Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, add the flour and baking soda. Whisk to combine, then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and brown sugar then beat with a stand or hand mixer until smooth and creamy, approximately 1-2 minutes.

Add the egg and beat on medium/high until thoroughly mixed through, scraping the sides of the bowl down as needed.

Add the maple syrup and maple extract and mix to combine.

Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix on low/medium until combined. (If you start on high, you’ll end up with flour everywhere!)

Add the pecans and mix on low speed until properly dispersed throughout the dough.

Using a cookie scoop or a Tablespoon, scoop out 1 ½ Tablespoons of dough into neatly rounded balls and place them on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. To be on the safe side I only placed 3 cookies per row widthwise.

Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up (or you can cover them first if you plan on making them later in the day or the next day. Make sure to NOT skip this step as the cookies will spread out into a greasy mess instead of holding their shape. Tasty, but a greasy mess!

After the chilling period, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden and set, but the inside will be very soft.

Remove the baked cookies and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to fully cool. The cookies will firm up as they cool.

To get the crackled effect throughout the cookies, I slammed the baking sheet on the counter a few times after removing them from the oven. It allowed them to crack open just a bit to show the soft, gooey inside. (This is not necessary, but a fun perk!)

For the maple glaze, add the salt and maple syrup to a small saucepan and heat until the butter is melted.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.

Drizzle the maple glaze over the cooled cookies and allow time for the glaze to set. After they set, they are transportable and will hold the glaze nicely.