Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

126 days until the opening of the Ohio State Fair. A mere 4 months to figure out what recipes I want to bake for Total Fair Domination. This year, I will be prepared. None of this testing a recipe at the last minute and hoping for the best like last year. This year I’m serious about the competition. Even with the first real whiff of spring arriving this week, the only thing I could think about for the past few days was baking for the summer.

Last year I brought home a 2nd place ribbon with Joy the Baker’s White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies. This year, I want that ribbon to be blue. When Tastespotting posted a link to about two hundred entries the other day for National Oatmeal Cookie Day (which I completely missed out on..), I searched through each one looking for the perfect recipe to test. I ended up with the one they used as the picture for the link—Hot Polka Dot’s Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies.

I love anything maple flavored, especially when it’s paired with cinnamon, so I thought these just had to be a hit. And they’re good. Don’t get me wrong, I like them. They’re just not great. They’re not the mind-blowing, blue ribbon winning, make-me-a-rockstar kind of cookie. Not yet at least. The only thing they’re missing—add ins. Any kind of add ins. The original recipe has nothing. No raisins, no dried fruit, no chocolate chips, no nuts. Nothing. And I think they need a little something else. I’m just not sure what yet. The only thing that jumped out in my mind was… bacon. But I don’t want to be that girl who puts bacon in absolutely EVERYTHING. (I might still try it someday... because it sounds good to me.) So I’m keeping these in mind, but they still need a little tweaking before they can be blue ribbon contenders.

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Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Hot Polka Dot
Makes 2 dozen cookies



½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and maple syrup, beating until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add oats, mixing until just combined to form a stiff dough.
4. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Flatten dough slightly with your fingers. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are light golden around the edges and centers have set, about 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.