Soft and Pillowy Maple Pecan Cookies

I know there are a lot of different seasonal cookie out there with maple, cinnamon, and nuts... but just know, there is nothing average about these cookies. These maple pecan cookies literally taste like the holidays, but in cookie form. They're a thick, soft cookie with cinnamon and maple flavor, and glazed with the most perfect sweet cinnamon icing. Plus, the pecans in these cookies give them a great texture in each and every bite.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAPLE PECAN COOKIES

All of the ingredients for this cookie are pretty straight forward-- basic cookie ingredients like flour, sugar, baking soda, with the addition of what's in the name! Here is everything you need to make a batch of these amazing cookies!

• All-purpose flour

• Baking soda

• Salt

• Cinnamon

• Granulated + brown sugar

• Maple syrup

• Unsalted butter

• Egg

• Vanilla + maple extract

• Pecans

MAKING THE CINNAMON ICING

Now, I will say- putting glaze on these maple pecan cookies is not a necessary step. They are sooo good plain as is. However, I have to admit that the glaze does make them even better!

Making this cinnamon glaze could really not be more simple. You are literally just adding all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisking until the mixture is smooth. Here's what you'll need to make it. 

• Powdered sugar

• Maple syrup

• Milk

• Vanilla extract

• Cinnamon

• Pinch of salt

Honestly, just put all of the glaze ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the glaze is smooth. That's it! Make the glaze once your cookies are out of the oven and cool.

TIPS FOR THE BEST MAPLE PECAN COOKIES

• Toast the pecans! Pecans taste great on their own to begin with. But, if you toast them, they taste even better! Toast them on Just add your whole pecans to a skillet, and cook them over medium low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll know the pecans are toasting because they will begin to give off a delicious, nuttiness smell.

• Flatten the cookies before baking. Since this recipe does not call for much butter, the cookies won't spread as much or far as a traditional cookie normally would.

• Make all cookies the same size. For this recipe, I used a small cookie scoop. Each cookie is made up of two small scoops rolled together. It was slightly less dough than using a medium cookie scoop, yielding a slightly smaller cookie. But if you only have a medium cookie scoop, that will work fine as well. 

• Allow the cookie dough to rest. While testing these cookies, I found that the cookies maintain their shape a bit more and are a little easier to work with if the dough rests before baking. The easiest and most convenient way to do this is to make the dough, then begin preheating your oven, allowing the dough to rest while it heats up.

Soft and Pillowy Maple Pecan Cookies

Recipe by Chrissy

Servings

12-14

cookies

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

13

minutes

Total time

43

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 egg

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon maple extract

• ¾ cup whole pecans

• Cinnamon Glaze

• ¾ cup powdered sugar

• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

• 2 teaspoons milk

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• Pinch of salt

Directions

• To a small pan, add the whole pecans. Turn burner on to medium-low heat, and toast the pecan for about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once toasted, remove from heat and cool completely. Once cooled, chop the pecans into small pieces and set aside. 
• In a mixer, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar for about 30 seconds until fluffy. Add in the maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract, and maple extract. 
• Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix together. Once everything is almost combined, add in the pecan and continue mixing until all floury bits are gone. 
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Allow the cookie dough to rest for about 15 minutes while the oven preheats.
• After resting the dough, use a small cookie scoop to scoop the dough*. Scoop TWO small scoops and roll into one ball. Repeat, placing each ball a few inches apart.
• Using your fingers, lightly press each ball of dough down, flattening to about ½ inch or so thick. If the dough is too sticky, wet your fingertips slightly before pressing the dough.
• Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes. Once baked, remove from oven. Allow to sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• In a small bowl, add all of the glaze ingredients. Whisk together until everything is combined and the glaze is smooth.
• Slather each cookie with icing and top with more chopped pecans, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

• *If you do not have a small cookie scoop, each cookie is about a 2 inch ball of dough.