Just to be clear, this is not a food blog. It’s a bonus post. I am sharing one of my tried-and-true recipes as a thank you for reading my blog. That is all.
A neighbour friend gifted us some maple syrup one Christmas, and I got to work searching for interesting ways to use it in my baking. This recipe is a direct result of that, and I make it year-round. It goes over surprisingly well in the summer (Christmas in July, anyone?), but it is especially popular for December gatherings. Baking these gingerbread cookies will fill your house with that classic warm & cozy scent.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ sticks butter (that’s ¾ cup) at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda (that’s SODA, not powder)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt (or just use salted butter)
- At least 2 tbsp granulated sugar (for final step before baking)
Recommended Equipment:
- Stand mixer or hand-held mixer (don’t mix this by hand—it’s too sticky)
- Plastic wrap
Note: This is a sticky dough. Do not try to roll it out for cutting shapes. You will not need cookie-cutters. You just can’t do it with this one. We’ll be rolling the dough by hand into basic balls for flat, circular cookies when it bakes.
Mix butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until combined. Next, add the maple syrup and egg and mix well. Mix-in the ground spices, baking soda and salt. Add the flour in two steps. Add, mix, add, mix until it is combined. Give this a manual stir with a spatula to check for any stray flour at the bottom of the bowl. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour up to 24 hours. I usually leave it in overnight.
Note about the baking soda: You need it. I tried this recipe without the baking soda once because I didn’t have any and decided not to buy some before baking. Mistake. They did not turn out. We still ate them to avoid waste, but that’s the only reason. They weren’t nice.
Also note about the baking soda: Did you know it can actually go bad? Like, expire? Yes. Do not pull your soggy catch-all box of baking soda from the fridge and think you can use it for baking. You will not get away with it. Instead, use a new one. To check if your baking soda is fresh, sprinkle a small amount in a cup of warm water. If it bubbles, it’s fresh. If it does nothing, it’s trash. Toss it. You need active soda for this recipe to work.
When you’re ready to bake, ensure your oven rack is set to the middle position. I’ve learned the hard way that these turn out like rocks if you set the rack too low. Still edible, but more like crusty turds than cookies. Middle—no exceptions. Bring your bowl of cookie dough out and let sit on kitchen counter for about 15 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread parchment paper on your cookie tray(s).
Remember that granulated sugar? We’re using it now. Pour it into a small, shallow bowl and keep it nearby. Use a small spoon to scoop out dough and roll it into balls by hand. Dip dough ball in sugar bowl then place sugar-side-up on cookie tray. Space them about three inches apart, as they will spread and flatten out in the oven. This recipe will yield about four dozen cookies. Bake 9 to 12 minutes. My cell phone timer is set to 11:15 for this recipe and they turn out perfect. Your oven will differ, so the time may vary. Allow cookie tray to cool for at least 10 minutes before re-using it for another round of cookies. If you place cookie dough on a hot tray, weird stuff happens and you won’t like it.
Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Pro-tip: slide the parchment paper with the baked cookies still on it from the cookie tray directly to the cooling rack. Happy Holidays!
Please ask questions and start the discussion in the comments section below. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Wanna get it in your email inbox? Subscribe to stay informed of my newest articles, story reviews, updates, and more.
Cover Image: Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy on Pexels.com
Pauline Shen 