Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

3 Comments

12 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Refrigerate 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
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Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies are the perfect chewy and buttery cookies with a rich maple flavor and sweet maple glaze topping.

Shortbread Cookies are a classic Christmas Cookie Recipe. They are made with a buttery, crumbly dough for the perfect melt-in-your-mouth cookies that everyone is sure to love. For this version, we’ve added some maple flavoring to the traditional recipe for a deep, sweet flavor that’s absolutely delicious!

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies finished glazed cookies on cooling rack with jar of maple syrup

GLAZED MAPLE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Maple Cookies are the perfect recipe to enjoy during the holidays. The rich taste of maple makes them slightly more unique than typical shortbread cookies, but they still have the traditional buttery texture that everyone loves. The maple syrup glaze is also easy to make with just 2 ingredients, and it adds an extra hit of rich taste from real maple syrup that maple lovers are sure to go crazy for!

If you like decadent maple donuts from the bakery, then this is the shortbread cookie recipe for you. It takes that same maple taste with hints of caramel and vanilla and bakes it into an easy, shareable cookie recipe.

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies collage

Using a cookie cutter to shape the cookies into maple leaves also makes them an adorable addition to your holiday cookie tray. Lay the beautiful leaf-shaped cookies out at your next party with other holiday classics like Gingerbread Cookies, Sugar Cookies, and Butter Cookies.

MORE SHORTBREAD COOKIE RECIPES

TIPS FOR GLAZED MAPLE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Cookie dough: Add the softened butter, granulated sugar and cornstarch to your stand mixer. Beat the ingredients with the paddle attachment until well blended. Then mix in the teaspoon of maple extract. Slowly mix in the flour to finish the dough. Once the dry ingredients are combined into the mixture, shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge for 45 minutes. It’s important not to skip this part. The fridge chills the butter so that the cookies don’t spread in the oven.
  • Shape: Sprinkle flour over your countertop or a baking tray for your work surface. Take the dough from the fridge and roll it out to about ¼ inch thickness. Then use a leaf-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place the leaves on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with an inch between each one.
  • Baking time: Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes until they are a light golden brown. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely while you make the maple glaze.
  • Maple glaze: Add the powdered sugar and maple syrup to a mixing bowl. Whisk the powdered sugar into the syrup until it’s one smooth glaze. Pour it over the top of smooth cookies and let the glaze harden before serving.

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies cut out on baking sheet lined with parchment after baking

VARIATIONS ON GLAZED MAPLE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Chocolate topping: For some sweet chocolatey goodness in the recipe, try drizzling some melted chocolate chips over the maple glaze and let them set together.
  • Brown Sugar Maple Cookies: To make maple cookies with a deeper flavor and chewier texture, you can use brown sugar for the sweetener and enjoy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies.
  • Bacon Maple Cookies: Adding bacon to a dessert recipe might sound pretty crazy, but bacon and maple syrup are a match made in heaven. So, if you want to go a little outside the box with this recipe, try sprinkling bacon bits over the maple glaze. Either use regular bacon for some salty contrast or try candied bacon to give them a kick of sweetness.
  • Decorations: You can add a different variety of sprinkles and other toppings to make the Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies look more festive. Try adding toffee bits, large-grain sanding sugar, a dusting of cinnamon, holiday sprinkles, or nonpareils.

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies finished glazed cookies on cooling rack

MORE COOKIE RECIPES

HOW TO STORE GLAZED MAPLE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Serve: Give the glaze time to set before you serve the cookies.
  • Store: To store the recipe, transfer cookies to an airtight container or cover them in plastic wrap. They should stay good at room temperature for up to 1 week and in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
  • Freeze: You can also seal and freeze Glazed Maple Shortbread Glaze Cookies for up to 3 months.

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies finished glazed cookies on cooling rack

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Dinner, then Dessert

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies are the perfect chewy and buttery cookies with a rich maple flavor and sweet maple glaze topping.
Yield 12 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Cookies
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies collage
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon maple extract
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 3/4 cups flour

Glaze:

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  • To your stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, maple extract and cornstarch starting on low speed and moving to medium speed until creamy.
  • On the lowest speed setting add in the flour in small amounts until just combined.
  • Cut a large piece of plastic wrap, add dough and shape into a disk, wrapping it well.
  • Refrigerate 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Flour the countertop or cutting board and roll out dough to ¼ inch thick.
  • Cut into desired shapes, a maple leaf or rectangular batons (about 3 inch length).
  • Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets (these will not spread very far).
  • Bake until edges are light brown, 18-20 minutes.
  • Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking rack to cool completely.
  • Whisk together powdered sugar and maple syrup.
  • Dip cookies upside down in glaze or spread over cookies, leave for 30 minutes for glaze to harden.

Nutrition

Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 28mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 473IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

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Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Just wondering if you can refrigerate extra maple glaze to use later or do you have to use it all up and make fresh each time?

    Reply