Maple Cider Cocktail

What better cocktail could there be for maple syrup aficionados than this one, courtesy of Bon Appétit magazine.

Northwood Cocktail:

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons gold rum
2 tablespoons brandy
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Ice cubes
2 thin apple slices

Combine first 5 ingredients in cocktail shaker; fill with ice. Cover and shake vigorously until cold. Strain into 2 coupe glasses. Cut slit in each apple slice and attach to rim of each glass.

Recipe by David Moo; Photograph by Craig Cutler

Changing Out Sugar for Maple Syrup?

Your Maple Syrup Maven can't figure out who's behind the Ochef.com site, but there's lots of cooking information here.

Let's start with a question many of us have thought about: Are sugar, brown sugar, honey and maple syrup interchangeable in recipes?

Ochef says (not surprisingly), "no".

"First of all, consider the difference in weight. A cup of granulated sugar weighs 8 ounces. A cup of brown sugar weighs only 6 [ounces]. But a cup of maple syrup weighs 11 ounces and a cup of honey weighs 12 [ounces]."

"In addition, honey and maple syrup add moisture to a recipe, which can upset the texture of what you’re making."

Here are some of their substitution suggestions (see the whole answer for more info):

"# To use maple syrup in place of sugar in cooking, use 3/4 cup for every 1 cup of sugar.
# To use maple syrup in place of a cup of sugar in baking, use 3/4 cup, but decrease the total amount of liquid in the recipe by about 3 tablespoons for each cup of syrup you use.
# To use sugar in place of a cup of maple syrup, use 1-1/4 cups of sugar plus 1/4 cup more liquid."

Maple Pecan Sticky Buns

This is the time of year those of us who have home-made maple syrup are looking for new things to try. It's getting close enough to the sugaring season that we're willing to use a jar on a new recipe.

Here's one for Maple Pecan Sticky Buns from Maple Syrup World:

Yields 12 sticky buns

For the sticky part:
10 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp maple syrup

For the buns:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Cream the "sticky part" ingredients together; divide evenly into 12 muffin tin cups.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry, with folds going left to right. In a small bowl, combine butter and maple syrup. With a pastry brush, brush mixture onto puff pastry, leave a small 1/2 inch border all the way around. Evenly sprinkle on brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. From the bottom up, gently roll up the puff pastry. Slice into 12 small rolls.

Place one roll into each muffin cup, on top of the butter mixture. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then invent sticky buns onto the parchment paper.

Allow to cool for an additional 10 minutes.

Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival

Michigan's maple syrup industry ranks fifth in the nation! One of the places in the state to celebrate the sweet stuff is the 70th annual Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival, set for 23-25 April. The syrup producers are located throughout the village selling syrup, candies, crème and the ever-popular maple syrup cotton candy. Besides, there are pancakes with real maple syrup offered by the Maple Valley Band Boosters and the American Legion. Celebrate the first agricultural crop of the season! (Look for Vermontville to the west of Lansing.)

Here are some simple things to do with maple syrup, courtesy of Vermontville:

Hard Maple Sugar
Darker grades of syrup are suitable for making maple sugar. Heat a quantity of maple syrup until the temperature is approximately 40° F above the boiling point of water (to 252° F). Remove from heat and being stirring immediately. When the syrup begins to thicken and sugar crystals form, pour the partially crystallized syrup into molds to harden.

Soft Maple Sugar Candy
Heat pure maple syrup to a temperature of 27ºF above the boiling point of water (to 239ºF). Allow to cool slowly, preferably by settling the pan on a wooden surface for even distribution of heat. When the temperature of the syrup solution reaches 155ºF, stir with a wooden spoon. When crystallization begins (syrup will be soft and plastic) pour into molds to allow to harden.

Granulated (stirred) Sugar
Heat the syrup to a temperature between 40ºF and 45ºF above the boiling point of water (to 252ºF to 257ºF). Immediately pour the hot syrup into a large tray or wooden trough for stirring. Continue stirring until all moisture has completely evaporated and granulation is completed.

