Maple cut out cookies are soft, tender cookies that are perfect for fall. They're made with a maple dough that doesn't spread when baked and topped with a simple maple glaze and walnuts.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft maple-flavored cookies that don't spread when baked. Topped with maple glaze and chopped walnuts.
Chill time: Dough requires a 1 hour chill time.
Yield: 36 cookies
Similar to: Cut Out Sugar Cookies and Halloween Cut Out Cookies
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Wet ingredients - Unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and eggs add flavor and moisture to your cookies. Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired. Omitting or reducing these ingredients can result in a dry dough.
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour and baking powder balance with the wet ingredients and add structure. I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. To avoid wasting ingredients with untested alternatives, search for a recipe developed for your preferred flour.
- Flavor - Maple extract and salt add flavor to your cookies. Maple extract could be substituted with vanilla extract if desired.
- Frosting ingredients (not shown) - Confectioner's sugar and maple syrup are needed to make a simple icing.
- Walnuts - Optional, but add a nice texture and crunch to the cookies.
How to make cut out cookies
- Prepare cookie dough and roll into a sheet on a surface dusted with flour.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut cookies out of the sheet.
- Carefully space your cookies so they don't touch.
- Bake at 350F for 8-9 minutes or until cookies begin to lightly brown around the edges.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Don't substitute ingredients - Each ingredient serves a purpose in the recipe and shouldn't be substituted or omitted.
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure you're using room temperature ingredients, not melted or cold. Room temperature ingredients emulsify when mixed with the sugar, creating a creamy, even dough.
Chill dough - Once your dough is mixed, wrap it up and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Your dough can rest as long as 24 hours if you'd like to make it the day before.
Handle dough as little as possible - When you are ready to roll out the dough, try not to handle it too much with your hands. This warms up the dough faster, causing it to spread in the oven.
Dust everything with flour - Think about everything that’s touching the dough: the counter top or parchment paper, cookie cutters, rolling pin, and even your hands. A little flour will help the dough from sticking.
Cookie cutters - I used this leaf cookie cutter set which includes the maple leaf and acorn. Any cookie cutter shapes will work with this recipe.
Frequently asked questions
Too much flour will cause your dough to be dry and crumbly. Use a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method for best results. If you've added too much flour to your dough, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, mixing until dough comes together.
1. Use parchment paper, not a greased baking sheet. Grease on a baking sheet will cause cookies to spread more than they should.
2. Chill dough before rolling it out. Chilled dough spreads less in the oven.
3. Don't place dough on a hot baking sheet. This will cause your dough to spread before it even makes it into the oven.
4. After you've cut out your cookies and placed them on the baking sheet, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. This helps cookies hold their shape while baking.
No, maple syrup would add too much moisture to the dough, causing the cookies to spread in the oven.
Cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the cookie container and replace when it dries out.
Yes, cookies can be frozen for up to three months. To thaw, place on the countertop to bring to room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Maple Cut Out Cookies
Ingredients
Cutout cookies
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (148 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon maple extract
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Maple frosting
- ¾ cup (85 g) confectioner's sugar
- ¼ cup (28 g) real maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts, optional
Instructions
Cut out cookies
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer), cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and maple extract and beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift (or whisk) together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Shape dough into two round discs and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove one disc of dough at a time from the refrigerator.
- Dust counter top, rolling pin, and top of dough with flour. Roll dough out to ¼" thickness, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Using cookie cutters, cut into various shapes and place onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Bake cookies for about 8-9 minutes, or until cookies just begin to lightly brown around edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Maple glaze
- In a bowl, combine confectioner's sugar and maple syrup, using a whisk if needed to remove clumps. Glaze should be smooth and shiny.
- Using a small spatula, the back of a spoon, or a butter knife, gently coat each cookie with a thin layer of glaze.
- Allow cookies to dry for several hours before stacking and/or storing.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Your cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Do not grease your baking sheet: Grease causes cookies to spread more in the oven. Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat provide the best results.
- Freezing: Leftover dough and leftover baked cookies (that have been cooled completely) can be frozen in a tightly sealed freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
These were sooo good! We made these both last year and this year!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the cookies Jessica!
I've made these twice now as sugar cookies rather than maple. I followed the suggestions of the author by measuring ingredients by weight (gram) and simply swapping in vanilla versus the maple extract. I make one disk versus two, and roll a thicker dough on silicone (so no additional flour required) and cutting with cookie cutters. Glazed with vanilla extract, confectioner sugar & water. The BEST holiday sugar cookies we've had! Thank you so much for the recipe and great suggestions!
Thanks so much for the great review, Ash!
These look really good. I'm going to try them!