Glazed Maple Cookies...

The Maple trees and their brilliant colors around my neck of the woods have been beautiful this year - those New England states have nothing over Seattle when it comes to Autumn leaves.  The mister and I took a drive on Saturday and I was happily pointing out every tree that deserved to be pointed out...the mister was oblivious, in his world if you've seen one Autumn leaf you've seen them all.  When I got home I wanted to iron leaves between waxed paper sheets, like I did as a kid...I went out back and collected some of those GIANT leaves, picked through to only get the best ones with no rips or bugs and proudly carried my leaves back into the house where I discovered I was fresh out of waxed paper.  So I did the next best thing...I took my leaves into my living room and pulled out the largest books I have...I was going to press the leaves and save them.  When I opened the books all kinds of leaves (and flowers) from LAST year fell out!  I think I'll use them as place cards on our Thanksgiving table.

These cookies will definitely be part of our pre-Thanksgiving feast - something to nibble on while we slave away over a hot stove.  These cookies are sweet and sugar-cookie like in texture and taste with just a hint of maple syrup and absolutely perfect without the glaze.  However, if you want to have more than a hint of maple flavor then spoon on the glaze...it's maple syrup that has been concentrated so with one bite you'll be on maple-hyperdrive...which is a good thing.

Glazed Maple Cookies - From Every Day Food

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in 1/2 cup maple syrup and egg yolks.  With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.  Drop batter by tablespoons, 3 inches apart, onto two baking sheets.  Using a flat-bottomed glass dipped in flour, flatten cookies to a 1/4-inch thickness.  Bake until golden at edges, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.  In a small saucepan, simmer 1 cup maple syrup until reduced to 3/4 cup.  Spoon over cookies.  Makes about 40 cookies.   (Let the glaze harden before stacking cookies or they will stick together and you'll reach for one and get four and then you'll have to eat all four of them, which would be the right thing to do.) 

"If you want a guarantee, but a toaster."  ~ Clint Eastwood

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One year ago today:  Rocky Mountain Farmers Scramble

Two years ago today:  Food-Snob, Who Me?