Maple Snickerdoodles

A classic cookie gets a glow up and grows up. A Make-This-Now Recipe.

Can a snickerdoodle be improved?

I’m not one to go about bragging, but if anyone would know the answer, it’s me.

For an article for Food52 a few years back, I tried 12 different recipes, compared and contrasted methods, tweaked, tasted, distributed them to willing neighbors to test and arrived at 2 different quintessential recipes for snickerdoodles. One is puffy and tender, the other flat and chewy. Both offer up the utterly simple, yet utterly satisfying vanilla-cinnamon flavor with the unmistakable whisper of tang (thank you, cream of tartar).

In honor of maple sugaring time, I decided to take the snickerdoodle to another level, and I came up with a maple snickerdoodle recipe. Puffed and ever-so-tender, this cookie delivers on maple flavor. They are decidedly more-ish and if you fan-girl over maple syrup like I do, get thee to the kitchen and make these.

Tell me what you think. I’ll be sitting here, eating maple snickerdoodles with a nice cup of Earl Grey, waiting for you.

This recipe has 2 special ingredients:

• Maple sugar, which is granulated maple syrup. It’s not cheap, and can be hard to find, but it’s utterly worth it. It’s great sprinkled on muffins, cookies, used as a sweetener in glazes or rubs for meat, and, of course, stirred into coffee.

• Maple flavoring can be found at the grocery on the shelf near the vanilla extract. The larger the supermarket, the better…you’re more likely to find it.

  And, of course with all these things, there is our friend the internet, who is always happy to ship you things. Personally, I’m fond of the North Hadley, Massachusetts Sugar Shack, thanks to Jen Taub, who introduced me.

  

Maple Snickerdoodles

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Maple Snickerdoodles

Makes about 3 dozen

What You’ll Need:

For the cookies

2 3/4 cups (360 grams)* all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup butter (225 grams), softened

2/3 cup (130 grams) maple sugar

2/3 cup (134 grams) white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract

For the topping

1/3 cup (67 grams) maple sugar

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)

What You’ll Do:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar to combine. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, about 30 seconds total.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each egg is added. Add the vanilla and maple extracts and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Always be scraping (ABS)

3. Add the flour mixture in two additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Mix until just blended.

4. Refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes (and up to 3 days if you are especially patient) to make it easier to handle.

5. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350° F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Mix the topping ingredients in a small, shallow bowl until combined.

6. Shape a generous teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in the cinnamon-maple sugar topping to cover. Place two inches apart on the cookie sheet.

7. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are lightly colored and just firm to the touch. Cool on baking sheet for one minute before transferring to cooling rack. Cookies will stay soft for a few days if kept in a tightly sealed container.

*My gram measurements reflect how I measured the flour in cups, not the normal, regular world.

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