This is one delicious cake. It's a family favorite that we make for parties and anytime we want something chocolatey but not too chocolatey. Best of all, it's EASY to make. It starts with a boxed cake mix and comes together quickly with SideSwipe on your KitchenAid mixer. It will be eaten just as quickly! Make this soon. Your friends and loved ones will thank you.

The recipe, adapted from one by the Cake Doctor, doesn't call for any icing. And we prefer it that way. But if you want to make it look more festive, drip a chocolate ganache over it as we did for the photos.

These tender and chewy cookies are the perfect way to ease you into fall. They're loaded with maple flavor and studded with the crunch of toasted chopped pecans. Plus we top them with icing made with real maple syrup. If you're a maple fan - and even if you're not - you must try a batch of these! Perfect for tailgates, after school, bake sales, party treats and rainy Thursdays. Or by the campfire. Or breakfast - they're basically pancakes, right? So delicious.

On thing that may concern you in the recipe is the addition of artificial maple flavor as well as real maple syrup. Never fear. This addition amps up the maple flavor without it tasting like that artificial stuff we all grew up with. It just enhances the natural goodness of maple. You can find the flavoring in the baking section. My usual supermarket begins to carry it this time of year. You can also order it online.

Because the recipe, very slightly adapted from one from Sally's Baking Addiction, includes the extra liquid of the syrup, you MUST chill the dough in order for the moisture to incorporate into the dough.

Expect about a 4 hour turnaround time to make and glaze these cookies. Around 15 minutes to prep and mix, 2 hours to chill, another 15 to scoop plus baking time.  We got about 30 cookies from our batch using a 1.5T scoop.
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Make ahead directions: We made the dough one day, popped it in the fridge, then baked up batches over two days. You'll want to allow the dough to sit out for about 30 minutes so you can scoop and bake easily.

Cookie Dough

• 2 and 1/3 cups (290g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 1 cup (130g) chopped pecans

Maple Icing

• 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
• 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
• pinch salt, to taste

Loaded with peanut chunks and chocolate chips, these cookies take peanut butter cookies to a new level. Not dry and crumbly like some pb cookies can be, our recipe delivers soft, dense, and oh-so-peanuty flavor in every bite.

We made ours with chunky peanut butter, but have provided an alternate quantity for smooth peanut butter. If at the end of your mixing time your dough is a very crumbly, add a Tablespoon more of peanut butter until the dough forms a ball. You'll need to use shelf-stable pb, not natural, for this recipe. But even those vary in the amount of oil in them. Add a little more if a test dough ball won't hold its shape.

You don't need to refrigerate the dough before baking, especially if you want a little more spreading of the cookie. We chilled ours about an hour because we wanted a thicker, domed cookie that retained its striations from the scooping. Love those little ridges!

This recipe will make about 2 dozen cookies when using a 1-1/2 T scoop. Dough and/or cookies will freeze in a tightly sealed container for a month or so. You can store these cookies at room temperature for several days. Ours never last more than a couple before they all disappear! 

Crumb topping is a great way to add a little something extra to muffins, cupcakes, coffee cake and pies. And it's so easy to make!  ​Ingredients Instructions Notes This recipe makes enough crumbs to top a 9" pie. It can easily be halved or doubled depending on your needs.

Crumb topping freezes really well, so make a big batch so you can have some on hand whenever the baking mood strikes. You can mix it up in the mixer, but be careful not to mix it too long, as it can become tough and greasy. We hand mix ours.
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Crumb topping can burn if baked at over 350 F for more than 20 minutes.
If your recipe is baked over 350 F, remove the recipe from the oven when there are twenty minutes remaining, add the crumb topping, and return to the oven.
Otherwise, you can sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter, just before baking.
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Adding crumbs may cause the bake time of your recipes to change. Be sure to check your dessert for doneness before removing it from the oven. 

Nutrition Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1.1mg ​