Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Maple Cookies 2 Ways from Cleo Coyle


Spring is the season for tapping maple trees and boiling down their sap into sweet, delicious syrup. In fact, this weekend marks the annual Maple Festival in Vermont. (April 27 - 29, 2012) Click here to learn about the festival activities or get directions to St. Albans, VT. (They even select a King and Queen of Maple. :))

Maple syrup was a star ingredient in some of my past recipe posts. If you missed my recipes for my Supernatural Sticky Wings or Smoky-Sweet Vinaigrette, then click here and here to get the illustrated PDFs.

My post today uses maple syrup in a more traditional way: an old-fashioned maple cookie. 



BAKING FYI...


Here are some tips for bakers on replacing the sugar in your recipe with maple syrup...

According to the Vermont Maple Festival Cookbook, you can replace 1 cup of granulated sugar with 3/4 cup to 1 cup of maple syrup. Just be sure to decrease the liquid in your recipe by 2 to 4 tablespoons per 1 cup of syrup because syrup contains more moisture than solid granulated sugar. You'll also need to add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon baking soda because maple syrup has a slight acidity, which needs to be neutralized for the batter to rise and form properly. Note: If your recipe contains buttermilk, sour cream, sour milk, or yogurt, then the ingredient list should have baking soda in it already for this same reason, so don't worry about adding more. Finally, decrease your oven by 25 degrees F. because a batter containing maple syrup will tend to caramelize and burn on the top edges more quickly than a batter using a solid sweetener like sugar.

Happy baking, everyone!
 ~ Cleo  


Above you see my 1st version of this maple cookie, which
I finished with a simple brushing of maple syrup. (It really kicks
up the maple flavor.) See a photo of my 2nd version
of this cookie at the end of this recipe. . . . 
       
Cleo Coyle, author
of The Coffeehouse
 Mysteries


Maple Cookies 
2 Ways! 

Adapted from
The Vermont Maple Festival
Maple Cookbook







To download this recipe in a free PDF that you can print save or share, click here






Makes about 2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

For cookies

½ cup (8 tablespoons) butter
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup maple syrup (the real stuff, not "pancake syrup")
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For (1) Sugar-dusting
1/3 cup white, granulated sugar

Or for (2) Quick maple glaze
¼ cup maple syrup

Step 1 - Make the Batter: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and light brown sugar. When well blended, add the maple syrup, lightly beaten egg, and vanilla, and mix until well blended. Lightly sift the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda) into the bowl and mix until a dough forms. Do not over mix or you will develop the gluten in the flour and your cookies may be tough instead of tender. Chill for about 30 minutes.

Step 2 - Prep the Oven: Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 3 - Roll and Bake: Roll the dough into balls of about 1-inch in diameter. If you want to maple-glaze some or all of your cookies then simply place the dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving room for spreading. If you want sugar-coated cookies, then drop each dough ball into a shallow bowl of granulated sugar (about 1/3 cup) and lightly coat before placing on the sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Step 4 - Quick Maple glaze: For those cookies you’d like to glaze with maple, work with the cookies while they’re still warm. Dip a pastry or silicone brush into a bit of maple syrup. Brush the tops of the cookies with the syrup. This will really kick up the maple flavor.







Traditional Maple Glaze: For another maple glaze recipe, one that will harden into a more traditional glaze, click here to download a free PDF of my Healthier Oatmeal Cookies with optional Maple Glaze.








In the Maple Cookie pictured below, I rolled the dough ball
in granulated sugar before baking for a simple,
old fashioned maple sugar cookie.





Eat with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries




To get more of my recipes, enter to win
free coffee, or learn about my books, including
my bestselling 
Haunted Bookshop series, visit my online coffeehouse: CoffeehouseMystery.com



The Coffeehouse Mysteries are national bestselling
culinary mysteries set in a landmark Greenwich Village 
coffeehouse, and each of the ten titles includes the 
added bonus of recipes. 
 


The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure


Book #1 of 

The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries
, which Cleo writes
under the name Alice Kimberly
To learn more, click here.


******************

24 comments:

  1. Cleo, I have a jug of wonderful local maple syrup and I'll put it to use. This recipe sounds great and nicely different too.

    A quick question: can you freeze these cookies before or after baking? Do you know?

