Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the egg from the refrigerator so it can reach room temperature (about 70°F)—this prevents the butter from seizing when you add it later. Have your cookie cutters ready near your work station.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. This creaming process incorporates air into the dough, which helps create a lighter texture in your cookies. The mixture should look pale and slightly increased in volume.

Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and room-temperature egg to the butter mixture. Beat for 20-30 seconds until just combined—avoid overmixing. I like to add the egg slowly while beating to ensure it fully emulsifies with the butter, which creates a smoother, more cohesive dough.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour and salt. Pour the dry mixture into the wet ingredients from Step 3 and stir gently until a cohesive dough forms. Don't overmix—just combine until you don't see any dry streaks. The dough should hold together when squeezed but still be slightly crumbly.

Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. This chilling time makes the dough much easier to work with and helps develop flavor. After chilling, dust your counter lightly with flour and roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using your cookie cutters and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet from Step 1.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes if they're small or 10 minutes if they're large, until the edges are lightly golden but the centers are still slightly soft. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool. Remove from the oven and let them rest on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are completely cool, prepare your icing according to package directions or your preferred recipe. Spread or pipe the icing onto each cookie, add sprinkles if desired, and let the icing dry completely before serving. I always let icing set for at least 15-20 minutes so it firms up and the cookies stay fresh longer.