Maple Pancake Cookies

These are the delicious cookies I made today. They are plenty sweet, and have a nice real maple flavor. They are sort of like pancakes - not quite the same texture, but a good substitute for dessert or a snack. They are also incredibly quick and easy to make, the dough can even be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to bake. If you don't need to transport the cookies anywhere and don't mind a little stickiness, they would be even better brushed with a little maple syrup when they come out of the oven. Or better yet, sandwich two cookies together with a spoonful of maple syrup. A simple maple glaze made with icing sugar and maple syrup would be nice too. although they are perfectly good plain as well. I found the recipe nestled into a chapter book I read.

Maple Pancake Cookies
3/4 cup hard margarine, melted
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup additional granulated (white) sugar, for rolling

In a large bowl, add the sugar to the melted butter. Mix in the egg, syrup, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough for at least an hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Prepare cookie sheets (lining them with parchment paper works well). Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in the additional sugar. Place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Gently flatten with your hand or a spatula. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet immediately to cool. Makes about three dozen cookies.