Holiday Maple Cookies

I love maple syrup. I basically eat pancakes just for the syrup. I am always looking for recipes with maple syrup or extract in them, so when I came across this Martha Stewart recipe for Maple Leaf Cookies (can't find the recipe online anymore, but here's a pic) I had to give them a try.

The last few Martha recipes I've tried have been a disaster. Lots of steps (which I followed!) and then bland boring nothingness as a result. These looked so cute though, I had to give her one more shot. But I learned my lesson from last time: no need to totally follow her intricate and sometimes unnecessary steps, learn her tips once and use them again (ex. use of the freezer in this one!), and don't feel pressured to make the cookies AND the cookie tin, like she does. :)

They actually came out great--delicious and adorable. I made a few alterations, skipped a step or two, and used Chinese take out boxes and pretty napkins to wrap them up and deliver them as holiday gifts in the office!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup grade A maple syrup (not the fake kind!)
vegetable oil cooking spray
Parchment paper
Cookie cutters

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp maple extract
2-3 tsp milk
Sprinkles, etc (optional)

Preparation:
Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl
Beat butter and sugars on medium high speed until creamy (3 min or so)
Reduce speed and add yolk and maple syrup
Slowly add flour, beating until just incorporated
Shape into two disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 2 hrs to 2 days.

**Note here: I refrigerated my dough for 1 day and when I took it out, it was impossible to work with. In retrospect I think it would have helped if I had kneaded the dough a bit before freezing it. As it was, it kept breaking into crumbly bits when I tried to roll it out. I have a feeling Martha would say not to let the dough thaw before trying to work with it, but I got so frustrated trying to roll out the cold dough I almost tossed it out! I let it thaw about 15 minutes, had a much easier time rolling it out, and my cookies turn out just fine. So there Martha!

When ready:
Roll out disks of dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness (I like them thick, more chewy. If you prefer crispy, roll thinner) on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper
Place sheets with dough on baking sheets and freeze for 15 minutes
Remove from freezer, and take dough off parchment paper
Coat the baking sheets with cooking spray, re-line with the parchment, and coat parchment with cooking spray
Cut out cookies from frozen dough (freezing helps them keep their shape!) and space 1 inch apart on sheets (they don't expand much)
Roll out and cut remaining scraps
Put back in freezer for 15 min
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Bake cookies until edges turn slightly golden, about 15 minutes
Cool on wire racks

For glaze:
In small bowl, beat/mix confectioner's sugar and milk until smooth. Add corn syrup and extract and mix until icing is smooth and glossy. Add more milk or corn syrup to thin if needed. You can add food coloring here if you wish, but I like the nice light brown of the maple extract. Smells amazing!

Using butter knife, spread glaze thinly on cookies. Top with sprinkles, etc while wet.
Allow to dry for at least 20 minutes.
Deliver to friends and co-workers. :)