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  2. Yum! I'm definitely going to try these. Thanks!

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  3. The Vermont Maple Festival sounds like fun! And maple glazed cookies sound really tasty, too! I love the idea of replacing sugar with maple syrup, too. Thanks for giving me a new cookie to try, Cleo!

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  4. Cleo ~ You had me at maple syrup. Yum!!!! Can I come to your house for coffee? I'll bring the cheese. A new one blue one called Blause Wunder.

    ~Avery
    AveryAames.com

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  5. I should never look at photos of cookies in the morning. I'll be craving these all day now. Great post!

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  6. These sound like a wonderful treat to share at school.

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  7. I am impatiently awaiting the arrival of our syrup from some family friends. These sound wonderful and I love maple syrup on plain yogurt. Thanks for the recipes!

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  8. My favorite way to enjoy maple syrup is in coffee. Use it instead of sugar.

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  9. While the recipes are much appreciated, I'm very excited about those tips, Cleo. Very helpful! Thanks!

    ~ Krista

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  10. You know what a maple fan I am, and these little darlings have just won my heart!

    Maple syrup on plain yogurt?? Why didn't I ever think of that? Great idea.

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  11. Replies to...

    @MJ: Although I've never tried to freeze this dough or these cookies, I've frozen doughs and baked cookies with similar ingredients. I'd suggest you wrap them twice to keep keep out moisture and stray odors and to avoid freezer burn. They'll probably be good that way for six weeks. (If wrapped well, I'd assume the dough would be fine in the refrigerator for up to three days before baking.)

    @Sarita - That's great. I hope you like them as much as I do.

    @Elizabeth/Riley - This is a very nice cookie, and I hope you enjoy it, too. It's especially delicious with coffee, and I'm betting it would go great with tea, too.

    More replies to come...

    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  12. Replies to…

    @Avery – You know, blue cheese and maple syrup would probably be delicious together! The blue cheese you suggest sounds delicious (or should I say Wunder-ful? Hey, no groaning!) All kidding aside, I think I might try crumbling some gorgonzola on my next spinach salad with maple vinaigrette. :)

    @Julie – Aw, thanks. Like you (and half of the planet these days), I’m trying to cut down on carbs, and let me tell you, shooting pictures like these is no picnic—or maybe it is, but in a bad way!


    More replies to come…

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  13. I will surely be making these cookies. They sound wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.

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  14. Replies to…

    @Booklady – These would be great cookies to take to school. They taste even better the day after baking.

    @Janel – Yogurt and syrup – what a great idea. I may try this with a handful of raisins and a shake of cinnamon for a little “oatmeal cookie” action on the flavor front.

    More replies to come…

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  15. Replies to…

    @Robin – MAPLE COFFEE! Oh, my goodness, WHAT A GREAT IDEA! This is the first time I’ve ever heard this idea, and I absolutely love it. My husband just gave it a try this evening (and I gave it a sip, too). We both give this idea a HUGE thumbs up. Thanks for the great tip!

    More replies to come…

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  16. Reply to…

    @Krista – You are very welcome, and I wholeheartedly agree. Those tips will be fun to apply to some favorite recipes!

    More replies to come…

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  17. Reply to…

    @Laineshots – You sweetie, you! They are little darlings. (And I can’t keep my carb-loving hands off them. Bad Cleo.) I do love this blog -- posting once a week gives me such a great excuse to bake dozens of cookies. On a healthier note, I do agree with you on the yogurt and maple – Janel shared a great idea that I’ll be trying soon. The maple in the coffee worked so well, too. Robin’s got me thinking maple coffee now. Wonderful tips we’re getting this week!

    More replies to come…

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  18. Reply to…

    @Libby – You are more than welcome. Thank you for the kind comment, and I hope you enjoy the recipe. :)

    Eat with joy, everyone!

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  19. I love these maple cookies!!!!!!!!!! Goes great with a cup of coffee.

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  20. Perfect! We have two jugs of homemade maple syrup and we can only eat so many waffles. LOL. I know what I'm making on this dreary New England afternoon. Thank you.

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  21. WOW these look absolutely delicious and I love the pictures! :)

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  22. These sound great! "real" maple syrup has such amazing flavor.

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