Sometimes a failed recipe creates an even more delicious discovery! In working on a snickerdoodle recipe, 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 these Soft and Chewy French Toast Cookies. This cookie is so delicious - even better than a snickerdoodle - and it can be prepped in just a matter of minutes!
This easy one-bowl cookie recipe is great for your Christmas cookie boxes or cookie platters, and makes a great gift or even an afternoon snack...or breakfast - we're not here to judge! Looking for more cinnamon treats? Check out these recipes for Cinnamon Toast Crunch Puppy Chow and these Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes.
Why this Recipe Works
This soft and chewy cookie is like a snickerdoodle and molasses cookie combined, but better! French Toast Cookies are so good that even the Girl Scouts have come out with a french toast-inspired cookie called Toast Yays. This homemade version is not only better, but it's available year round too!
Ingredients and Notes
Maple Syrup - This cookie has a distinct maple flavor which comes from maple syrup. This is the ingredient that takes it from a standard snickerdoodle to a french toast cookie.
Melted Butter - Melted butter makes the cookie softer and chewier than using cold or softened butter.
Substitutions
Egg - The egg can be replaced with two egg whites or two egg whites worth of an egg white substitute.
Baking Soda - Baking soda is different from baking powder. In most recipes, these ingredients are not interchangeable. In this French Toast Cookie recipe, baking soda will create a soft, chewy, flatter crinkle cookie, similar to the texture of a chewy sugar cookie or a molasses cookie.
If you replace it with baking powder, the cookies will be puffier and more similar to a puffed up snickerdoodle. If you do make this replacement, the cookie will be thicker and the texture will be different, but it will still taste great!
Salt - This easy one-bowl recipe calls for Kosher salt, specifically Diamond Crystal brand. I specify this because different salts have different levels of saltiness and Diamond Crystal is the least salty of the salts.
If you bake with table salt or iodized salt, you will need to significantly reduce the salt measurement. I would suggest starting with about half a teaspoon.
If you are using another brand of Kosher salt, I would suggest reducing to about 1 teaspoon.
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Combine butter and brown sugar.
Step 2: Add eggs and maple syrup and stir together.
Step 3: Add in flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined.
Step 4: In a separate small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Form dough into balls, about 1", and roll dough balls into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Step 5: Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375° F.
Step 6: Let the cookies cool for about 3-5 minutes on the pan, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
There are many things that could cause this, but the most common cause is using too much flour. Be sure to measure your ingredients carefully! These French Toast Cookies will puff up in the oven and will flatten as they cool. If your cookies are not flattening and don't want to throw your dough away, you could try pressing the dough balls down with your palm before baking.
There are many aspects of cookie making that give you a chewy cookie. Using melted butter instead of cold or room temperature butter makes a cookie chewier. Using brown sugar instead of white sugar also leads to a chewier cookie. Egg yolk can also make a cookie chewier, as can the addition of corn syrup, though it's not used in this soft and chewy cookie recipe.
Eggs are key for structure and texture, as well as moisture. The eggs also help bind the ingredients together. While there are many egg substitutes, they will not give you the same result as using real eggs.
Tips & Tricks
Tip #1: Elevate these already awesome cookies even more by browning your butter.
Tip #2: When you roll your dough into balls, you don't need the surface to be smooth - a creased dough ball will give you a crackly cookie!
Tip #3: These cookies will look very puffed up straight out of the oven. They will flatten as they cool.
Storage Tips
These soft and chewy French Toast Cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple weeks.
Related Recipes
Did you try this recipe? Leave a review below, and tag @flourdeliz on Instagram!
📖 Recipe
French Toast Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula (a wooden spoon works too!)
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.
- Combine butter and brown sugar.
- Add eggs and maple syrup, and stir.
- Add in flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, 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.
- Bake for about 8 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
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on December 1, 2020, but was republished with new photos, additional information about the recipe, step-by-step instructions, FAQs, and tips and tricks in December of 2022.
Nina says
Very tasty. Pay attention to the advice regarding salt. I used Kosher salt, 1.5 teaspoons. It was a tiny bit saltier than I prefer but a nice way to offset the delicious sweetness of the maple syrup. I will definitely make these again.
Liz Pollio says
Thank you, Nina! I'm so glad you liked them! Salt is definitely tricky because there are so many varieties and they all create such different levels of saltiness, plus it's hard to taste as you go when working with raw ingredients. It sounds like you found a good balance for the next time!