Deeply caramel-sweet maple cookies studded with toasted pecan pieces and finished with a maple glaze drizzle, the definitive autumn cookie that tastes like the best pancake breakfast you have ever had in cookie form.
About This Recipe
Maple syrup brings to baked goods a flavour that no other sweetener can replicate. It is simultaneously sweet, caramel-like, and woody, with a depth that comes from the complexity of the sugars and mineral compounds present in the sap of the sugar maple tree. In a cookie dough, it contributes both flavour and moisture, producing a slightly softer, chewier texture than an all-dry-sugar dough and a caramel-toffee note in the finished bake.
The pecans must be toasted before they go into the dough. Raw pecans have a slightly green, grassy quality that disappears entirely when toasted, replaced by a rich, buttery nuttiness that pairs naturally with the maple. Toasting takes five minutes in a dry pan over medium heat, shake the pan occasionally and remove them the moment they become fragrant. They will continue to toast slightly from residual heat after removal, so take them off just before they look done.
The maple glaze drizzled over the cooled cookies amplifies the maple flavour in the dough and produces a glossy, caramel-coloured finish that makes these cookies look as good as they taste. The glaze is made simply from icing sugar and maple syrup with a tiny splash of cream, it needs to be thick enough to hold its shape on the surface but thin enough to drizzle in a loose, natural pattern.
History & Origins
Maple syrup has been produced by the Indigenous peoples of North America for thousands of years, long before European colonisation. The Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and other nations developed the technique of tapping maple trees and reducing the sap into syrup and sugar. European colonists adopted and adapted these techniques in the 17th and 18th centuries, and maple syrup became a defining ingredient of North American cooking, particularly in Canada and the northeastern United States. Maple-flavoured baked goods became particularly associated with autumn harvest celebrations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Why It’s Easy To Make
Maple syrup is widely available. Pecans are sold in most supermarkets. Standard mixing technique.
Maple Pecan Cookies
Course: Baking, Cookies20
servings15
minutes13
minutes3100
kcalIngredients
•t175g unsalted butter, softened
•t150g brown sugar
•t80ml pure maple syrup
•t1 large egg
•t1 tsp vanilla extract
•t280g plain flour
•t0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
•t0.5 tsp cinnamon
•t0.5 tsp salt
•t180g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
•tFor the glaze: 100g icing sugar, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp cream
Directions
- Toast pecans in a dry pan for 4 to 5 minutes until fragrant. Cool and roughly chop.
- Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add maple syrup, egg and vanilla.
- Mix in flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt until just combined.
- Fold in toasted pecans.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line trays with baking paper.
- Scoop into balls. Place on trays and flatten slightly.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until edges are golden.
- Cool completely on a rack.
- Mix glaze ingredients. Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow to set
Notes
- Use pure maple syrup, not maple-flavoured syrup. The flavour difference is significant.
Toast the pecans until they smell distinctly nutty and are one shade darker than raw, this step dramatically improves the final cookie.
The maple syrup adds moisture to the dough, making it sticky. Chilling is essential before scooping.
Allow the glaze to set completely, about 20 minutes, before stacking or storing.
Make Ahead Tips
Dough keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Freeze scooped balls for 3 months. Bake from frozen at 180°C adding 2 minutes. Baked unglazed cookies keep for 5 days. Glaze on the day of serving for best presentation.
Storage & Serving
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The maple flavour deepens on the second and third day. Glaze may absorb slightly into the cookie surface over time but remains delicious. Freeze unglazed cookies for 3 months. These are particularly good in autumn and winter and make excellent additions to holiday gift boxes and cookie platters.
Variations & Substitutions
Replace pecans with walnuts or hazelnuts. Add 100g of dark chocolate chips alongside the pecans. Use brown butter for an even deeper, more complex flavour. Make a maple cream cheese frosting, beat 115g cream cheese with 3 tbsp maple syrup and 100g icing sugar, and sandwich two cookies together for an indulgent maple cream sandwich cookie.
