugar instead if needed.
- Maple Syrup: Avoid syrup labeled “breakfast syrup” or “pancake syrup,” which doesn’t have the same robust maple flavor that pure syrup contains. Grade A is good, but Grade B is darker and more flavorful because it’s produced later in the season. You can’t go wrong with either in these cookies.
- Maple Extract: Pure maple syrup isn’t enough to guarantee mega maple flavor. Without the crutch of maple extract, the cookies were lacking. I use McCormick brand maple extract. You can find it in the baking aisle or online.
- Pecans: The pecans are optional, but add wonderful flavor and texture. I use unsalted, unroasted pecans, but feel free to use salted roasted pecans or toast the pecans before using, if desired. You can also substitute chopped walnuts.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: To avoid any lumps, sift the confectioners’ sugar.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I just got done drizzling the icing on my cookies, and added crisp cooked bacon crumbles to the tops before the icing set. The one I sampled is amazing!
I plan on making these but want to incorporate bacon. Can I just add cooked pieces to the dough or will the fat throw everything off? Any suggestions?
Hi Dana, we haven’t tried adding chopped and cooked pieces to the dough, but you can definitely give it a try. Or simply sprinkle them on top after you add the icing. Sounds delicious!
New fall family favorite! Followed the recipe exactly and they come out perfectly every time. Once the icing sets, perfect to freeze as well. Highly recommend.
I thought these cookies were FIVE ( out of five STAR!!! WOW!!!!! These Maple Pecan cookies are extremely gourmet. Perfect with hot, British tea. Brought a sleeve of them to church staff meeting and they loved them. New favorite. Good-bye also ran cookies….hello gourmet and delicious!
These cookies are the best I’ve ever made or eaten! I followed the recipe exactly. No one could eat just one which is a true sign of deliciousness! The exterior had a little crunch while the inside was soft. I wasn’t a huge fan of maple, but I am now. Thank you, Sally!
These were great, a big hit at work! I made them the first time with a 3 tbsp scoop and the 2nd time with a 1.5. Both versions were great. The only difference I did was put salted butter into the glaze to make it less sweet, and then topped the glazed cookies with flaky sea salt to further the sweet and salty taste.
Great maple flavor with delicious icing but the results were not what I expected. I followed the recipe exactly, no substitutions, refrigerated the dough, used real maple syrup, etc. but the cookies were soft and cakey. Not entirely a bad thing but I was expecting a more chewy cookie with a maple-y center. I baked them for 13 minutes perhaps that was too long? Everyone loved them though.
Sally I love your recipes and use them often m, but what happened? The cookies came out ok, but the icing never hardened! I was very careful to follow the icing directions as I have never made that icing before. I was counting on it for transport to a hospital. I just had to toss them.
Hi Pat, I’m so sorry to hear that! Happy to help troubleshoot. Did you measure the ingredients exactly? And did you let the iced cookies dry for at least 1 hour, uncovered?
These were just perfect. I found that I could probably have gotten away with only 25% of the maple icing/glaze, but I imagine it would’ve been hard to make with such little volumes. Will 100% make again.
These cookies tasted exactly how I thought they would. Delish! If you want a less sweet cookie – omit the drizzle. They are wonderful either way!
These looked so good and I wanted something different so I thought I would give them a try. I don’t usually eat one until I get home from work but I wanted to try one. It was good. Not as great as I expected, but good. It was very sweet, but I put a lot of glaze on it. The next day I had one with my coffee and I don’t know what happened overnight but it was REALLY good! They had a better texture and better flavor. I don’t know why but I am sure down with it! I would highly recommend these! I had a little left over dough in the fridge and baked it after a few days and because I used all of the glaze on the first bake I did not glaze the second batch and it was still excellent!
This sounds amazing! I want to make Christmas cookies ahead of time. Can these be frozen?
Hi Christina, absolutely! See recipe notes for make ahead and freezing details.
I made these for a cookie baking competition… and WON!
I went to 3 stores but couldn’t find maple extract… will these still work? Should I use extra vanilla? Has anyone tried this?
I found Maple Extract at Walmart
I didn’t have maple extract either and just used the recommended amount of vanilla. They were delish.
I love this recipe. I actually took the flavor profiles and made them into cupcakes for my best friends birthday.
l love this recipe it was helpful really!
These are amazing!!! My house is egg-free so I subbed 1/4 cup plain applesauce for the egg and they still turned out perfect. I also only used 3/4 cup confectioners sugar in the icing and that was plenty sweet for us. Love having a new holiday season recipe to make outside of pumpkin/apple!
This is my new favorite cookie. Mine didn’t turn out as pretty – flattened out thin, but were luscious. I left out the pecans because I was baking for a work meeting, where one person is allergic to nuts. Next time I am including the pecans, at which point I am sure this will surpass pecan pie for a dessert.
I’m a maple fan. These were easy to make and turned out so good! Hubby said they may be his new favorite!
How well do these freeze after being baked?
Hi Kara, they freeze well for up to 3 months sealed in an airtight freezer bag or container.
Maple Brown Sugar cookies have become a family favorite whether made with gluten free or AP flour. I threw out my other maple flavoring and only use McCormicks now.
Boring! These cookies were very disappointing. They were just meh – I feel like they would’ve benefitted from some browned butter in either the cookie or the icing. I’m not sure what else would help.
Thanks for the feedback, Sandi. If you ever try the recipe with any flavor changes, let me know. While I do love them as is, I might experiment too!
For me these spread, BADLY. Very very flat cookies. They did taste delicious though. I used 65 degree butter, weighed my ingredients, chilled the dough, even froze my last tray in an attempt to thicken them even a little. But nope. Same thing happened with Sally’s original brown sugar cookie recipe, and I tried that one many times because I wanted them to work so bad! Not sure what’s wrong with my kitchen, but I have many favorite sally recipes including cookies so I wish these would work too!
Hi Rai, we’d be happy to help troubleshoot. There are quite a few different factors that can cause cookies to over spread—this post with 10 tips to prevent cookies from spreading will be a helpful resource to review. If you ever want to try these cookies again, you can add more flour, such as 2-3 Tablespoons to help soak up some moisture. Hope this helps!
Can I use maple syrup in the cookies instead of the extract?
Hi Lisa, these cookies call for maple syrup in addition to the maple extract. The maple extract helps boost the flavor, but you can leave it out if needed.
I think Maple Brown Sugar Cookies are my all-time MOST FAVORITE cookie–and I’m almost 75 so I’ve had a lot of cookies! I took these to a party and they were gone in minutes!
I think I just found my future self lol !
These were such a hit! Everyone raved about them…….amazing fall cookie
I cheated and started eating them, even before icing them! Wonderful delicate crisp then chewy goodness! Definitely going into my recipe box. Thank you for sharing!
These cookies take me back to my childhood in New England. Thank you for another great recipe!!
Can this recipe be made using w What adjustments would be needed to make using whole wheat flour?
Thank you!
Hi Joy, whole wheat flour would change the texture of these cookies, drying them out. We recommend sticking with all purpose flour for these cookies!
This recipe sounds great! I can’t wait to try it. I would like to leave out the pecans and make them with chocolate chips. Any tips?
Hi Lynne, you can definitely do that! Swap for the same amount.