Maple Snickerdoodles

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The cookie base for these maple snickerdoodles comes from the depths of my mom’s handwritten cookbook. We made these fairly often when I was small; the recipe was easy enough for a kid to make, and rolling the dough balls in cinnamon was always fun. Since the basic ingredients — flour, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar — are pantry staples, snickerdoodles were a great option if we needed to bring dessert to an event but didn’t have time to run to the store. These maple snickerdoodles offer an extra note of fall flavor, helping your own cookies to stand out from the crowd.

Jump to Recipe

The maple in these cookies adds a subtle richness. If you have it available, I highly recommend using maple sugar in the cinnamon-sugar coating to provide a stronger maple flavor. What even is maple sugar, you may ask? Think back to your elementary school days, reading Little House on the Prairie. When Laura Ingalls and family tapped their maple trees, they boiled down the sap to make syrup. If you keep boiling the syrup, you eventually boil out all of the water – leaving a crystallized sugar. Technically you can make your own, but unless you have a candy thermometer and a lot of free time, I wouldn’t bother.

As you might expect, maple sugar can be expensive and a bit hard to find. If you happen to live somewhere where it is widely available, go ahead and use it to make these cookies extra maple-y. But, even if you use good old-fashioned cinnamon and sugar to coat these snickerdoodles, they will still taste quite good.

If you would like to make an even fancier version of the classic snickerdoodle, check out my caramel-filled snickerdoodle recipe. It uses Kraft caramel bits to add a sweet surprise to the center of each cookie.

Ingredients

• Sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Eggs
• The dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt
• The star of the show: maple syrup
• The topping: ground cinnamon and sugar.

How to make maple snickerdoodles

Start by creaming together your sugar and room-temperature butter.

Next, add your eggs one at a time, followed by the maple syrup.

Slowly add your dry ingredients. (Fun fact: cream of tartar and baking soda in this ratio are essentially just baking powder.) Mix until thoroughly combined. Your batter should be somewhat fluffy.

Once your batter is thoroughly mixed, form into a rough ball and cover its surface with plastic wrap (or your preferred eco-friendly alternative) before placing it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. The goal here is to allow the maple cookie dough to firm up. While your dough is in the refrigerator, mix together the cinnamon and sugar for your topping in a wide bowl. Feel free to use maple sugar here, if you have it available!

Once the maple cookie dough is firm, remove from refrigerator and roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each of these balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture before placing on a plate or greased cookie sheet. (Adding that final coating is what transforms these from simple maple cookies into true maple snickerdoodles.) For best results, place the completed balls back in the refrigerator while you preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Place refrigerated dough balls on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, if you haven’t already. Bake for about 10 minutes, removing promptly when the timer goes off. (The bottoms can scorch quickly if you aren’t paying attention!) Immediately remove from cookie sheet to allow them to cool.

Once cool, these maple snickerdoodles pair well with a cold glass of milk. I hope you enjoy them!