Happy Hump Day! If you can believe it, I finally have my entire kitchen unpacked and plan to get baking tomorrow! It’s been a wild ride over the last few weeks and I’m about ready to settle back into some normalcy. As I emerge from the chaos, I have one more friend helping me out with a guest post! Kelsey is the amazing woman behind the food blog Apple a Day. We haven’t yet had a chance to meet “in real life”, but I really hope we correct that problem in the very near future because she is such a sweetheart! She herself has just recently moved and has been traveling, so it means that much more that she is helping me out! As for her blog, she is well known for these amazing chocolate chip cookies (which I promptly made just a few hours after she originally posted it!), but some of my other favorites include her Meatless Monday posts, especially this Pasta with Roasted Vegetables. Yum! Thanks, Kelsey! These cookies really do sound perfect for unpacking and filling my new home with the warm smell of fall!
Good morning, Sunny Side Up readers! I am so glad to be here with you today, especially given the wonderful circumstances for Jessica. I know she really enjoyed her time in China and made wonderful friends there, but nothing compares to the feeling of being home with the ones you love.
I can only imagine how busy Jessica must be making the rounds to visit everyone, get her new digs unpacked and set up, and sneak in some snuggle time with her kitties she missed so very much. Cooking probably isn’t a top priority at the moment. Heck, it might not even be possible!
But Jess, I’ve made these just for you. I remember when I moved and had my kitchen semi set up. Cookies were one of the first things I baked. I didn’t have to locate too much equipment and I didn’t need all that much counter space to operate. I wanted you to have something with all the glorious flavors of fall. I wanted it to be something that would immediately make your new place smell like home while baking. I wanted something simple enough to make in a new kitchen and I wanted you to be able to nibble on it, one-handed, while unpacking. I hope you like these.
Welcome home.
adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 c. (2 sticks,) unsalted butter
1 ½ c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 tsp. pure maple extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
For coating:
¼ c. granulated sugar
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
For the maple glaze:
1 ½ c. confectioners’ sugar
2 TBSP pure maple syrup
2-3 TBSP milk or cream
1/4 tsp. pure maple extract
Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping between additions. Beat in maple extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together baking soda, and flour. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until fully blended. Refrigerate the dough about 30 minutes, to firm it up and make it easier to work with.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and mix together coating in a shallow bowl.
When dough is chilled, scoop it out by heaping tablespoons or use a standard-sized cookie scoop. Roll dough in hands to form a ball, then roll in cinnamon coating.
5. Place the cookies about 1 ½ in. apart on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes until they’ve turned a very light, golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a wire rack for five minutes. Remove cookies from pan and let cool completely.
While cookies cool, make glaze by mixing together all ingredients until smooth and slightly thick. Place glaze in a pastry bag fitted with a small tip or a plastic zipper bag with one corner snipped off. Glaze cookies as desired. Let the glaze dry 3-4 hours then store cookies in an airtight container up to one week. Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies.
Thanks for having me as a guest poster, Jess. Best of luck with getting settled in.
I love maple flavored anything! YUM!!