Amish Friendship Maple Sugar Cookies
Discover a delightful twist on a classic treat with these mouthwatering Amish friendship maple sugar cookies! Simple, balanced, & so easy to make!
Servings: 14 cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Food scale
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone mats
- Hand or stand mixer
- Portion scoop optional but handy
Ingredients
For the Amish friendship starter
- 15 grams sourdough starter fed within 48 hours
- 15 grams sugar
- 60 grams milk
- 60 grams all-purpose flour
For the maple sugar cookies
- 113 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter softened
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar for a less sweet cookie decrease to 180 grams
- 120 grams (1/2 cup) Amish starter from above
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 5 grams (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 80 grams (1/4 cup) pure maple syrup
- 330 grams (2 & 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 4 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
- 3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) salt
For the maple glaze
- 125 grams (1 cup) sifted powdered sugar
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) maple syrup
- 15-20 grams (1-2 tablespoons) milk for desired consistency
- cinnamon for dusting over the cookies optional
Instructions
Make the Amish friendship sourdough starter
- The evening before you make the cookies, mix the Amish starter ingredients (sourdough starter, milk, sugar, & flour) in a glass jar. It will be thicker in texture. Cover it loosely and allow it to rest overnight for 8-10 hours. It will double in size by the morning and be light and fluffy in texture.
The following morning
- Ensure your Amish sourdough starter has doubled in size before mixing the dough.In a large mixing bowl cream together the softened butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Next, add the Amish starter, egg, vanilla extract, and maple syrup, and mix until everything is combined.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a dough forms.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour (you can refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours.TIP: If you would like to roll the dough out and use cookie cutters you can separate the dough into 2 even balls, create a disc shape, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it into the refrigerator.
Shape & bake the Amish friendship maple sugar cookies
- Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- I like to weigh each cookie to ensure they’re exactly 60 grams, but you can also use a large cookie scoop—about 2 ounces—to portion them out evenly.Pro tip: Gently roll each dough portion by hand to create perfectly round cookies.
- Align about 6-8 cookies on your baking sheet (making sure they are spaced about 2 inches apart) and bake for 15 minutes. If making smaller cookies, adjust the time accordingly (they may only need 8-10 minutes).
- Remove the cookies from the oven and firmly tap the tray on the counter to create those signature bakery-style cracks. This step is optional, but it adds a beautiful finish to the cookies.
- Place the cookies back in the oven for 3-5 more minutes to ensure they are done baking. Every oven is different, so yours might only need the initial 15 minutes.
- Upon removing them from the oven let them rest on the pan for 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
Make the maple glaze
- Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before glazing them or it will fall right off.
- To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Next, add the maple syrup and whisk together until combined.
- If the glaze is too thick add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time to achieve the desired consistency.
- To effortlessly glaze the cookies, simply place them face down in the glaze and allow any excess glaze to fall off before placing them on parchment paper to dry a bit.
- Optional: dust with some cinnamon if desired.
- These cookies will keep for 5–7 days at room temperature in an airtight container. To prevent them from sticking, place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer.
Notes
Baker’s schedule: Make the Amish friendship starter (milk starter) the evening before you make the cookies. If using discard this step can be skipped. Use a discard that is no more than a week old to avoid a sour taste in the muffins.
Using regular sourdough discard? No problem! Keep the recipe the same, but increase the flour to 360 grams to balance the extra moisture.
