Vermont Maple Cinnamon Swirls
Submitted by harborgal
Vermont maple cinnamon swirl cookies: a flaky butter-and-maple pastry rolled around brown sugar cinnamon filling, then sliced and baked. Crisp edges, tender centers, and a real maple glaze on top.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
3 hrsCOOK
20 minREADY
2 hrsThink of these as pinwheel cookies that hang out with maple-syrup Vermonters. The dough is closer to pie pastry than cookie dough; it’s mostly butter and flour with a splash of chilled maple syrup standing in for water, which gives the baked cookies a flaky, almost shortbread-like snap instead of a chewy cookie texture.
The filling is simple: white sugar, brown sugar, and lots of cinnamon. You sprinkle it over the rolled-out dough, roll it into a tight cylinder (like a cinnamon bun), and chill the log before slicing. Cold dough cuts cleanly. Warm dough smears and loses the pretty spiral.
A brush of maple syrup before baking does the finishing work. It caramelizes in the oven into a sticky glaze that deepens the maple flavor already baked into the pastry itself.
The hardest part is patience: two dough chills totaling three hours. Plan ahead and make them on a weekend morning.
Chef Tips
- Use real Vermont grade B (or Grade A dark) maple syrup; pancake syrup is just corn syrup with coloring and it won’t deliver the flavor.
- Roll the log tight; loose rolls bake out with a hole in the center and the filling leaks.
- Cut with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, wiping between slices to keep the spirals clean.
- Space slices an inch apart on the sheet. The butter in the dough causes slight spreading.
Variations
- Stir a handful of chopped toasted walnuts or pecans into the cinnamon filling.
- Add ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg to the filling for a warmer spice profile.
- Drizzle cooled cookies with a maple glaze (powdered sugar whisked with maple syrup) for extra sweetness.
Ingredients
Directions
Pastry: Mix flour and sugar in medium bowl using electric mixer on medium speed. Add butter and mix until dough form resembles large crumbs. Add chilled maple syrup and 2 tablespoons ice water.
Mix on low speed until dough can form a ball. Do not overmix. Form dough into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours.
Filling: Preheat oven to 325. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. On floured surface, roll dough disk into rectangle about 10 inch wide and 15 inch long, about ⅛ inch thick.
Sprinkle dough with half cinnamon-sugar filling. Starting with smaller side, roll dough into cylinder.
Dampen seam with water and press to seal and repeat with other dough disk. Wrap each in plastic and chill 1 hour.
With sharp knife, cut into ¼ inch slices and place on ungreased baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
Brush tops with maple syrup. Bake about 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
Transfer to cool surface.
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