Sunday 22 September 2013

Fall into Autumn

It is officially the best season of the year!!!!  I'm so excited for Autumn right now.   The best part of nature happens, colours, Autumn foods and flavours, the best clothes to wear - layers, oh layers I missed you over Summer!

Last week I got into the spirit of the new season and made Maple Leaf Cookies by request for our choir rehearsal on Tuesday.  It was in fact to the day last year that I first made these cookies, so what better time to try them a second time.  They went down a treat last year - for choir, and for friends visiting Toronto from England so for sure I was happy to try this recipe again, thank you Martha Stewart for the original!

This year I got more adventurous and wanted to create a pile of leaves look to my cookies and thought that the maple glaze painted on the biscuits after they came out of the oven could do with some sprucing up - some red food colouring, and some brown so along with the plain coloured ones they created that amazing multi coloured leaf effect the maple leaves here in Canada create.


So on Tuesday I woke up bright and early and got to work on these cookies.  It had to be early to get done before work, giving it enough time to chill in the fridge, and then also freeze for a little while before putting them in the oven.  So I was on a mission, and I didn't stop moving until I had to leave.

Here's the recipes and some pictures along with it... I HIGHLY recommend this cookie, they are so delicious and well worth the bake!

I halved Martha's original recipe as I didn't need 8 dozen cookies that's for sure (although Jonathan may disagree!) and also had a minor freakout at 8am when I didn't even have 1 egg in the house!  I risked it and substituted it with nothing bad happening phew!

Ingredients (This made 36 cookies using my 2inch maple leaf cookie cutter)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plain)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 large egg yolk  (Here is where I had a mild panic.  No eggs so instead I just tried 1 tbsp milk and all was fine!... Maybe better than measuring out half a yolk anyway!)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup for the cookie batter
2 tbsp pure maple syrup for the glaze
Optional food colouring for the glaze (I used red and brown following the mixing instructions on the box)

Method

1.  Sift flour and salt into a bowl.


2.  Beat butter and both sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy (around 3 minutes).

3.  Reduce speed to medium-low and then add yolk (or milk!), and maple syrup - beating well as you go.

4.  Add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.

5.  Shape into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).


6.  Preheat oven to 325°F/ 160°C.

7.  Prepared baking sheets - coat them with cooking spray, line with parchment and then spray again.

8.  Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness onto a slightly floured surface.  Cut out with cookie cutter.  Place cut shapes onto prepared baking sheets, 1 inch apart, and place in the freezer for 15 minutes until they are firm.






9.  Bake cookies until the edges begin to turn golden brown - between 15- 18 minutes - but watch closely.

10.  Leave to cool for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.


11.  After 5 minutes brush cookies with maple syrup and food colouring using a brush only used for food or cake decorating!




12.  Leave to dry, and then dig in!  Be prepared to be addicted!




I actually chose to only glaze 2/3 of the cookie batch.  The plain coloured cookies were un-glazed, not only to keep the original colour of the cookie, but just in case anybody (like me) didn't want their cookies too TOO sweet!  The maple syrup although delicious, does make for a chewy sweet flavour that I know not everyone wants :-)





Happy Autumn everybody!  

For more Fall inspired makes and bakes, check out my Pinterest 'Fall into Autumn' board, and also a NEW part to this blog... look below and add your email address to follow me :-)

21 comments:

  1. Your cookies are beautiful!!! So perfect for fall! :) I need to get a leaf cookie cutter too, I'll have to look for one next time I'm out shopping! Thanks for the inspiration! :) Happy Fall!

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    1. Thanks so much Maria! I really appreciate you coming by to read this and for leaving such a sweet comment :) Hope you find a cutter, I love the leaf shape of mine and none of it breaks or is too delicate which is just great!

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  2. They're almost too cute to eat!! Don't forget to link up to The DIY'ers. http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-diyers-30.html

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    1. Thank you Kayla! Happy you could be here to check them out :)

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  3. Thanks so much for joining us at Marvelous Monday - I will be sharing these on FB and pinning!

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    1. Wow that's so great thank you Deb! Great to have you here :)

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  4. Your cookies are gorgeous, and less dangerous than mine. My recipe uses raw egg whites with food coloring! I was okay with it, but everyone freaked out and I had to stop making them. ;) I will have to give the maple syrup a try.

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    1. Oh no! What a shame! I know what you mean about egg white, but yes for sure give this maple syrup a try - hope they like that version :)

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  5. These cookies are so beautiful! They look just like leaves (and I like how the glaze lets you skip the messy frosting bit but still gives a little extra sweetness :)

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    1. Aw thank you so much Amy! What a nice comment :) And yes for sure, definitely an easier way to decorate the cookies and to give that extra little something!! Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. How pretty! Let me ask you....can the glaze be done when they are totally cool? I have a preschool class and want to have them decorate cookies. Can we do this or should I go back to the traditional buttercream frosting for the little guys?

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    1. Hi there! Sorry it took so long to respond about this... I have been having a think about it and I think yes you could do it with any cookies!

      I put on the glaze almost immediately once the cookies come out of the oven and are set enough to move to the cooling rack... this means the glaze can sink in a little to the cookies while they are still warm.

      If you were to do them with premade cookies/already cooled I think the painting on of the maple glaze would still work - it just might be slightly stickier perhaps!? But in a preschool class I'm sure that's not a new phenomenon!

      Hope you get to try this, would love to see how they turn out if you do :)

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  7. Thank you so much for stopping in at Show Off Friday! Have a great weekend. Those cookies are so pretty!
    And thank you for the wonderful comment. It really helped make my day!

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  8. WOW! Great looking cookies! The light icing is is fabulous. Thanks for posting.

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    1. Thank you SO much for such a nice comment :) So pleased you could stop by and take a look at them!!

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  9. These cookies not only sound delicious - but they look so awesome! How cool :) I may need to give these a go! I've pinned them! Thanks so much for sharing at #allmybloggyfriends this week! Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. That's so kind Jamie - THANK YOU!!! Great to have you here reading about them, and I'm so pleased you like them so much :) Hope you get to try them, I'd love to see them if you do!!

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  10. Darlin' these cookies look amazing! You know I speak cookie so these are calling to me. They are beautiful and they are perfect for this time of year. You are being featured @ Great Idea Thursday's!!! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. WAHOO!! Thank you SO much Krista!! So happy to be featured on your blog :) Happy happy!!

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  11. Wow, your cookies look almost real :)
    Thanks for sharing on Tutorial Thursdays Linky Party. You post will be featured in the Recipe Round Up post this week.
    x
    Natalie
    Marigolds' Loft
    P.S. Pinned :)

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Thanks for reading!! Please leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you :-)