Maple Leaf Cookies

Maple Leaf Cookies from Martha Stewart Living, Nov. '08
makes about 8 dozen

3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup maple syrup (not imitation)
1/3 cup sanding sugar

Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugars until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add egg yolk, then 1/2 cup maple syrup, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).

Roll out 1 disk of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a sheet of lightly floured parchment. Place parchment with dough on baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Coat baking sheets with cooking spray, line with parchment, and coat parchment. Cut out cookies from frozen dough using a 3 1/2-inch maple-leaf-shaped cutter and space 1 inch apart on sheets. Roll and cut scraps. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies in a pre-heated 325* oven until edges begin to turn golden, about 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks, and let cool for 5 minutes. Brush cookies with 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and sprinkle with 1/2 of the sanding sugar. Let cool. Repeat with remaining dough, syrup and sugar. (Cookies will keep for up to 2 days)

These are very delicious, and taste somewhere in between sugar cookies and maple sugar candy. And they smell incredibly good, too!It makes me wish that I could add a smell feature to the blog .... Perfect with a morning cup of coffee, or an afternoon cup of tea.