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These gluten-free Maple Pecan Spiced Cookies make for the ultimate fall cookie! With big flavor and a soft, chewy center, these are a delicious paleo autumn treat.
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I’m back in the kitchen developing recipes! I always get inspiration in the fall, since the season features my favorite flavors. And these Maple Pecan Spiced Cookies were a fun fall treat! I included spices like cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves in this recipe to complement the maple and toasted pecans and add to the autumn flavor profile.
This recipe is made with cassava flour. If you haven’t baked with cassava flour before, it’s a great gluten-free flour that can be substituted 1-1 for wheat flour in almost any recipe. Buuut, cookies can be a little tricky sometimes.
Things to remember when baking with cassava flour is that some brands of cassava flour may react differently in recipes. Sometimes it’s better to use weight to follow a recipe. For reference, in this recipe I used Just About Foods cassava flour and when I weighed it, it came out to roughly 200 grams.
Also, although I know it may be difficult when you pull these gluten-free maple pecan cookies out of the oven, you must make sure the are completely cool before transferring them. Trust me, if you are too eager to bite into them straight off the hot baking sheet, they will probably crumble and fall apart. You can transfer them to a cooling rack if you’d like, but only after they have settled a bit on the baking sheet, and you must do so very carefully. Trust me, it will be worth the wait!
But once these paleo maple pecan cookies have cooled completely, feel free to dig in! They will have a slightly crispy edge with a soft and chewy center. I love maple flavored desserts, especially in the fall. You might wonder why I used both maple sugar and maple syrup. I found through a few times making this recipe that using both granulated and liquid sweeteners was what worked best with the cassava flour to give it the right texture. Once I found the right balance, I baked these a couple of times and they were perfect! It was hard for me to not eat the whole batch. I brought these to book club and they were a hit! I hope you enjoy!
- 1 1/2 cups cassava flour about 200 grams
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup grass-fed butter + 1 Tbsp for toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup maple sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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For toasted pecans: Heat 1 Tablespoon of grass-fed butter over a skillet with medium heat and add the pecans. Toast the pecans for 3-5 minutes, until they are fragrant and one shade darker. Remove from heat and set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, allspice and cloves. Mix until well combined.
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In a separate bowl, add the 3/4 cup melted butter, maple sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and salt and stir to combine. Then add in the egg and egg yolk and mix until combined.
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Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir until everything is well combined. Add in the toasted pecans, and stir just until combined. Chill dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
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Scoop the dough by tablespoons and roll into balls. Place on the parchment paper at least 2 inches apart from each other.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and cookies are puffy.
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Remove from oven. Let the cookies cool completely before transferring (important!). Once cookies have cooled, serve and enjoy!
