Fall is upon us and everyone likes to settle in with some warm, homemade cookies. Now, there are the classic cookie recipes like chocolate chip or the fall-themed ginger snaps but every now and then you’re in the mood for something a little different and that’s where maple cookies come in. In a baking mood one evening, I discovered I had almost no granulated sugar and only a very small quantity of brown sugar. Worse yet, I only had one egg—time for creativity. I needed something that could both sweeten and act as a “wet” ingredient, and that’s when I spotted the giant bottle of maple syrup that I had, until recently, only used on pancakes. Bingo! I then cheated and looked up recipes that included maple syrup and, after a little experimentation, I have settled on this version of the recipe. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it too!

Instructions:

1. Add butter or Crisco to large mixing bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds to soften/partially melt butter.

2. Add the brown sugar and mix with large spoon until smooth.

3. Beat the egg briefly in small bowl using whisk or fork and add to large bowl.

4. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract to the other ingredients in the large bowl and mix until you cannot distinguish individual ingredients (does not have to be perfectly even).

5. Now, WITHOUT STIRRING, add the flour to the top of the mix you already have. Add the baking soda and salt to the top of this and mix them with a bit of the top flour using a small spoon (or 1 tsp measuring spoon) to prevent clumps of one or the other.

6. Now, use the large spoon to combine the flour mixture and the wet mixture below until no streaks of dry flour remain and the mixture is homogeneous.

7. Set the oven to 350°F and refrigerate the mix approximately 30 minutes (you can skip refrigeration, but the dough is slightly harder to work with).

8. After refrigeration, pour granulated sugar in the shallow bowl or on the small plate, and roll 1 inch balls of dough in the sugar to coat them.

9. Place 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet and flatten each ball.

10. Bake in pre-heated 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes until edges of cookies are just golden.

11. Remove baking sheet from oven and let cookies cool for a few minutes before removing to serving dish.

Generally makes 50-60 cookies. Enjoy!