Easy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies

You know what they say, invention is borne of necessity. In this case the necessity was my lack of vanilla extract and my need for soft, yummy cookies.

As we had just returned from a trip and had yet to make a grocery run, we were low on a few baking basics; no vanilla extract, no white sugar, one measly egg.

Baking is a science, but it's not always an exact one. There is wiggle room for substitutions and experimentation. Sometimes it's a disaster, or sometimes it works like a charm, as in this case. Instead of following one of my tried and true cookie recipes, I whipped this one together in about 20 minutes total time, and boy, am I glad I did.
This on-the-fly recipe yielded some of the softest, tastiest cookies I've had in a long, long time. Simple ingredients, simple preparation, and simply 11 minutes in the oven for these delightful and delicious cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 8 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• optional tablespoon confectioners sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper an set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and salt.
3. Add the maple syrup and the egg and stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined,
4. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda and stir. When fully combined, begin kneading the dough with your hands to form a uniform texture for about 2 minutes.
5. Roll in to 1 inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. Press down with a fork in a crosshatch pattern until the cookie balls are somewhat flattened.
   
6. Bake for 11 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with optional confectioner's sugar and move to a cooling rack for duration f cooling.