Maple Shortbread Cookies

Maple Shortbread Cookies
Maple sugar gives this buttery shortbread a deep, woodsy sweetness. (Jennifer McGruther)
3/15/2023
Updated:
3/15/2023

This maple shortbread recipe makes delicate, buttery cookies infused with the woodsy sweetness of dark maple syrup. For this recipe, we use einkorn. It’s an ancient variety of wheat with a richer flavor and more nutrition than modern strains. It has a delicate crumb and is perfect for cookies and shortbread.

Fenugreek has a flavor profile similar to maple’s—woodsy with sweet notes of spice. While optional in this recipe, you’ll find it amplifies the flavor of the maple well.

Makes about 4 dozen small cookies
  • 1/2 cup maple sugar
  • 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose einkorn flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek (optional)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until the mixture begins to clump.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form into two balls. Roll one ball out to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the shortbread cookies, and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining ball of dough. Refrigerate for at least one hour and up to four.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Jennifer McGruther, NTP, is a nutritional therapy practitioner, herbalist, and the author of three cookbooks, including “Vibrant Botanicals.” She’s also the creator of NourishedKitchen.com, a website that celebrates traditional foodways, herbal remedies, and fermentation. She teaches workshops on natural foods and herbalism, and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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