Prepare the Dough

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
4. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
5. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be thick. Do not over mix. Once it’s combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball. Set aside.

Add the Filling & Bake

1. To make the cinnamon mixture, add the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour to a medium sized bowl and stir together until well combined. Set aside.
2. Create cookie dough balls of about 6 tablespoons (105g) of cookie dough per ball. You should get 8 balls.
3. Place the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets. I baked 4 cookies at a time. Press the balls down a bit with the underside of a cup or something similar. They will spread a good bit, so you don’t need to press them down too much, but you do need a place to put the cinnamon mixture on top. After pressing my cookie dough balls down, they were about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. They should crack a little around the edges.
4. Divide the cinnamon mixture evenly between the 8 cookies, about 2 tablespoons per cookie. Place the cinnamon mixture on top of the cookie and spread it a bit so that it comes close to where the cracks around the edges begin, but not all the way. You don’t want the cinnamon mixture to overflow off the sides of the cookie when baking.
5. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies look done and are just about to brown on the edges.
6. Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.

Make the Buttercream & Assemble

1. Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
3. Add the vanilla extract, maple extract and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and mix until smooth and well combined.
4. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
5. Add more maple syrup until desired the consistency and taste is reached.
6. Pipe the buttercream on top of the cooled cookies in a swirl design, then serve. Ateco tip 806 is suggested.

Recipe from Life, Love, and Sugar