Short Stack Cookies

I got this recipe is from Joanne Fluke’s Lake Eden Cookbook (thank’s to a colleague of mine) , these cookies all seemed to be turning out perfectly- which is extremely rare at this altitude so we dug a little deeper and found out that the elevation of the location where the book was made is also well above sea level- yay!  This means that I’ve finally found foolproof recipes for cookies that I don’t need to keep adjusting to prevent them from being hard as rock, or dry.  

This particular batch is called Short Stack because these cookies are meant to represent what a pancake would taste like if it was a cookie.   

Ingredients:
1 and ½ cups melted butter (3 sticks, 12 ounces) 
2 cups white (granulated) sugar 
2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them with a fork) 
½ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
4 cups all-purpose flour (pack the flour down in the cup when you measure it) 
½ cup white (granulated) sugar for coating the dough balls 

Method:

1. Melt the butter and then mix in the sugar. Set the bowl aside on the counter to cool to room temperature. 
2. Once the mixture is cool, add the beaten eggs. Mix everything thoroughly. 
3. Mix in the maple syrup, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition. 
4. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking. (Overnight is fine, too.) 
5. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
6. Place ½ cup white sugar in a shallow bowl. You’ll use this to coat your dough balls. 
7. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls with your impeccably clean hands. Roll the dough balls in the bowl of sugar to coat them and then place them on greased cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. (You can also use Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.) Flatten the dough balls with the back of a metal spatula. 
8. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are nicely browned. 
9. Take the cookies out of the oven. Cool them on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes, and then remove them to a rack to finish cooling. (If you leave them on the cookie sheets for too long, they’ll stick.)