Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  2             Sticks  unsalted butter -- (1 cup) softened
  1                Cup  sugar
     1/2           Cup  Grade B maple syrup (or Grade A maple
                        syrup flavored with 3 drops
                        maple extract -- or to taste)
  1              Large  egg yolk
  1           Teaspoon  salt
  3               Cups  all-purpose flour

Preparation:

In a standing electric mixer cream together butter and sugar until light andfluffy and beat in maple syrup and egg yolk until mixture is combined well. Sift together salt and flour over mixture and fold in thoroughly. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 2 hours. Dough may be made 4 days ahead and chilled. Preheat oven to 350°F. Divide dough in half. Keeping one half chilled, lightly flour other half and on a lightly floured surface gently pound with a rolling pin to soften. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick and with a 3-inch floured maple-leaf cookie cutter cut out cookies, chilling scraps. Arrange cookies on buttered baking sheets and if desired, with back of a knife, mark cookies decoratively. Make more cookies in same manner with remaining dough and with all the scraps pressed together. Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until edges are golden, about 12 minutes, and transfer to racks to cool. Cookies keep in airtight containers 1 week.

Nutritional Information:

3825 Calories (kcal); 193g Total Fat; (45% calories from fat); 43g Protein; 486g Carbohydrate; 709mg Cholesterol; 2173mg Sodium