Maple Brown Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Icing Drizzle

Name: Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Icing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup unsalted butter ((169 g), melted and cooled slightly (about 95°F-100°F)); ¾ cup dark brown sugar ((169 g)); 1 large egg (room temp.); 1 tsp vanilla extract; ½ tsp maple extract (can use up to 1 tsp, but I don’t like too much of the extract flavor); ¼ cup maple syrup ((71 g)); 2 ⅓ cup flour* ((292 g), spooned and leveled); 1 tsp baking soda; ½ tsp sea salt; ¼ tsp nutmeg and possible cinnamon; granulated sugar for rolling cookies (optional); 1 cup powdered sugar; 3-4 Tbsp heavy cream or milk (adjusted to desired consistency, if using cream, more is sometimes needed); Pinch of sea salt; ½ tsp cinnamon

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These soft and super chewy maple brown sugar cookies are rich and flavorful and so simple to make. No electric mixer required and cookie dough is prepped in just 10 minutes. Topped with a cinnamon icing drizzle make these cookies balanced and cozy and the perfect fall cookie.

Stack of maple and brown sugar cookies with cinnamon icing drizzle and bite taken out of top cookie.

Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!

Cookie recipes in the fall with all of the richness, warm spices and more just make the season that much better. It took me a LOT of fails to get these soft and chewy maple brown sugar cookies just right, but they were so worth it! The perfect hint of maple, rich brown sugar and a cinnamon icing drizzle to round it all out. These are going to be a hit for sure!

These maple brown sugar cookies:

are super soft and chewy, and if you just slightly under bake them, they have a slightly gooey, fudge like center
taste like fall–a perfect fall recipe and even a great option for a Thanksgiving dessert!
can be varied in texture by either rolling in sugar for a slight crunchy exterior or extra soft without it
are a maple lover’s dream cookie!

If you love these cookies, make sure to try my Pumpkin Spice Molasses Cookies, Ginger Cream Cookies, Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles or these Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies!

Ingredient Notes

Flour, sugar, butter, egg and other labeled ingredients on surface.

I prefer unsalted butter in this recipe, but salted butter is fine too, you may just want to lessen the amount of salt you add into the recipe to balance it out.
Dark brown sugar is ideal for a bold, rich flavor in these cookies. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it than light brown sugar which gives it a stronger flavor, darker color and helps add more chewiness to the cookies. You can use light brown sugar, but the flavor and textures will be different.
The maple flavor comes from maple syrup and maple extract. I love the flavor of pure maple syrup in these but honestly, pancake syrup will work and some may prefer it. I find that too much maple extract makes the cookies taste fake and way too much for me. I only use 1/2 teaspoon at most when I make them, but if you like the extract, you can add more.

Ways To Vary This Recipe

add more maple flavor by rolling the cookies in maple sugar
add-ins: add white chocolate chips, toasted pecans, walnuts, etc.
change up the icing: make the maple cinnamon icing drizzle like in this pumpkin pull apart bread, or make a cream cheese frosting to top these

Step-By-Step Instructions

Dry ingredients whisked together in bowl.

Step 1: Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg and whisk well.

Egg, maple vanilla and other ingredients in bowl with whisk.

Step 2: In a large bowl, add the melted, cooled butter and brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Add in the butter, egg, maple syrup, vanilla and maple extract.

Maple brown sugar cookie wet mixture in bowl.

Step 3: Whisk until combined and smooth.

Brown sugar maple cookie dough in bowl with spatula.

Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir only until combined and you don’t see any flour streaks. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes, but 1 hour is ideal.

Rolled cookie dough on parchment lined pan.

Step 5: Roll chilled cookie dough into approximately 1½ inch balls. You can roll in sugar to coat or you can bake without the sugar for a softer, more textured cookie–you choose! Arrange on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Step 6: Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes in preheated oven, 350°F, or until the edges are just starting to set and the cookies are puffed up. Err on the side of under baked verses baked too long.

Cinnamon icing glaze in bowl with whisk.

Step 7: Once cookies are cooled, whisk the icing ingredients together. Adjust to desired thickness.

Icing being drizzled over cookies on cooling rack.

Step 8: Drizzle the icing or dip each cookie into the icing to cover completely. Allow the icing to set and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Do not over bake these maple brown sugar cookies. For the best texture, go with slightly under baking. Just slightly baking these cookies too much can result in dry cookies. The key to these cookies is that slightly almost fudgy chew!

Dark brown sugar offers a bolder flavor and a chewier cookie, but it can be too bold for some. You can make these cookies with light brown sugar instead for a lighter flavor. The color will also lighten up slightly.

Don’t skip chilling this cookie dough. Since it uses melted butter, you need the fat to solidify before baking or they will be greasy and thin and spread a lot. About 45 minutes to an hour is ideal, but you can bake them after 30 minutes if you are in a pinch for time.

Icing drizzled cookies on cooling rack with bite taken out of one cookie.

Storage

Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. You can pop them in the microwave for about 5-7 seconds to bring the center back to that slightly fudgy consistency if desired.

You can freeze these cookies, just make sure they are cooled completely the icing is set. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper between layers of cookies. You can flash freeze them in a single layer for an hour before putting them in a container, but that can take up a lot of space.

Common Questions

Why Are My cookies Not Spreading?

Cookies that aren’t spreading much usually have too much flour. I strongly suggest weighing flour for best results. A standard up of flour weighs about 125 grams. When I tested these cookies by just spooning and leveling, I scooped a 137 gram cup which in the end accounted for an extra 28 grams of flour.

Why Did my cookies spread so much?

This is the opposite usually of cookies that don’t spread, and that means, no enough flour. If there isn’t enough flour, you will likely also end up with greasy cookies due to the wrong butter to flour ratio. Another reason could be that your baking soda is stale. One other thing that happens at times is the cookies are too close together on the pan.