Maple Snickerdoodles

It’s the time of year again—back to school time; the time every parent looks forward to and every kid dreads. It’s around this time every year I get nostalgic and find myself wandering down the school supply aisles, just wishing for a reason to have a whole new set of pens, pencils, notebooks, and crayons. After a leisurely stroll through the supplies, I inevitably find myself in the “college” section, full of furniture and accessories to fill a dorm room. Although I now have my very own apartment to furnish with whatever I want, however I want, each August I still long to be back in the dorms I lived in for 3 years in college. There’s just something about living in a place that no matter what time of day it is, there’s always someone awake, or asleep, and procrastination is only a few doors down.

What do Maple Snickerdoodles have to do with back to school? Not much really, but back to school, to me, signifies the unofficial end to summer and the beginning of fall, and no flavor tastes more like “fall” to me than maple. It reminds me of crisp colorful leaves and cool bleary-eyed morning walks across campus to my 8am classes (when I woke up in time, that is). I came across this recipe in the newspaper this week and wanted to try it out right away. When Boyfriend invited me to a family gathering at his Aunt’s house before his cousin leaves for her first year of college, I thought it would be the perfect time to make them.

The recipe couldn’t be easier. They came together quickly and perfectly. The only thing I had any issue with was the size. If you’re using a cookie scoop to measure your dough, make sure you pack that thing full. Otherwise, you’ll end up with mini, bite-sized cookies. I had to make a 2nd batch of bigger, more presentable cookies to take with me. Also, the recipe claims to make 3 dozen cookies. These must be even smaller because I only got just under 2 dozen normal sized cookies. The baking time listed must be for these mini treats too because mine baked for 12-13 minutes.

Other than the slight changes I made to the original recipe, they came out fantastic. They’re incredibly soft and perfectly sweet, with just the right bit of spice. As Boyfriend’s grandpa said, “It packs quite a bit of flavor in such an innocent looking cookie.”

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Maple Snickerdoodles
From The Columbus Dispatch, Food and Life section D2, August 19, 2009
Makes 3 dozen




2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt*
½ cup margarine, softened (I used unsalted butter)
1 cup granulated sugar, plus additional for rolling
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup and egg until combined. Add dry ingredients. Beat until just mixed.
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in additional sugar. Arrange balls on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.
5. Bake until tops are crackly, about 8 to 10 minutes (My larger cookies actually baked for 12-13 minutes.) Remove from oven, and leave cookies on sheets to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Note: *Salt was not included in the original recipe. I added it to bring out the sweetness of the sugar and syrup. Also, the recipe says it should make 3 dozen. They must have been making very small cookies, because I only got 22 2½-inch cookies.