Maple Snickerdoodle Cookie Cups

I have made so many different snickerdoodle variations, but I frequently find more recipes to try. I really like making cookies in mini muffin cups: they cook up quickly and look quite fancy with no extra effort. I was intrigued with the combination of maple and the cinnamon sugar snickerdoodle. I actually do have some cinnamon maple syrup in the refrigerator (that came from who knows where!) so I guess it isn’t an odd combination at all.

This recipe said it would make about 18 cups, so I made one and a half times the recipe that’s listed here. When I take these to work I want to make sure that I have enough for everyone. My batch made 35 cookies, which was just right. My dough was way too fluid when I had added all the flour so I added 2 tablespoons of flour and that seemed to help. The dough is soft, but it will be fine once you get it in the pan. I shaped my dough into 1-3/4” balls, but I could have made them a touch smaller. It’s up to you.

It’s a little hard to tell when these are baked through, so I baked them for 13 minutes. They set while cooling so it worked out. The frosting is simple, but with so much butter, I found that that butter wasn’t fully getting incorporated so you do have to scrape the bowl frequently to make sure the butter gets mixed in. These little cookies cups are just fantastic. They are good without the frosting (one broke coming out of the pan) but the frosting takes it to the next level. I really enjoyed these.

Maple Snickerdoodle Cookie Cups

½ cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cinnamon sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon heavy cream

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two 12 space mini muffin pans cooking spray.

Place the butter in a medium saucepan and heat on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, swirl the pan occasionally and cook until the butter browns lightly and smells nutty. Be careful that the butter does not burn.

In a large mixer bowl combine the brown butter, sugar and brown sugar; stir on medium until well combined. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and maple syrup. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and continue stirring until the flour is incorporated. (If you feel that the dough is too fluid, add an additional tablespoon or two of flour.)

   

Shape the dough into 1-3/4” balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar. Place the balls in the prepared mini muffin cups. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until light brown.

Allow the cups to cool for 5 minutes, then use a tart tamper or a spoon to make an indentation in the cookies. Allow to cool for 10 additional minutes and then remove the cookie cups from the pan and transfer to a wire rack.

Make the frosting: in a large mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium until light. With the mixer on low, gradually start adding the powdered sugar. Continue adding the powdered sugar and increase the mixer speed to medium. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl with a spatula occasionally. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon and stir until incorporated.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cookie cups.

Recipe from Beyond Frosting