If you're a fan of homemade gingerbread cookies but don't love molasses, I've made a delicious maple syrup cookie recipe for you! All the flavor of gingerbread in a melt in your mouth, soft, holiday cut out cookie dough. These are the perfect holiday cookies for frosting or royal icing.
Maple Syrup Cookies are very similar to gingerbread cookies, except I replace the molasses with maple syrup and honey. The result is a soft texture with a lighter ginger maple flavor. Honestly, I prefer a softer gingerbread to a crispier one. Eat them plain or decorate with white cookie icing and sprinkle with sugar. Trust me, they're fabulous either way. This recipe bakes almost three dozen snowflakes, so you will have plenty to eat and give as presents!
Why You'll Love These Maple Syrup Gingerbread Cookies
- Nostalgic: Making gingerbread cookies during the holidays season is my favorite Christmas tradition.
- Gingerbread without Molasses: If you either don't love the taste of molasses gingerbread or simply can't find it, these cookies were made for you!
- Soft: A gingerbread cookie with a soft texture that melts in your mouth.
Ingredients
- Maple Syrup: I prefer to use Grade B Maple Syrup which has a richer color and stronger maple flavor.
- Honey: Natural honey is the best option, usually found in jars and will say wildflower honey as opposed to the kind in the plastic bear container.
- Brown Sugar: Soft melt in your mouth cookies are always made with brown sugar. You can use light or dark brown sugar for this recipe.
- Homemade Royal Icing: I have two options for homemade royal icing, one is made with egg whites and the other with egg white powder.
- Maple Buttercream Frosting: Another decorating option is to skip the icing and top your cookies with maple syrup buttercream frosting instead.
Tool's You'll Need
- Snowflake cookies cutters or shape of your choice.
- Kitchen scale for weighing ingredients. I'm all about weighing my flour to be exact.
- Rolling pin, cookie trays, silicone mat or parchment paper for lining trays.
Tips for Cookies Success
- Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 30 minutes before rolling. It is much easier to work with cold dough. Warm dough is harder to cut and transfer onto cookie tray.
- If your cookie dough becomes too soft, simply place back in the freezer to chill. Cookies will be soft out of the oven but harden some as they cool to the perfect texture.
- Colder dough also keeps the cookies from spreading. After you cut the cookies and place them on the cookie sheet. Pop them back in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking.
- Pipe icing onto completely cooled cookies.
- Decorate with homemade easy royal icing or maple buttercream frosting.
- Pip a thin trace line around the edges of the snowflake or cookie shape.
- Then pipe icing to fill in the outlined shape. Take a toothpick and move icing to fill in any bare spots.
- Sprinkle the wet icing with sparkling sugar or sprinkles before it sets.
- For frosting, pipe or spread across the top of the cookie.
How to Store Cookies
Store cooled plain and iced cookies in an air tight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. You can also freeze non iced cookies by wrapping in plastic wrap, placing in a freezer safe plastic bag for 2-3 months.
Common Cookie Questions
Yes, cookie dough should be chilled. Cold cookie dough is needed for cutting out perfectly shaped cookies. Chilling also allows the cookie dough to rest and flavors to develop.
Gingerbread cookie dough can be made up to 2 days prior to baking. Cover in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge until ready to bake. Allow cookie dough to warm on the counter at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes to slightly soften before rolling out.
After cookie dough is made, stored in freezer safe plastic wrap or an air tight freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
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Homemade Maple Syrup Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ cup (165 grams) dark brown sugar, packed
- 6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup (160 grams) pure maple syrup, grade B
- ¼ cup (85 grams) honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping
Maple Syrup Buttercream Frosting
- sparkling sugar , for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until a paste is formed. 1-2 minutes. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl as needed.
- Add in the egg and mix again to incorporate. Then, pour in the maple syrup, honey, and vanilla mixing until smooth.
- Gradually spoon in the flour mixture, continuing on medium speed until blended and a smooth cookie dough is formed.
- Scrape soft cookie dough onto plastic wrap and flatten into a disc. Wrap dough completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnite.
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- When ready to bake, lightly sprinkle surface and rolling pin with flour. Carefully not to use too much flour or it will dry out the cookie dough.
- Roll dough out to ¼-inch thickness.
- Cut out cookies using a 3.5 inch snowflake or preferred cookie cutter.
- Space cookies 1 ½-inches apart on cookie sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes until edges start to brown.
- Place pan on rack to cool for 10min before removing cookies.
- Use homemade or store bought royal cookie icing.
- Pip a thin trace line around the edges of the snowflake.Then pipe icing to fill in star shape. Take a toothpick and move icing to cover bare spots.
- Sprinkle wet icing with sparkling sugar.
Notes
Decorating Options:
- Icing: I have to options for Royal Icing, with egg whites and one with egg white powder.
- Frosting: Maple Buttercream Frosting can also be used to decorate the top of your gingerbread cookies.
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