These cookies are delicious. Downright delicious. They are soft and moist, with the deep, rich flavors of maple syrup and molasses blending together beautifully.
Since it is maple sugar season here, I thought I would share a recipe with maple syrup in it. One of my favorite cookie recipes of all time is one of the first ones I ever posted on this blog–the recipe for molasses snaps. I modified that recipe just a bit for these cookies, and put in some maple syrup in place of some of the brown sugar. This change made the cookies even moister and gave them a richer flavor.
There is something so satisfying about using natural sweeteners like molasses (especially blackstrap molasses, which I like to use) and maple syrup. Maybe it’s because I know they contain important minerals found in the good earth (potassium, zinc, manganese, and iron, to name a few), so it feels like these coookies are quite healthy. Or at least nourishing. Perfect for a snack or to stick in the kids’ lunches. They have definitely been disappearing quickly around this house.
It’s March now, and outside my windows the snow is lightly falling. We had another snowstorm a couple of days ago, resulting in another snow day for the kids. Much of our half of the world is thinking about spring, yet we in Michigan are still blanketed in snow. For now, I will take the soft snow. It will be gone soon enough, and my upper body feels stronger from all of the shoveling!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
I’m going to take a plate of these cookies over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by two great bloggers–Josette @ thebrookcook and Lily @ Little Sweet Baker.
Maple Molasses Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of dark molasses (preferably blackstrap molasses)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat (or stir vigorously) the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually stir in the brown sugar, maple syrup, and molasses until fluffy. Add the egg, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Stir well to blend.
In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Slowly add this mixture to the butter mixture, stirring well until just combined.
Drop the dough by rounded teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven (375 degrees) for about 7 minutes, or until cookies are firm, yet still moist. Let cookies sit on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat until all the dough is baked. Enjoy!
These look so delicious. Great photos and I love how the cookies are redolent with the smells and spices of winter. I like how you made a seasonal cookie because of maple sugar season. I really do think it’s one of the best flavors in the world. These cookies embody exactly where you are in the season. Just lovely
Thank you so much, Amanda. I love the combination of the molasses, spices, and maple. So earthy and sweet at the same time. 🙂 Hope you are well, and I look forward to checking out what you’ve been up to lately!
ICH LIEBE COOKIES:::
UND MIT AHORN:: SCHMECKEN SIE SICHER SEHR GUT
WÜNSCHE NOCH EINEN SCHÖNEN ABEND
BIS BALD DIE BIRGIT AUS TIROL
Vielen Dank!
I love these cookies and haven’t even tasted them yet, Jenny! Shared on TMK Facebook page. Yum!
Thank you, Debbie! They are really tasty cookies. I have been eating a few too many of them myself. 🙂 Thanks for sharing on your FB page!
Jenny, are you taking all of these AMAZING photos?! Man, I wish we lived closer.
Thanks, Mollye! Yes, I have been working really hard on food photography lately. It’s really fun, and I have a ton yet to learn. I wish we lived closer too!!! I have always felt we were kindred spirits in our creative pursuits.
Your photos are beautiful!! The texture of these cookies is perfect- my ideal cookie. I love molasses and maple syrup together too. I am imagining you eating them with a cup of tea- nice and cozy inside your house looking at the snow outside. Right? 😉
Thank you, Josette! Well, that was sort of me yesterday, for few minutes anyway, though I kept getting up to take photos….:) Thank you for co-hosting FF this week!!
These cookies sound delicious! I sure wish we had fresh maple syrup close by. My son used to live in the northeast, and it’s one of the things that we couldn’t get enough of. We loved going out for breakfast!
Thanks, Julie. I do love the flavor of maple syrup. It tastes like walking in the woods to me. 🙂 Happy FF!
These sound heavenly, Jenny! Definitely Cookie Monster worthy. 😉
Thanks, Nancy! Hope you are having a great weekend!
Beautiful pictures, and delicious cookies Jenny! I’ve never thought of using maple syrup in a spice-and-molasses cookie, but the combination sounds just right, and just the sort of thing I’d want for a snowy day like in your picture. Right now all the snow has melted here, but these cookies are making me wish that there was still a bit of snow on the ground. Just a bit, to justify some warm, soft and freshly baked cookies 🙂
Thank you so much! The snow has been cozy. It will be melting here soon too!
I love that you’ve modified one of your recipes with the maple syrup and come up with something completely new! We were lucky enough that my sis was out east and brought us a big jug of maple syrup; it’s very very expensive here and the quality isn’t as good!
Thanks, Molly! I love how recipes are continually evolving to suit our needs and reflect the times. Maple syrup is one of my favorite sweeteners! Hope you are having a great weekend!
maple and molasses in a cookie?! it sounds so good I am sure I would have eaten the whole batch as soon as they came out from the oven, not even sure I would get a single picture 🙂
Haha, thanks, Petra! I did keep grabbing bites as I was taking the photos!! 🙂
These look wonderful! I’m not sure that I’ve tried maple and molasses together, but both of them have such a wholesome, traditional feel that makes baked goods made with them irresistible (in my opinion, at least)!
Thank you! Yes, I love the combination of maple and molasses–such a rich flavor!
Hi, This recipe sounds great. I have a few questions: I’m wondering why blackstrap molasses is preferred here (I thought it would be too bitter for cookies)? What grade maple syrup did you use? Also, about how many cookies would this recipe make? Thanks!!
Hi Daniele, I like blackstrap molasses because of its higher nutrient content. I haven’t noticed that it makes the cookies bitter. If you would prefer, the standard lighter molasses works great too. I like to use a maple syrup from a local farm. It’s pure grade A amber. The recipe makes about 40 cookies, depending on the size (app. 40 small to medium sized cookies). I hope you enjoy the cookies!😀
Thanks for the quick response! Can’t wait to make them! 🙂