Holiday Baking - Day 2

Today I am sharing a recipe that I found via a fabulous food blog, Smitten Kitchen.  These cookies are absolute heaven!  I normally do not bake sugar type cookies because I find them so bland.  These are anything but bland with their maple-y buttery lusciousness. The dough rolls out beautifully and is so very tender.  This recipe makes a lot of cookies.  I didn't count but let's just leave it at dozens. 

Nutmeg Maple Butter Cookies
Adapted, just a smidge, from the late great Gourmet Magazine
Soundtrack - Bonobo

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup  maple syrup (Grade B is ideal here, but the original recipe suggested that Grade A with a few drops of maple extract would also work)
1 large egg yolk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (because it packs more tightly)
1 1/4 teaspoon flaky salt or 1 teaspoon table salt

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. With mixer running, add yolk and slowly drizzle in maple syrup. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, nutmeg and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until just combined. The dough will be in loose clumps. Gather them together into a tight packet with a large piece of plastic wrap and chill dough for at least two hours (and up to four days) until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper. I like to roll out a quarter to half the dough at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge. On a floured counter, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into desired shapes.
Arrange cookies on baking sheets and bake for 8 to 11 minutes each, or until lightly golden at the edges. Transfer to racks to cool.

 

 

* I used No.1 maple syrup (Grade A) because that's what I had and did not add any maple flavouring.  I can definitely tell there is maple syrup in these.