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
Another winner from Sally. Minor tweak: I used dark maple syrup which makes the cookies a little darker. No extract so I cut back a little on the syrup and subbed in some (good) bourbon to the mix. Maybe my imagination, but I think it helped bring out the maple flavor without upping the sweetness. Still soft, chewy, and plenty maple-y. Grandkids (ages 5 to 9) love to measure, scoop and drizzle. Can’t wait to serve them up in cooler weather with some apple cider….
I haven’t made these yet, but was thinking of using bourbon maple syrup in them. I’m glad you said that the bourbon brought out the maple flavor! I will be making these very soon!!
Recipe is amazing!
I have toasted pecans – will they work in the recipe? Or should I only use untoasted?
Thank you
Toasted pecans will work great!
These are wonderful! I took a batch to work and my boss said they were literally the best cookies he’s ever had in his life. I will be making these again and again.
This is my next cookie recipe to try. If we can’t find extract, would you add more syrup and how much? Also, can I omit the pecans?
Hi Mitzi! You can omit the pecans. If you can’t find extract, we recommend simply leaving it out, though the cookies will lack the mega maple flavor.
These cookies are amazing and everyone I shared them with agreed!
Do you know if this recipe doubles/triples well?
Hi Carissa, yes it does!
These cookies are super good. I love the texture of them after they’ve cooled, especially the second day. They are super chewy and soft. I ate three of them for breakfast this morning (yes, 3. They are delicious with coffee) and am now completely hyped on sugar. I absolutely could not find maple extract anywhere and didn’t want to wait for it to arrive if I ordered online so I left it out but the cookies still taste amazing. Also didn’t have enough pecans so I also mixed in some chopped cashews.
These cookies are amazing!! One of the best cookies I have ever had in my entire life. Thank you!
Absolutely love this cookie! Made the recipe with Very Dark Maple Syrup I helped produce this season in western New York. The cookie is crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and has an amazingly delicious flavor. I included the pecans which also added to the texture. Highly recommend. Oh and don’t skip the refrigerating step — I didn’t and got a beautiful rise. Thank you for the recipe — it’s a keeper!
These were a big hit! Can you make them with vanilla pudding so they will be more puffy?
Hi Audra! We haven’t tested adding vanilla pudding to these cookies but let us know if you do.
I’ve made these cookies twice and both times they have been a big hit! The first time I substituted coconut sugar for the brown sugar and chilled for a little over an hour. The dough was not too hard to scoop and they looked perfect when baked, no spreading. My second time making them I was in a hurry, so I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour to try to offset the extra liquid and spreading issue. I baked them right away, no chilling at all and it worked like a charm! The whole wheat does give it a different, chewier, texture, but it still has the same great flavor.
I will definitely be making them again, thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
This recipe looks nice! I’ve read through the comments and saw several questions from readers asking if this could be made as bars. Has anyone done it and might have a suggestion as to the baking time, or other modifications necessary? While I understand that blog recipes are generally only tested as written — bar cookies are SO much easier and just as delicious as ‘regular’ cookies, and it would really be great to see an option in the post with baking information to make them as bars. Thanks for the consideration.
Hi J! We recommend a 9×9 inch baking pan for cookie bars. 350F, but we’re unsure of the bake time. You can use a toothpick to test the center for doneness. If it comes out clean, they’re done. Enjoy!
I was so excited to make this with our own home harvest and finished off syrup and sadly they came out flat and nothing like the picture I hope to try them again but for now I need to try and figure out what I have done wrong. I have even tried the tip for avoiding flat cookies and gave it even more time to chill
I recently made these cookies for the first time and my husband and I loved them! We had to force ourselves not to eat them all in one sitting 🙂 Quick question – my husband had the idea of dumping all of the dough into a square cake pan and making them into blondies. Do you think that could work?
Hi Shelby, so glad you love these cookies! We recommend a 9×9 inch baking pan for cookie bars. 350F, but we’re unsure of the bake time. You can use a toothpick to test the center for doneness. If it comes out clean, they’re done. Enjoy!
Looking for help … I’ve made these cookies about a dozen times, they are incredible! This last time they came out completely flat. I made a second batch thinking I missed something … Same results. Followed exact ingredients, used food scale, w/3-4 hours chill time. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
Hi Mike, If you are having trouble with your cookies spreading we recommend checking out this post to help troubleshoot: https://route-span.live/tips-for-cookie-spreading/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Fantastic cookie! Everyone who has tried one has given rave reviews. Followed the recipe exactly except that I added a splash of maple flavoring to the icing.
Love the recipe. Wish you guys would put the actual ingredients and instructions section at the top and the novel of other information at the bottom. It’s so annoying having to scroll all over the place to find the information.
Use the ‘JUMP TO RECIPE’ feature …
I really enjoyed this recipe! I used hazelnuts instead of pecans. I’ll definitely be making these again!
These cookies are absolutely delicious and easy to make. I just have one question…I follow the recipe exactly but my cookies always come out “puffy”. I bang the cookie sheets after baking but they still never “deflate”. They still are excellent cookies but I wonder why they never flatten.
Hi Maggie! When cookies stay puffy, it usually means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. When measuring flour, use the spoon & level method. Do not scoop the flour out of the container/bag. Doing so leaves you with excess flour in the cookie dough. Hope this helps for next time!
Best cookies I have ever made! These were a big hit with my family and will definitely become a regular in my baking rotation.
Can you freeze the cookies once they are made? And for how long?
Hi Cindy, Baked cookies, with or without icing, freeze well for up to 3 months.
This recipe sounds great! Can I use shaped cookie cutters (like hearts) and decorate with royal icing (similar to how I would at Christmas time using my vanilla sugar cookie recipe)? Thanks in advance.
Hi Wendy, This is not a roll out cookie recipe. Instead, we recommend maple cinnamon sugar cookies.
Thanks so much! I’ll take a look at that recipe!
The recipe didn’t work for me unfortunately. Sally was right about the lack of flavor if no maple extract added. I will know for next time. Also, even though I measured the flour by weight, seems like it was too much as they came out dry instead of chewy texture.
Also- could you please post the nutritional information 🙂
Hi Lauren! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
These are AMAZING! I keep some of the dough in my freezer in case company comes over. Everyone who has tried them has raved about them!
These are INCREDIBLE! I just made them and cannot wait to take up for a girls skiing day. Thank you! Another wonderful recipe!
Hi could I use walnuts as a substitute for pecans?
Absolutely!
I couldn’t find maple extract so I just used a extra maple syrup. They were still amazing and I will definitely be making them again! Hopefully I can find maple extract at another grocery story at some point, too.
Today is the third time in as many weeks that I’ve baked these cookies. Based on the requests I’ve received, this recipe has skyrocketed to the top of the favorites list, displacing the White chocolate, dried cherry oatmeal cookies (barely). My only adjustment, if I’m not adding the maple icing squiggles, is to add a few shakes of pure maple sugar to the cookies immediately upon removing them from the oven. A repurposed salt shaker works perfectly. The maple settles nicely into the hot cookie tops, thus adding another layer of maple flavour. Ooo-lala.
Hi Kate, thanks so much for sharing! We are so glad these have become a favorite for you.
What would happen if I don’t chill or cut the chill time down? Any tricks? I’m in a time crunch. Thanks!
Hi Christiana, This cookie dough contains an additional liquid (maple syrup), so chilling the dough is crucial. Without chilling for at least the full 2 hours, the cookies will spread into a greasy puddle.