These Maple Cookies bake up with chewy centers, crisp golden edges, and deep maple sweetness. Brown sugar adds rich caramel notes, hearty oats bring texture, and toasted pecans give every bite a nutty crunch.
If you love cozy fall flavors, you might also enjoy my maple pecan granola or these butter pecan cookies.
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Why You’ll Love These Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Chewy + crisp: Soft, chewy centers with golden, caramelized edges.
- Cozy flavors: Browned butter, pure maple syrup, and toasted pecans give them a warm, nutty depth.
- Simple ingredients: Easy to make with pantry staples and a few special touches.
- Perfect texture: Oats and a hint of coconut bring chew and subtle sweetness.
- Crowd-pleasing: Ideal for fall baking, holiday cookie trays, or everyday treats. Try them alongside my thick and chewy brown butter toffee cookies, or pair with a pumpkin dump cake for a full fall dessert spread.
Key Ingredients & What They Do
- Browned Butter: Adds nutty, caramel-like flavor. Cool until warm, not hot before mixing.
- Maple Syrup: Provides natural sweetness and keeps the cookies moist.
- Brown Sugar: Adds chewiness and a hint of molasses flavor — much like in the brown sugar oatmeal crumble on my easy apple crisp.
- Old-Fashioned Oats: Give structure and hearty texture. Use rolled oats, not quick or instant. For more oat inspiration, see my caramel oat bars.
- Sweetened Coconut: Brings extra sweetness and chew.
- Toasted Pecans: Add crunch and rich, nutty flavor, just like in my pecan praline topping.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies spread just enough while keeping the centers soft.
How to Make Maple Cookies Step by Step
1
BROWN THE BUTTER
Melt butter over medium heat until golden and nutty. Pour into a bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes — the butter should be warm, not hot.
2
MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS
Whisk together oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon.
3
DISSOLVE THE BAKING SODA
Stir baking soda into 1 teaspoon boiling water until fully dissolved.
4
COMBINE THE WET INGREDIENTS
Whisk brown sugar into the cooled butter. Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the dissolved baking soda mixture.
5
BRING THE DOUGH TOGETHER
Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in toasted pecans and coconut. .
6
CHILL THE DOUGH
Scoop into 12 portions, about 40 g (2 Tbsp) each. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
7
BAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined sheet, press them down slightly, and bake for 8–10 minutes, until edges are golden and centers slightly underbaked.
Tips for Success
- There is no egg in this recipe: These cookies have a chewy, granola bar–like texture. The dough may seem crumbly compared to other cookie recipes, but that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. Maple syrup and brown sugar act as the binders.
- Don't overbake the cookies otherwise they will be hard and dry. The cookies should be just set and a little golden on the edges. As ovens vary, judge the doneness of the cookies by how they look.
- Measure correctly: A difference of just a few grams of flour can affect how the dough spreads. Use a kitchen scale if possible. If not, spoon and level the flour instead of scooping straight from the bag.
- Scoop before chilling: Portioning the dough is much easier while it’s soft.
- Keep the texture craggly: Use a light hand when scooping to keep those rustic, craggly edges. Don’t roll into smooth balls.
- Chilling the dough: Resting the dough lets the oats and coconut absorb liquid, making the cookies extra chewy. Overnight chilling deepens the flavor and improves the texture.
- Cold vs. room temperature dough: Cold dough bakes into thicker cookies with chewy centers, while room temperature dough spreads more for caramelized, crispy edges. Don’t worry if they look misshapen — you can reshape them with a cookie cutter or glass while warm.
- If cookies spread too much: Dough may have been too warm, or too much water used when dissolving baking soda.
- If cookies don’t spread enough: Let dough rest at room temp before baking or gently flatten dough balls.
- Texture variety: Bake straight from the fridge for thick and chewy. Let dough warm up for crisp-edged, thinner cookies.
Storage & Freezing
Freeze dough balls: Up to 3 months. To bake: let thaw while the oven preheats. Bake when the dough is about 60 degrees for a thicker cookie. Let come to room temperature for thinner cookies with crispy edges.
Room temperature: Store airtight up to 4 days.
Freeze baked cookies: Up to 3 months. Thaw at room temp or rewarm at 300°F (150°C).
🍪 More cookie recipes
- Brown Butter Toffee Cookies
- Butter Pecan Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies
- Italian Pignoli Cookies
- Slice and Bake Cranberry Orange Cookies
Recipe
Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
Moist, chewy, and full of fall flavors, these Maple Pecan Oatmeal cookies are bursting with maple-y goodness, crunchy pecans, old fashioned oats, browned butter, and a touch of sweet coconut.
Ingredients
- ¾ cups old-fashioned oats (72g)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour dip and sweep method, 90g
- ¼ cup shredded sweetened coconut (20g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed, (120g)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt 2g, or (⅓ teaspoon table salt)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (1.5g)
- 5 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter (78g)
- 2 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup (50g)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda (1.5g)
- 1 teaspoon boiling water (5g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup pecans toasted and chopped (57g)
Instructions
- Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown bits form on the bottom and it smells nutty. Immediately pour into a medium heatproof bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes — the butter should be warm but not hot before adding sugar and syrup.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon.
- Dissolve baking soda: In a small cup, stir the baking soda into the boiling water until fully dissolved.
- Combine wet ingredients: To the warm (not hot) browned butter, whisk in the brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the dissolved baking soda mixture.
