DAY 5: Mini Maple Cut-Out Cookies
A delicious alternative to traditional sugar cookies. This maple flavored dough is great for your favorite rolled, cut-out cookies.
Sprinkle with colored sugar before baking or bake plain and frost after baking.
RECIPE:
DAY 10: Maple Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
These are my new favorite cookie. They are chewy, just like an oatmeal cookie should be, with a maple caramel flavor from the maple extract, brown sugar, and toffee bits, which melt into the cookie as they bake.
RECIPE:
½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp maple extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup toffee bits (½ of an 8 oz pkg of Heath Toffee Bits)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until very light and fluffy. Beat at least 3 full minutes. Beat in eggs, maple and vanilla extracts. Beat in flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat in oats, walnuts, and toffee bits.
Drop by level tablespoonfuls (2-inches apart) onto baking sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool on pans for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.
Makes 3 dozen
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DAY 11: Maple Cream Sandwich Cookies
Today’s cookie is a bow to the Canadian heritage here in our home.
Tiny maple cookies filled with a maple cream cheese frosting. You could always make them bigger, but I love these cute little bite-sized cookies.
My big mistake with these cookies, however, was in thinking that my cookie cutter was symmetrical. Turns out it is not quite the same on both sides! (As you can see if you look closely at the top of the cookies.) This didn’t bother my kids at all. They all disappeared before any made it onto cookie trays.
Lesson for next time: if your cookie cutter is not perfectly symmetrical, before baking, flip half of your cookies over. Then you can put the back-sides of two different cookies together and your edges will line up.
RECIPE:
Maple Cookies:
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp maple extract
Maple Cream Cheese Filling:
4 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs pure maple syrup
½ tsp maple extract
¼ tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar
Cookies:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and maple extract until combined.
Add flour gradually and mix until just blended. Divide dough into two balls and flatten each ball into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap (or place in a Ziploc bag) and refrigerate for one hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼”. Use small maple leaf cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place cookies on prepared sheets.
Note: If your cookie-cutter is not perfectly symmetrical, turn half of your cookies upside down before baking.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (exact time will depend on size and thickness of cookies). Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool.
Filling:
In a mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, maple syrup, maple extract and salt until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar.
Spread the backside of cooled cookie with about ½ Tbs filling. Top with another cookie. (If cookies are not symmetrical, be sure to pair cookies with their inverted match.)
Makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies (using a 2” cookie cutter)
Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2005
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DAY 8: Maple Cookies
A simple maple flavored cookie. No frills; just a quiet, unassuming cookie.
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RECIPE:
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1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tsp maple extract (optional)
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
Granulated or raw sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet or use silicon baking mat.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg, syrup, vanilla, and maple extract (if using). Mix until well blended. Stir together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir into mixture until well blended. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and flatten slightly.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Makes about 60 small cookies
Recipe from AllRecipes
NoEmptyChairs.me
2 cups granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 Tbs honey or corn syrup (dark or light)
1 cup water
1 tsp pure maple extract
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
In a large 5-6 quart pot, combine the sugars, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to low so the mixture gently simmers. Cover the pot and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes before stirring in the maple and vanilla extracts. Pour the hot syrup into a mason jar and immediately seal with lid and ring. As it cools the jar seals. Store unrefrigerated for 1-2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Reheat before serving, if desired.
Makes about 2 ½ cups
Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
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Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Uncategorized
One more apple recipe (actually two, because you can make either applesauce or apple butter with this recipe.
There are two ways to make apple butter (many more than two actually, but two main ways): with a food mill or without a food mill. I highly recommend using a food mill. It saves tons of time on the initial prep work, and is easier on the finishing end as well.
What to do if you don’t own a food mill? Borrow one from a friend (Many thanks, Sherry!). Still don’t have a food mill? You can still make this recipe, just get out your apple peeler and start peeling (and have a food processor or blender handy).
If you are using a food mill you can skip the whole apple peeling and coring process. Just cut your apples into about 8 chunks/slices and place in a roasting pan. The peels and core are full of pectin and will help the apple butter set (but it will still set if you are using peeled apples). The recipe I like is adapted from the cookbook Cooking with Shelburne Farms.
Roast the cut apples with cinnamon sticks and pure maple syrup for a fabulous flavor. Grade B maple syrup is actually recommended in the cookbook because it has a stronger maple flavor, but I only had Grade A, so that is what I used.
When the apples are soft they are ready to go through the food mill (remove cinnamon sticks) or food processor. A food mill will automatically separate the good part of the apples from the skin/seeds/core.
STOP!
You have just made applesauce. Go ahead, taste it! You can stop now, or keep cooking to make apple butter.
Return the applesauce to the roasting pan (with more maple syrup and ground spices) and cook for 60 – 90 minutes, stirring often, until apple butter is thick and caramel colored. It is done when a spatula drawn through the mixture leaves a clean trail.
The apple butter can be processed in jars in a boiling bath canner, frozen in plastic containers, or stored in the refrigerator.
RECIPE:
1 peck apples (about 10 lb)
1 cup apple cider
1 cup maple syrup, divided
4 whole cinnamon sticks
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground allspice
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut apples into wedges and place in a large roasting pan (if you do not have a food mill, peel and core apples as well). Place cinnamon sticks on the apples and drizzle with the apple cider and ½ cup maple syrup (use more for really tart apples).
Roast 45 minutes, or until apples are very soft. Remove cinnamon sticks. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
Use a food mill to puree the apples (it will remove the skins and seeds). If you do not have a food mill, place peeled, cooked apples in a food processor and blend until well mixed. Stir in additional ½ cup maple syrup, ground cinnamon, cloves and allspice, and any liquid left in the roasting pan.
Return apple mixture to roasting pan, spreading mixture evenly (to avoid burned places). Cook for 60 – 90 mins, stirring every 15 – 20 minutes. Apple butter is done when a spatula can be drawn through it and leave a clean path. Taste and add additional spices and syrup, if desired.
Process in a boiling bath canner for 10 minutes (for half-pint jars), if desired.
Makes 6-8 half-pint jars (depending on how thick you like your apple butter)
FOR APPLE SAUCE:
Roast apples as above (with maple syrup and cinnamon sticks) and process through food mill. That’s it. You’re done. You can add additional ground cinnamon, if desired.
To can applesauce in quart jars: process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Makes about 4 quarts applesauce.
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Filed under Canning/Freezing, Condiments/Sauces
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