This is my all-time favorite cutout cookie recipe! These Cinnamon Spiced Maple Cutout Cookies are adapted from the recipe my mom and grandma used for years. Perfectly soft, lightly spiced with cinnamon and flavored with maple, and they hold their shapes while baking! Decorate these cookies by dipping them in white chocolate and adding some gold sprinkles for an easy, festive look!
I LOVE these cookies. I mean, I think I’ve said that about all the Cookie Week recipes so far, but that’s why these are all part of Cookie Week! If the cookies aren’t amazing, I wouldn’t put them in Cookie Week.
Reasons to L – O – V – E Cinnamon Spiced Maple Cutout Cookies:
- Perfectly soft!
- Flavored with cinnamon and maple – the BEST flavors for this time of year
- Can be easily decorated with white chocolate + sprinkles, no fancy decor or piping bags required
- They hold their shape well in the oven – as long as you chill the dough, you shouldn’t have any puffy, spreading cookies!
- Everyone you know will go crazy for these – good thing the recipe makes about 4 dozen!
- They’re perfect for a cookie exchange – the cookies can baked ahead of time and then decorated at the exchange!
- Your house will smell like cinnamon and maple and you’ll have allll the cozy Christmas feels!
Have I convinced you to make these yet? I hope so!
A Few Cutout Cookie Tips:
- The dough may look a bit dry and crumbly, but mix it until it holds together a bit more (see the two photos below – the second is what we want the dough to look like).
- Chill the dough before rolling it out, and after cutting the shapes out and placing them on the cookie sheet – this will ensure they hold their shape during baking!
- Use real butter and real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Don’t overbake the cookies – cookies usually have short bake times and baking them even a couple of minutes longer can result in a dry, hard cookie.
The dough in the photo above was a bit too dry, so I added 1 TBSP of milk to moisten things up – the photo below is the texture we’re looking for.
Make Ahead Tip:
- Roll the dough into discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 2 months or chill in the fridge overnight!
- Store the baked cookies in an airtight container for 1-2 days before decorating, if you don’t want to/can’t decorate them right away.
Decorating Tips:
I loveee using my snowflake
and star cookie cutters
to make these into festive holiday cookies! You can, of course, use whatever cookie cutters you like, though. I also used these edible gold stars
on the cookies, and this mix of these gold, white, and blue sprinkles
.
Get ready to taste holiday cookie perfection! I’d love to see what creative ideas you come up with for decorating these – make sure to tag me on social media if you make them!
Happy Baking! Only 3 Days left in Cookie Week!
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Cinnamon Spiced Maple Cutout Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp mace You can find this with the other baking spices
- 2 sticks salted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated or cane sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 tsp maple extract
- 2 TBSP real maple syrup
For Decorating:
- white chocolate
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Make the Cookie Dough: Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add the sugars and mix until well combined and creamed - it should be fluffy looking. Add the eggs, vanilla, maple extract, and maple syrup and mix until just combined. Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing between each, and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated - stop when no bits of flour remain. If the dough is a bit dry, add 1-2 TBSP milk (See photos in blog post above for what you want the dough to look like).
- Chill the Dough: Divide the dough in half and flatten each into a disc about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. Dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months - thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
- Cut Out the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter, until it is between 1/4" and 3/8" thick. (I prefer mine a bit on the thicker side, but the ones pictured here are closer to 1/4".)Cut out cookies with cookie cutters, and re-roll scraps. Place cookies on prepared sheet, leaving some space between the cookies (see photo in blog post above). Chill in the freezer for 8 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape in the oven.
- Bake: Bake chilled cookies for 9-11 minutes (mine usually need the full 11 minutes, especially at the 3/8" thickness). Let cookies cool on baking sheet about 5-8 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before decorating. Decorate with white chocolate, royal icing, or your favorite frosting.Let the chocolate or frosting set on the cookies before storing.
- Serve + Store: Once the chocolate is set, enjoy the cookies! Store leftovers tightly covered, at room temp, for up to a week. Store them in an airtight container in layers, with wax or parchment paper between each layer.
- Make Ahead Tips: The cookie dough can be made 1 day ahead and chilled in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months - wrap in plastic wrap and place in a ziploc bag to ensure it's well sealed and won't dry out - thaw in the fridge overnight before using. Cookies can be baked and stored in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days before decorating, if desired. The cut out cookie shapes can also be frozen, and baked from frozen. Bake for the same time as directed above - no other changes are needed.
Notes
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