Sometimes failed recipe test creates an even more delicious discovery! The true story behind this recipe is that I was trying to make a snickerdoodle and I just couldn’t get it quite right. And then my husband tasted one and said it tasted like french toast. That sparked the idea to adjust the recipe, add some maple syrup, and create French Toast Cookies. This cookie is so delicious - even better than a snickerdoodle - and it can be prepped in just a matter of minutes!
Why this recipe works
This is similar to a snickerdoodle, which we already know works, but it's better! Even the Girl Scouts have come out with a french toast-inspired cookie (Toast Yays) so if the Girl Scouts make it, you know it's going to be good! But this French Toast Cookie recipe is even better than the french toast Girl Scout cookies!
Ingredients and notes
Maple Syrup - This is one of the key elements that makes it a french toast cookie. You can't have french toast without maple syrup!
Cornstarch - This makes the cookie dough so soft and velvety. You definitely don't want to skip this!
Cinnamon - This is another important flavor element. It's part of what makes french toast french toast and it's part of what makes a french toast cookie a french toast cookie!
How to make this recipe
Cookies
Step 1
Combine butter and sugars, then add eggs and maple syrup, and stir.
Step 2
Add in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined.
Step 3
Refrigerate the dough for 30 min - 1 hour.
Step 4
While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 325 F and prepare the coating.
Coating
Step 5
Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon.
Step 6
Once the dough is chilled, form balls of dough, about 1 - 1 ½tablespoons.
Step 7
Roll the dough balls into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and place them on the baking sheet a couple of inches apart.
Step 8
Using your palm, slightly flatten each dough ball into a thick disc.
Step 9
Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden brown.
Step 10
Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe is not designed for the cookie to spread much, however, if you don’t refrigerate it before baking, the dough may spread more and you may not need to flatten it with your palm. If you refrigerate the dough, you definitely will want to flatten it a bit before baking.
There are a lot of ways to make chewy cookies. In this case, the combination of using brown sugar and melted butter is key to ensuring a chewy cookie.
Eggs help hold all the ingredients together and help the cookies hold their shape. They also add moisture to the batter which helps make the cookies chewy. If you want to skip eggs, check out my Substitutions Guide for ingredients to use in place of eggs. Please note, I have not specifically tested these substitutes for this recipe, but these are substitutes that generally work for various ingredients. Try at your own risk – the recipe has only been tested as it is written!
Tips & Tricks
- If you don't have time to chill the dough in the fridge for 30 min to an hour, you can shorten the chill time by chilling in the freezer instead. If you don't chill the cookies they will likely spread too much and be very flat. We chill them because we don't want them to spread much.
- Flattening the dough ball slightly will help the cookie bake evenly and give it a nice, round shape!
- For perfectly round cookies, use a round cookie cutter or the top of a glass, slightly larger than your cookies, and circle it around the outside edges of the cookies while they are still warm. If you do this before they cool, you'll have perfectly round cookies!
Related Recipes
Fudgy Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Perfectly Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Puppy Chow
Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Did you try this recipe? Review and comment below, and share a photo on Instagram and tag @flourdeliz!
Pin this recipe for later:
French Toast Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula (a wooden spoon works too!)
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks butter melted
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugars.
- Add eggs and maple syrup, and stir.
- Add in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 min - 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325° F.
- Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon.
- Form balls of dough, about 1 - 1 ½ tablespoons.
- Roll the dough balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture, and place on the baking sheet a couple inches apart.
- Using your palm, slightly flatten each dough ball into a thick disc.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
This post was updated in August 2021 with additional information about the recipe.
M says
Is the refrigerator step necessary? Can it be skipped in a time crunch?
Liz says
The refrigerator step will keep the cookies from spreading as much when they bake. I haven't tried it, but you could most likely shorten the chill time if you have space to throw it in the freezer for a bit. Maybe 10-15 min? You could certainly try to skip the chill step altogether, but I'm worried they'll spread too much and you'll end up with super flat cookies! You could also start baking the first tray, and chill the rest of the dough while the first tray is in the oven. I'd love to hear how it goes for you!
Samantha says
So I followed everything to a T (even chilling them at least 90 minutes) and they spread like crazy and needed an extra 7ish minutes to not be dough. BUT my husband called them a "happy accident" and said I should not make them any other way lol Not sure what happened to them, any ideas?
Liz says
Oh no!! I'm so sorry that they spread so much! Although I love the happy accident since that's how these cookies came to be! My initial thoughts for spreading is to double-check that you used baking powder and not baking soda. Baking soda will cause cookies to spread. Also (and I will update the post to reflect this) you do not want to grease the baking sheet and you want to allow the baking sheet to cool before putting more dough on it (I usually alternate two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper). The one other possibility that comes to mind is if you used particularly large eggs which may cause the dough to be a bit wetter. I usually bake with large eggs, but extra-large or jumbo may need just a bit more flour to balance out the liquid. I will do some more testing to see if I can determine other possible causes and will update the post!
Liz says
I also followed the recipe to a T, and chilled for 2 hours. My cookies spread like crazy. I alternated pans so the cool pans weren’t the issue. I’m so sad/ the taste is PERFECT but the texture is just… meh.
Liz says
Oh no! I'm going to go back and re-test this recipe to figure out what's going on. I'm so sorry this didn't work, but I will figure this out ASAP and get back to you!