This recipe takes the familiar cinnamon sugar cookie and adds real maple syrup for a warm, sweet twist. The result is a soft, chewy snickerdoodle with a deeper, more complex flavor than the original, and it’s just as easy to make.
Quick facts
- Prep time: 1 hour 20 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the cinnamon sugar coating
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
How to Make Maple Snickerdoodles
Part 1: Make the Dough
1. Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until the mixture looks light and fluffy.
2. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and egg. Mix these in until everything is well combined.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cream of tartar, and salt.
4. Combine. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
Part 2: Chill
5. Refrigerate. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
Part 3: Shape and Bake
6. Preheat and prep. Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Make the coating. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
8. Shape and coat. Roll the dough into balls about 1 ½ inches in size, then roll each one in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
9. Arrange and bake. Place the coated dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops have cracked and the cookies look set.
Tips for the Best Maple Snickerdoodles
Don’t skip the chilling time. A full hour in the fridge helps the dough firm up enough to roll cleanly and keeps the cookies from spreading too much.
Coat the dough generously. A thorough roll in the cinnamon sugar gives the cookies their classic crackled finish.
Use real maple syrup. Pure maple syrup is what gives these cookies their distinct flavor, so it’s worth using the real thing rather than a pancake syrup substitute.
Watch for the cracked tops. That’s the visual cue that the cookies are done, so keep an eye on them as they approach the end of the bake time.
Space them out well. Leaving 2 inches between cookies gives them enough room to spread evenly.
Final Thoughts
These maple snickerdoodles are a simple way to put a seasonal spin on a cookie everyone already loves. The maple syrup adds just enough sweetness and warmth to make them feel a little special, while keeping all the soft, chewy texture of the original. Bake a batch and let me know how they turn out.