When I was younger, maple was the sticky brownish ooze in a squeeze bottle that I drizzled over my pancakes or the chocolate covered fluffy whipped maple cream - centered candies that I'd pass up for the butter-creams in the Russell Stover box.
Now, I covet the maple walnut scones from Barnes and Noble paired with a cup of maple vanilla java. But they only have them in the fall so of course, I had to get my hands on a recipe so I can make them any time I'm having a craving for a rich, moist, fluffy, nutty scone. I also might even hoard the Russell Stover maple filled chocolates....
But this post is about a new maple delicacy I've discovered. A maple walnut scone in the form of a potent, puffy cookie and even better, it's slathered with a maple frosting that I spiked with cognac.
Mary Carter, a food writer in Nashville, Tennessee is the original creator of these little gems. I was intrigued by a few differences with her recipe compared to other cookies.
I've substituted self rising flour in breads and I use it for frying shrimp but never for cookies. I was impressed with the rise on the little rounds however, I did find them too salty. So I switched to unsalted butter and cut the salt because you also get a salt hit from the flour.
The use of whole wheat flour also lends a wonderful texture, density, and depth of flavor not typically found in cookies.
The other interesting technique with this recipe is not fluffing the creamed mixture because it whips too much air into the dough, according to Mary. You'll notice, you combine the butter, sugars, eggs, flavoring, and salt. Then the flour. It makes it feel easier and quicker to prepare and turns out perfectly!
It is important to remove cookies from the oven just before they look done in order to get a moist, chewy, pliable, dense result.
These soft, sweet, and crunchy cookies made the perfect portable dessert for the holidays and they would be phenomenal at your next party or to just have in the freezer when friends stop by!
Give these a try and let me know what you think about the tasty tactics.
Ingredients For Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups self rising flour
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ingredients For Icing
4 tablespoons salted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons Cognac
Directions For Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine butter, sugars, eggs, flavoring, and salt. Beat until just combined. Add flours, 1 cup at a time. Stir in walnuts.
Using a small cookie scoop, place dough onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in center of oven 10 to 13 minutes, until cookies ar puffy and beginning to turn tan. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks.
Directions For Frosting
Mix all of the ingredients until texture is smooth and thick. Add more milk or sugar if necessary to achieve a spreadable frosting. After cookies cool completely, frost. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. This adds a pleasant crunch and also cuts through the salty nature of these cookies. Plus it makes them look pretty :)
The frosting will be soft at first. Allow it to harden before you try to stack them into a Tupperware type container. They also freeze well for 2 to 3 months in tightly sealed containers.
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