Last Updated on December 20, 2024 by Michelle
If you love mason jars even half as much as I do, or if you dance for joy when you discover a new cookie recipe that you know will be a keeper in your family for generations, well you may cry crocodile drops of joy before you get to the end of this post.
If you, like me, love mason jars and a keeper cookie recipe you will surely pin this, share it on facebook, order yourself one of these cookie cutters, and then mix up a double batch of these glorious cookies that are sweetened with all-natural maple syrup and icing’d with love.
But especially today… Today, in fact, is reason to celebrate this cookie…
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Since November 30th is National Mason Jar Day, these cookies are needed this week. I mean really, what better way to celebrate this joyous occasion that honors those wonderful jars that hold my maple sugar, popcorn kernels, and rice, my fresh raw milk and separated cream, maple syrup, salad dressing, o.j., lilac syrup, kombucha, and …. I’ll stop there. Let’s just say I have a lot of mason jars, shall we?
Let’s just say any size mason jar is loved around this old farmhouse, in any way I can use it.
btw, if you don’t have maple syrup on hand (first of all, I’m sorry), hop over right here for this cut out cookie recipe made with cane sugar
As for this cookie, no matter what day it is or what kind of cookie cutter you wanna use, you HAVE to hold onto this recipe. (Seriously, pin it right here for safe keeping.) Why do I love it so much? I mean aside from the fact that these cookies are delicious?
Why do I love this cookie?
I could go on and on, but I’ll give you my top 5 reasons I love this cookie:
- This recipe uses the whole egg, in parts. I hate it when a recipe asks me to only use a yolk or an egg white and then I can’t bear to toss the other half, so I store it away in my fridge until it, more often than not, gets shoved to the back recesses where it comes close to rotting before I throw it down the drain.
- This dough is unbelievably easy to work with. It’s not at all sticky and doesn’t require tons of cups of flour to keep it from becoming a stuck-on glob on your counter or rolling pin. In fact, it’s super easy to roll thin and still pick up.
- Little hands can roll this dough over and over again and it’s still perfect. We’ve been using this recipe for Christmas cookies since the girls were toddlers lined up on step stools making them.
- This cookie recipe uses all-natural sugar in the cookie, so all the sugar in the icing doesn’t bother me as much. Of course, I’ll admit I’m using all-natural maple syrup in almost all of my baking these days. (Go here for all the details on how to bake with maple syrup.)
- But mostly, I think I love this recipe the most for the memories that are wrapped up in it for my family. I wrote about just one of many special ones right here. My mother-in-law has made thin Christmas Tree cookies with this recipe, sprinkled with tiny colored balls, since long before I knew her. Then when we were in a homeschool coop for a decade or longer, we used this recipe every December for all the kids to make cookies to deliver to the nearby nursing home. And every time we make this recipe, we pull out grandmom’s precious tin of cookie cutters. So many sweet memories are housed in those black tin walls. W
e pry off the lid and relive so many cherished memories.
Where can you get that cookie cutter?
This set of mason jar cookie cutters (aff link) comes with two sizes… one the same as mine I used for today’s batch of cookies and one smaller.
How can you use maple syrup in other recipes?
Hop over and print out my FREE conversion chart that will help you convert any recipe at all in your kitchen over to one made with all-natural maple syrup goodness.
Not sure why you’d want to use all-natural maple syrup in your baking? Print out this comparison chart right here.
And find out what folks are saying about my brand-new book right here–Sweet Maple, about to hit bookstores across the country. Or order your own copy of Sweet Maple right here.
If you’d like the inside scoop to how all-natural maple syrup is made, go here for step-by-step directions.
Cut out cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1/3 cup maple sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 egg whites
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar, vanilla, and egg.
- Gradually beat in flour, baking powder, and salt until blended.
- Press dough together with hands. Roll out to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness, adding flour as needed to avoid sticking.
- Cut into desired shapes.
- Bake at 375 on ungreased cookie sheets for around 7 minutes. Don't overcook them (they'll be crunchy if overcooked, and perfectly soft if you nail the timing), and take them out of the oven when they look slightly undercooked, and haven't paled on the top yet. They'll be slightly golden on the bottom when they're done. Cooking times will vary greatly depending on how thick you cut your cookies.
- For the icing, beat powdered sugar into the egg white until a nice spreadable consistency is reached. Add food dye if desired* and ice the cookies only when they're cool.
Notes
Pin this for later!
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Hi Michelle!! I commented back in October about the missing recipe, and you replied and put up the recipe again (Thank you so much for your reply! For some reason I wasn’t notified of the reply, so I hadn’t seen it until I came back today hoping it was up and I could make the cookies :] ).
One question though! In the blog post and in your replies to previous commenters, you mention not using granulated sugar in place of the syrup in the recipe because it’s specifically formulated to use the syrup and the liquid is necessary to make it work right. That’s exactly what I’m looking for! 🙌🏻 A fresh milled flour recipe that’s sweetened with maple syrup instead of maple sugar (which is not as accessible for us).
But in the recipe card above, it lists granulated sugar being used, with a note at the end that you use maple sugar.
Is this a different recipe that’s up now???
The ingredient list on this one looks pretty much the same as the other cutout sugar cookie on your website that uses granulated sugar. I was hoping this would be a different one using maple syrup instead of maple sugar. Does that syrup recipe not exist anymore?? :[ Any chance you still have it somewhere????