Akabettyore
I took the advice of others and added vanilla.  In addition, to make these healthier, I swapped out 1/3 of the white flour with whole wheat pastry flour.  Otherwise, I followed the recipe to a T and they were delicious. I actually had a revelation when I was eating them, and I decided that I will mix the dry ingredients in gift jars and give the recipe with the jars and small bottles of fresh maple syrup as holiday gifts this year since every year I make food gifts and I'm always trying to come up with new ideas.