we interrupt your regularly scheduled pumpkin spice programming…
…to bring you these insanely good Maple Spice Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies.
Sure pumpkin spice is good. Very good. I am not here to fight. But I am here to say that once in a while we can venture out a little but still keep things super delicious. Here we are.
These guys are chewy in the middle, a little crisp around the edges, loaded with brown butter and maple, warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice, and then drizzled with a maple spice glaze because a drizzle is always a good idea..
And no, you do not have to chill the dough.
Obviously. You’ve met me.
my pro tips for making the best ever maple spice brown butter oatmeal cookies
cool the brown butter: let the browned butter cool before beating it with the sugars. It should still be “melted”, but not molten… or you’ll end up with greasy, overly spread cookies.
beat it well: once the egg, maple syrup and extracts go in, give the mixture a good 1–2 minutes with the mixer. You want it light and fluffy before adding the dry ingredients.
watch the centres: pull the cookies when the edges are set but the centres still look slightly soft. They’ll continue to set on the hot baking sheet and stay much chewier this way.
glaze completely cooled cookies: unless you’re intentionally going for disappearing glaze, which seems counterproductive.
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for more tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
Maple Spice Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
for the cookies:
- 1/2 cup butter browned
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp maple extract optional
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp dry milk powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
for the maple spice glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp maple extract optional
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- tiny pinch ground ginger
- tiny pinch nutmeg
- tiny pinch salt
- 1 –2 tsp milk as needed
Instructions
make the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, milk powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
- Add the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar to the cooled brown butter. Beat with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy.
- Add the maple syrup, egg, vanilla and maple extract, if using. Beat again until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1–2 minutes.
- Add the oat mixture and mix just until everything is combined. Do not overmix.
- Scoop the dough into roughly 2-tablespoon portions and place them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving space between each cookie.
- Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centres still look slightly soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
make the glaze:
- Combine all of the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth, adding enough milk to make it easily drizzleable.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and let it set before serving.
recipe substitutions and variations
maple extract: it’s optional, but if you really want the maple flavour to come through, use it. Maple syrup alone adds sweetness and flavour, but the extract gives it a little extra maple oomph.
milk powder: you can leave it out if you don’t have any. The cookies will still work, but it adds another layer of toasted, caramelized flavour that plays very nicely with the brown butter.
spices: adjust them to suit your tastes. Add a little more ginger for a sharper spice or bump up the cinnamon if that’s more your thing.
glaze: you can leave the cookies unglazed if you want something less sweet, but I really like the extra hit of maple and spice it adds.
add-ins: chopped toasted pecans or walnuts would be excellent here, or maybe some dried cherries or cranberries.
serving suggestions
my way: still slightly warm with coffee, preferably straight off the tray while standing at the counter. Definitely more than one.
the dessert plate: serve them with vanilla ice cream or alongside something creamy like panna cotta for an easy fall dessert.
the cookie tray: these are excellent with other cookies because the maple, brown butter and warm spices keep them unique and give them enough personality to hold their own against all the chocolate cookies.
storing leftovers and make-ahead details for these maple spice brown butter oatmeal cookies
to store: keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Once glazed, let the glaze set completely before stacking them with parchment between the layers.
make-ahead: the cookie dough can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature just until it’s soft enough to scoop before baking.
to freeze: freeze the baked, unglazed cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and add the glaze once they’re completely thawed.
the glaze: the maple spice glaze can be made a day or two ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Let it come back toward room temperature and whisk in a tiny splash of milk if needed before drizzling.
If you like these maple spice brown butter oatmeal cookies, you might also like my Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies, Dirty Chai Cookies with Espresso Glaze or Salted Caramel Apple Cookies.
Don’t forget to drop a comment and rate the recipe below – it helps me out so much! And if you post this recipe, tag me over on Instagram @thepyperskitchen so I can see your amazing eats.
