This Is Our Favourite Brand of Maple Cream Cookie, Hands-Down
Photo illustration by Aimee Nishitoba.
As far as store-bought snacks go, maple cream cookies are a very Canadian confection. First sold commercially by H.C. Doerr Company (now known as Dare) out of an Ontario grocery store in the late 1800s, multiple versions of these sandwich biscuits can be found at just about any grocery store in the country. They can also be divisive: not because of the maple flavour itself, but the strong aroma that wafts out of every box, regardless of brand. It’s sweet, potent, and very maple-y: when I began opening up boxes for this taste test, a couple of passersby in the office stopped to ask, “What’s that smell?”
What everyone agrees on, though, is what makes a maple cream cookie delicious to eat: the biscuit needs to be fresh, the cream filling smooth and not too sweet, and the maple flavour has to come through—without being too sugary or cloying. Based on the brands we tried, this balance is difficult to nail! Read on for our results.
Dare Maple Cookies, $4 for 300 g
We are very sorry to the OG purveyors of the maple cream cookie: editors across the board did not love this option, particularly because of the biscuit. “Too dry,” noted more than one.
LeClerc Celebration Maple Cookies, $5 for 350 g
Given that LeClerc is a classic Quebecois biscuit brand, we figured their version of maple cream would fare well in this taste test. Unfortunately, not a single taster voted for these cookies. One editor likened the taste of the biscuit to arrowroot.
Compliments Maple Cookies, $5 for 350 g
“The filling is creamy, but the cookie tastes a bit stale.” Multiple editors noted this gap between cookie and cream. A secondary concern: “Why is the leaf pattern so veiny???” wrote one tester.
Selection Maple Cookies, $2 for 325 g
Most editors really liked the maple flavour in the cream filling of this Metro-brand cookie, noting that it wasn’t too sweet and had an almost fudge-like texture. But again, the quality of the cookie—"dry and a bit stale"—was an issue.
Maple Creme Oreos, $3 for 261 g
Let’s be real: there was no way to guarantee a true blind tasting for a cookie with such a recognizable shape, never mind the only one in the lineup not shaped like a leaf. But given that this version of the classic black-and-white biscuit is a Canada-exclusive release—and made locally, too—we figured it was worth a try. Editors loved the consistency of the creme filling, which was fluffy and very smooth, but no one could detect much maple in the biscuits. The consensus? “Tastes like a vanilla Oreo.”
Great Value Maple Cookies, $3 for 300 g
The biscuit fared well for this Walmart brand version, but for many, the icing was way too sweet. “Why does it taste like bubblegum?” asked one tester.
Farm Boy Maple Cookies, $6 for 400 g
With a thicker, buttery biscuit and creamy frosting texture, Farm Boy’s maple creme biscuits pleased just about every tester. (And, if I’m allowed to editorialize, it happens to be my favourite.) The only note from multiple people? “Needs more maple.”
Mr. Maple Cookies, $4 for 325 g
With a fresh, crispy biscuit and an almost-smoky flavour to the maple cream, this cookie brand won over every single tester. But who is Mr. Maple? It took us a minute to realize this cheerfully branded biscuit is in fact a Loblaws product manufactured in Canada, and available at any Loblaws-owned store.
How we select our products. We’re committed to finding the best and most accessible pantry ingredients, and that means being able to test and judge them fairly: in the same place, at the same time, under the same conditions. This means not every single brand available on the national market is going to make it to our Toronto-based kitchen. Some items are only regionally available in a specific province, while others are priced well out of the average grocery budget. Here’s what we guarantee: At least half of our picks will always be available nationally, we will always include selections from major grocery store chains. And if there’s a pick you really think we missed, we’d love to hear about it: letters@chatelaine.com.
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Chantal Braganza is a writer and editor living in Toronto. She is deputy editor, food at Chatelaine, a cookbook nerd, lover of vintage dish ware, and currently training for yoga teacher certification. Her first book, Story of Your Mother, is out with Strange Light Press.
