Rustic Maple Pecan Cookies

If you're into a prominent maple flavor, then you'll definitely enjoy these cookies. Rustic Maple Pecan Cookies have a nice combination of nuttiness with a dark kind of sweetness. These had a nice maple flavor that didn't overpower. This recipe from Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter meshes very well with the chopped pecans in the dough.

I first melted the butter in a saucepan.

I then mixed together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

After having mixed the flour, I poured maple syrup into the melted butter, once it was between warm and cool.

I then mixed in the egg, orange juice, maple extract, and vanilla extract.

I then mixed in the granulated sugar...

...and the brown sugar.

Once that was mixed well, I threw in the flour.

I folded in the pecans (I chopped them up really well).

I used a medium cookie scoop instead of a small one. I just prefer bigger cookies =)

Once ready, I put them on the rack to cool off.

They had a really nice shape, along with a really nice color. I loved the perfect circle!

This recipe included one variation:
Rustic Maple Pecan Date Cookies: Reduce chopped pecans in the Master Recipe to 3/4 cup. Measure 1 cup loosely packed dates cut into 1/4-inch dice and toss them into 1 tsp of flour to prevent them from sticking together. Mix the dates with the pecans and proceed with step 5 in the Master Recipe.


Rustic Maple Pecan Cookies
*makes about 4 dozen 2 3/4-inch cookies*

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp imitation maple extract
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup very fresh lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Directions:
1) Position the shelves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 350F. Moderately butter the cookie sheets.
2) In a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter and set aside to cool to tepid.
3) Strain together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
4) Using a wooden spoon, add the maple syrup to the melted butter, mixing well. Blend in the egg, orange juice, and the maple and vanilla extracts. Whisk in the sugars, stirring until well combined and free of lumps. Stir in the dry ingredients in three additions, then fold in the nuts with a large rubber spatula.
5) Using the tip of a teaspoon, drop mounds of dough the size of large walnuts onto the cookie sheets, placing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back toward the end of the baking time. Remove from oven and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes before loosening with a thin metal spatula. Cool on wire racks.



Recipes from Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter