Maple Leaf Sandwich Cookies

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Bursting with buttery flavor and pure maple syrup in both the cookies and the frosting, these maple leaf sandwich cookies will take your cookie making skills to the next level with total ease.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard this or not, but it’s FALL. 🍂🍁🌾 I kid of course, it’s plastered absolutely everywhere. And I could not love it more! One of my favorite stores to visit in the fall is Trader Joe’s. They have a wide variety of incredible fall goodies ranging from sweet, to salty, to soft, to crunchy… and pretty much everything comes in pumpkin flavor. Now I’m not here to knock pumpkins, I like them as much as the next human. One thing that I really love, however, is maple. Trader Joe’s has an incredible box of maple leaf cookies that I believe they carry year around (good news for us fall cookie lovers!), but I honestly don’t really crave them until fall hits. These copycat Maple Leaf Sandwich Cookies are soft cutout cookies paired with creamy buttercream, and both are made with real butter and pure Vermont maple syrup. They are perfectly sweet, buttery, and ready for your weekend baking venture.

What you’ll need to make these maple leaf sandwich cookies:

Salted butter

Granulated sugar

Dark brown sugar (light or golden would work as well)

Pure vanilla extract

Pure maple syrup

Large eggs

Baking powder

All purpose flour

Powdered sugar

Leaf shaped cookie cutter, optional (but fun!)

The Cookie Dough

This cookie dough is a variation of my No-Chill Cutout Cookies (which need a blog overhaul and new photos but definitely go check out the original recipe! It’s so versatile and the pure vanilla flavor is amazing). The best part of these cookies is that they don’t require any time in the refrigerator before cutting and baking. They don’t spread in the oven, and the shapes retain their lovely forms. This pretty leaf cookie cutter was by Bakerlogy, and they have plenty of other cutters for you to choose from as well. You can also simply cut circles or squares, or try a biscuit cutter with scalloped edges for a little something extra.

Begin by creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about thirty seconds. Add the vanilla, maple syrup, and egg + egg yolk, and mix until fully combined. Next, add your dry ingredients- the baking powder and flour. Mix until dough is fully formed and no powder remains. You can make these cookies by hand or with a standing / hand mixer. The dough becomes a bit solid, so if you are using a hand mixer, ensure that it’s a high quality one that can withstand a thick dough.

Flour a clean surface, and roll your dough out to about ½-3/4 inch thick. Gently press your cutter into the dough to make the shapes, and remove the dough shapes to a nonstick baking sheet. You can also line a baking sheet with parchment paper for total ease of removing these cookies after they bake, but I never have a sticking issue with my baking sheets (I use this Nordicware one a lot). If you find that your cutter is sticking in the cookie dough, simply dust some flour onto the cutter, or a little onto the surface of the rolled out dough. Then repeat and it should come out with ease.

Bake each sheet of cookies at 350° for 6 to 8 minutes. I generally do 6 in my oven and they come out nice and soft with barely a golden edge, but if you prefer a more crispy cutout cookie (aka, a little sturdier if you plan to build a sugar cookie house or something of that nature!), then leave the cookies in for the 7 or 8 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they bake so that they don’t burn.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting them. You can also enjoy them without frosting if you desire.

The Buttercream

This frosting is a simple American buttercream that is made of four ingredients: salted butter, powdered sugar, pure vanilla, and pure maple syrup. It is mixed briefly until all ingredients come together and the frosting is slightly fluffy, but not over mixed so that it becomes whipped. You can make this buttercream in advance and store it in the refrigerator, but take it out about 45-60 minutes before spreading to ensure that it thaws enough.

Once your cookies have fully cooled, spread or pipe an equal amount of frosting onto half of your cookies, and then sandwich each with another cookie. Repeat until all cookies and frosting have been used up.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.

The Dietary Substitutions

I love providing gluten free, dairy free, and egg free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either used and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten, dairy, or eggs shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest. 

As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy. 

Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour. 

If you want to ensure that your oats are gluten free, Bob’s Red Mill makes a certified gluten free old fashioned oat as well. 

Miyokos butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change. 

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Egg Replacer is a wonderful egg sub in this recipe. Simply use one egg’s worth of the replacer and it will work great in these cookies.

I truly hope you love these festive maple leaf sandwich cookies! Tag me if you make them, I always love seeing your creations on social media. Happy Baking!

XO,

Heather