My signature cookie — a soft maple ginger cookie spiked with espresso and dipped in a maple espresso glaze. It's like a spiced maple latte in cookie form.
First, brown your butter. (See my post on brown butter for details and process photos, if you're not sure how to do that.) Once butter is browned, pour it into a separate dish, scraping out all those delicious browned butter bits. Pop the dish in the fridge to cool for about 40 minutes, stirring once or twice.As the butter cools, it should thicken a little. It'll still be fluid, but more like a sauce than melted butter.
3/4 c butter,
Meanwhile, brew your espresso or coffee, measure out 2T, and chill it (I like to pop mine in the freezer while the brown butter is chilling).
Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, pinch each cardamom and cloves, 1 tsp instant espresso powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.
Once brown butter is cooled, get on with mixing up your cookie dough!In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer), beat brown butter and both sugars for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
1/2 c granulated sugar, 1/2 c brown sugar
Add egg, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla, and cold espresso/strong coffee. Beat at medium speed until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.
3 T pure maple syrup, 2 T cold espresso or strong coffee, 1 T molasses, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg
Slowly add dry ingredients, continuing to mix at low speed just until combined.
Next, mix up your rolling sugar: combine granulated sugar and ground ginger in a small bowl. Using a medium cookie scoop or your hands, scoop/roll cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll in rolling sugar, and place on prepared cookie sheets.
1/2 c granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes or so, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely before adding the glaze.
Next, mix up your glaze: Combine powdered sugar, espresso powder, melted butter, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste (if using), a pinch of salt, and 2T of the milk. Whisk together, adding the rest of the milk as needed. You're looking for a glaze that's on the thicker side, so when you dip your cookies it won't all ooze off.
1 T melted butter, 1 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp espresso powder, 1 T pure maple syrup, 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste, pinch salt, 2-3 T milk
Dip cooled cookies halfway into the glaze, then place back on the cooling rack to dry. I like to let mine sit out for a couple of hours, so the glaze really solidifies, before I store them in an airtight container. At room temperature, cookies will keep for about 5 days.
Notes
Note: The glaze makes enough to dip the cookies. Alternatively, you could drizzle glaze on top of the cookies rather than dipping. If you do this, you'll likely only need a half batch of the glaze.