¼+cupreal maple syrup (get the good kind!), to taste
½tspground cinnamon
1/8tspsalt
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add all of the cookie ingredients to one bowl and mix with a spoon or spatula until the dough comes together. It will be thick. Take caution not to overmix, just work the ingredients together gently until everything is combined.
Using a small ice cream scooper, large cookie scooper, or two kitchen spoons, portion out the dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving two inches of space in between each mound of dough. The dough will be sticky, and its okay if the mounds aren't perfectly smooth. They will even out somewhat in the oven.
Bake the cookies in your preheated oven for 10 minutes, and then check for doneness. The bottom edges should just be starting to turn golden, and when you apply some pressure inward from the bottom edge of the cookie, it will just hold its shape. My cookies took about 12 minutes, but it will depend upon the size and temperature of your oven.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, and then carefully transfer them to a wire rack once manageable. They may be fragile but will stiffen up as they cool.
While the cookies are cooling, mix your cream cheese and butter together with a stand or handheld mixer. Add in the powdered sugar cup by cup, scraping down the sides if needed.
Once the powdered sugar is fully incorporated, slowly stream in the maple syrup and add the salt. Start with a little less than ¼ cup of syrup, tasting, before adding more to taste. This frosting is sweet, but it compliments the simple, soft cookies just perfectly.
Use an offset spatula or a piping bag to top each cooled cookie with frosting. Since cream cheese frosting is less stable than buttercream, your cookies need to be room temperature in order to not melt the frosting off. Once frosted, store the cookies in the refrigerator for up to five days.