1 Cup (226 g) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Not Softened
1/4 Cup (60 ml) Good Quality Maple Syrup, Room Temperature
3/4 Cup (150 g) Granulated Sugar
1/4 (42 g) Dark or Light Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
1/4 Cup (50 g) Granulated Sugar
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Next, make cinnamon sugar coating by whisking the sugar and cinnamon together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer, add the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Cream ingredients together at medium high speed until butter mixture appears light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and base of the mixing bowl.
Beat in the maple syrup and vanilla extract into the butter mixture followed by the egg at medium high speed to combine.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture at low speed just until cookie dough comes together without any presence of unmixed flour. Take care to not overmix batter.
Using a 1 oz cookie scoop, scoop out mounds of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Roll each cookie dough between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball.
Next, individually roll the shaped balls of cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar coating and place back onto the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the coated balls of cookie dough for 1-2 hours or overnight.
About 15 minutes into refrigeration time, preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Divide the chilled balls of cookie dough between two large parchment lined baking sheets placing each cookie dough at least 1-2 inches apart. Cookies make be baked in batches with one large baking sheet.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes rotating the baking sheet (s) halfway through bake time. Cookies are ready when they have crisp edges with a crackle top that is soft the center. If cookies appears puffed, it it flatted as it cools. Cookie dough chilled overnight will require a longer bake time between 12-14 minutes or longer as needed.
Cool cookies on baking sheet(s) for 3-4 minutes before transferring to cooking rack (s) to cool to room temperature. Maple snickerdoodle cookies may also be served warm.
Notes
Unbaked scoops of cookie dough rolled in cinnamon sugar should be placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and frozen until firm. Transfer frozen scoops of cookie dough into a large dated ziplock bag or airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 1-3 months.
Frozen scoops of cookie dough may be baked straight from the freezer. Just increase the bake time from 10-12 minutes to 12-14 minutes.
Baked maple snickerdoodle cookies stored in an airtight container will last up to 5 days at room temperature. To help maintain the soft texture of cookies, a slice of bread should be placed at the base of container that cookies are stored in. The moisture from bread will help to keep cookies soft.
I used a 1 oz (2 Tablespoons) cookie scoop but you may use a larger cookie scoop like a 1.5 oz (3 Tablespoons) or a 2 oz (4 Tablespoons) for more bakery style cookies. Just note that cookies will require more bake time for larger scoops.
For slightly thicker soft cookies, replace half of the baking soda with baking powder.
To make gluten-free maple snickerdoodle cookies, substitute all-purpose flour with a gluten-free all-purpose flour.