- Bring it together: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the coconut and toasted pecans.
- Chill: Scoop the dough into 12 portions, each about 2 tablespoons (40 g). Place on a parchment-lined tray, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight, to allow the oats and coconut to hydrate.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart and press down slightly. Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers look slightly underbaked.
- Finish: Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
- There is no egg in this recipe. These cookies have a chewy, granola bar–like texture. The dough may seem crumbly compared to other cookie recipes, but that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. Maple syrup and brown sugar act as the binders.
- Measure correctly: A difference of just a few grams of flour can affect how the dough spreads. Use a kitchen scale if possible. If not, spoon and level the flour instead of scooping straight from the bag.
- Chilling the dough lets the oats and coconut absorb liquid, helping the dough bind together and making the cookies extra chewy. Overnight chilling deepens the flavor and improves the texture.
- It's important not to overbake the cookies otherwise they will be hard and dry. The cookies should be just set and only a little golden on the edges. As ovens vary, judge the doneness of the cookies by how they look.
- You can let the dough balls come to room temperature before baking, or bake chilled. If they're room temperature, they will spread more and the edges will carmelize as in the photo above. If they're chilled, they won't spread as much.
- Use a round cookie cutter or the edge of a glass around the edges of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven to give an even shape
Nutrition
Calories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 125mgPotassium: 78mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 163IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Susan says
Tried this recipe, love the taste but the dough was crumbly. Not sure what I did wrong.
Kelly says
Hi Susan, yes, the dough for this cookie is very crumbly. You haven't done anything wrong. It's texture is similar to a granola bar rather than a cakey cookie.
Lynn says
This was a delicious cookie. Everyone loved them. The dough is a little crumbly. I packed the dough into the scoop and then released it onto the cookie sheet. That worked. They held together enough to even slightly flatten before they went in the oven. Once baked, they hold together just fine. They kept really well in a sealed tupperware. After a week, the last cookie was still wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
Kelly says
So happy you liked it, Lynn! The dough is very crumbly, but bakes to a granola bar - like texture.
John says
What a delicious cookie! The first batch seemed a touch greasy to me, so I made them again using slightly less butter (8 T. browned), plus I bumped the maple with 1 teaspoon of maple extract. My granddaughters couldn;t get enough of these, and neither could I. Thank you!
Kelly says
So happy you and your grandaughters liked them, John!
RG says
Hi - Looking to create a high protein (15-20 grams) version of this recipe. Thoughts and pulling this off?
Kelly says
Hi RG, Would adding nut butter and/or seeds or nuts work?
John says
I commented this morning that the way the dough did (or really, sort of didn't) come together panicked me a bit. And I mentioned that my cookies didn't look at all like the beauties pictured above. But that was all before my granddaughters and their mother and their teacher and I all fought for the last cookie on the plate. These are some of the best cookies I've ever eaten! And the texture (is that called 'crumb'?) is out of this world. (The maple glaze I drizzled on the cookies didn't hurt either, I have to say.) Such a brilliant cookie! I thank you, my grandlings thank you, their mother and teacher thank you. And I'll never tell them about the 5 cookies I hid safely at home....
Kelly says
So happy you liked it, John! The maple glaze sounds great!
John says
At first blush, these cookies have absolutely everything going for them. So I was excited to make them. I followed the recipe to the letter, weighing my ingredients, etc. But, like some others, apparently, I found the dough almost impossibly loose and dry, really not holding together well enough to scoop. I'd say the texture was more like a crumble topping than a cookie dough. And the baked cookies looked nowhere near like those in your picture. I'm going to try to save them by adding a maple glaze, but I certainly would appreciate any tips you might give me about what might have gone wrong.
Thanks for the help!
Kelly says
Hi John, the dough is very crumbly and not like a usual cookie dough. I think of it as more like a granola bar than a cookie dough.
Kim says
Looking for the oven temperature? What should it be set at for these delicious cookies?
Kelly says
Hi Kim, they should bake at 350F.
Carrie says
The taste of these are really good! My only issue is the dough itself is pretty dry and crumbles after I dispense the dough with a scoop tool. Then I'm trying to rake it back up and form into a ball again. Then when changing the pan half way through or so to a different rack, which actually I don't know why that's necessary with a convection oven, but did anyway, I noticed they weren't really flattening and staying more round. So I pressed each one down a little with my hands. Before finishing. I double checked recipe and my measuring cup to be sure I used correct amount of butter and correct amounts of parts and floor. They do tend to crumble some after baked and i didn't even make as long as you did. But with a dry batter I guess to be expected.
Kelly says
Hi Carrie, yes this cookie dough has a different texture. It's more like a granola bar consistency.
A says
Will this dough keep well overnight if I want to bake it the next day?
Kelly says
Yes, it should keep overnight.
Donna says
Could this possibly be made with gluten free flour? My grandkids have allergies
Kelly says
That should be ok, Donna!
Ondrea says
While I love coconut, my fiance doesn't. Can it be left out without compromising the texture of the cookie?
Kelly says
Hi Ondrea, I haven't made it without the coconut, but it should be ok.
Lynn Anderson says
I was getting ready to make your Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookie recipe. I don’t see eggs listed.
Is that a typo?
Kelly says
Hi Lynn, there are no eggs in this recipe. It has a chewy texture rather than a cakey one. For that reason it's really important not to overbake them.
Lynn Anderson says
Thank you Kelly for the response! I am excited to try your recipe.