In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer, beat the butter with the granulated maple sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
In a second bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the maple mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Using your hands, gather the dough into a flattened ball (the dough will be slightly sticky.) Cut the dough into 4 portions. Keep one portion out and wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap.
Set a large rectangle of parchment paper over the working surface. Lightly flour the parchment paper. Set a portion of dough over the parchment paper, then cover with a second sheet of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll out the maple cookie dough to a 1/8-in (0.3-cm) thickness. (Rolling out the maple cookie dough between sheets of parchment paper will prevent the soft dough from sticking to the rolling pin and avoid adding too much extra flour to the recipe.)
Using a maple leaf cookie cutter (or another shape of your choosing), cut out as many cookies as possible, gently transferring them to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet as you go. (An offset spatula is helpful to transfer the cookies.) The cookies can be placed close to one another on the baking sheet because they won’t spread out while baking.
If using a maple leaf cookie cutter, you can use the dull side of a knife to trace shallow lines over each cookie in order to create a maple leaf pattern.Lightly brush each cookie with milk. Bake until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges. Depending on the size of the cookie cutter used, this could take between 6 and 10 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. Repeat the rolling and baking process to bake all the cookies.
To make the maple butter frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer, beat the maple butter with the softened butter until fully incorporated and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and whisk on low speed until the sugar is mixed in, thenincrease the speed to medium-high. Beat until the maple butter frosting islight and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Transfer the frosting to an airtight container and keep it at room temp erature until you’re ready to assemble thecookies.
To assemble the maple leaf cookies:
Spread a generous layer of cream filling on one cookie, then cover with a second cookie.Repeat to assemble all cookies. Eat any remaining maple butter filling by thespoonful!
STORAGE: The assembled cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The maple leaf cookies will be crispy on their first day, and then soften a bit upon resting. Both textures are delightful, but I find the cookies to be at their very best after a 24-hour rest.
CLEVER TIP: HOW TO PREPARE MAPLE LEAF COOKIES AHEAD OF TIMEYou can freeze the raw cookie dough carefully wrapped in plastic for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring back to room temperature 1 hourbefore rolling.You can also make the frosting in advance andrefrigerate it for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight and bring back to room temperature 1 hour before using. Give the frosting an energetic stir before using it to fill the cookies.
Did you make this?
Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.