Maple Cream
Use light colored grades of syrup for best results. Heat the syrup 22ºF to 24ºF above boiling point of water (234ºF to 236ºF). Remove from heat and cool rapidly to 70ºF or below (50ºF is preferable). Stir the stiffened, cooled syrup with a wooden spoon until creaming is completed. While still in a pourable condition, transfer to storage jars or containers. Store under refrigeration.
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Maple-on-Snow
A favorite product for parties, this taffy-like product is simple to produce. Heat the desired amount of syrup to a temperature of 18ºF to 23ºF above the boiling point of water (to 230ºF to 235ºF).Without stirring, pour immediately over clean, fresh snow or shaved ice. Since the cooling is rapid, the supersaturated solution does not have time to crystallize, and thus forms a glassy taffy-like sheet. Serve with fresh unsweetened doughnuts and dill or sour pickles.

Other Maple Products
Maple syrup is widely used as an ingredient in a variety of other food products. Because of its high sugar content, it can be substituted for sugar in many recipes. When substituting, use 1½ cups of pure maple syrup for each cup of granulated sugar, and add ¼ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of maple syrup used. When maple syrup is substituted for all sugar in a recipe, reduce the amount of liquid used by one half. If maple syrup is substituted for half the sugar, reduce liquid amounts by one-fourth

Tomorrow is National Gingersnap Day

In honor of National Gingersnap Day (1 July), why not bake up some Maple Gingersnaps! This recipe makes about five dozen.

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Grease cookie sheets. In large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, butter, maple syrup and egg; blend well. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, cloves and salt; mix well. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours for easier handling.

Heat oven to 350ºF. In small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon; blend well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350ºF for 7 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

This recipe is adapted from one posted here.

Vermont Maple Festival Cookbook

This year's Vermont Maple Festival is history...but there's always the Vermont Maple Festival Cookbook.

The latest edition is chock full of recipes for Main Dishes, Salads, Desserts, Breads, Sauces, Preserves and Dressings, Vegetables, Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Candies, Desserts and more. The book is illustrated with photos from maple country, and the Vermont Maple Festival.

Go online and order one at $13 plus $40 shipping and handling.

"The Tang of Ginger and the Bite of Pecans..."

There's a hint of fall in the air -- the perfect season to bake a maple syrup cake. Here's a good recipe from The Recipe Corner.

In case you were wondering, Light Muscovado Sugar has a warm honey color and creamy fudge flavor. It's a British term for light brown sugar.

"Treasure from the Sugar Shack"

"...[M]aple syrup was the only sweetener known on this continent until honeybees were introduced into the colonies in the 1630s."

Read more about the history of maple syrup at New York Folklore.

There's a recipe for Maple Johnnycake there, too.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Frosting!

I was going to adapt this recipe for this site, but -- it's so kick-ass I didn't want to change a word.

Go here and get ready to make the most mind-blowing cupcakes ever!

Maple Syrup Fondue

Maple Syrup Fondue

One-half cup of maple syrup
2 cups of 15 percent light cream
2 teaspoons of corn starch
2 egg yolks

Heat the syrup for about five minutes. In a bowl, mix the corn starch with 2 teaspoons of cream. Heat the rest of the cream until boiling. Gradually add to the syrup. Mix with the eggs and the corn starch. Heat until it becomes thick.

Serve with fresh strawberries and other fresh fruits.

This recipe (and the photo, above left) is from Burlington Free Press, published there on 28 April 2007. The recipe is credited to Suzanne Rochette.

Bakers put maple syrup recipes to the test

Entries came from as far away as Chicago for the Wakarusa (Ind.) Maple Syrup Baking Contest held 21 April. Omar Hershberger (left) took first place in the cookie category. (Photo by Justin Cripe/Goshen News Staff Writer)



Recipes can be adapted to use maple syrup by using 1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup for each cup of granulated sugar and adding 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of maple syrup used. When maple syrup is substituted for all the sugar in a recipe, reduce the amount of liquid used by one-half. If maple syrup is substituted for half the sugar, reduce the liquid amounts by one-fourth.

Read all about it here.

Stuffed Buttercup Squash

Stuffed Buttercup Squash
courtesy of University of Minnesota's Ag Extension Service

4 buttercup or acorn squash
1 large apple, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400° F. Wash squash. Cut tops off and scrape out seeds and strings. Bake face down on baking sheet until squash is tender when pricked with fork. Combine remaining ingredients in saucepan and heat gently until well blended and soft. When squash is done remove from oven and fill cavities with filling. Pour a little maple syrup over each top, just to moisten and return to oven to heat through.

Mmmmaple Cake Recipe

Maple Walnut Cake

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (use the darker for this recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar; beat in maple syrup. Add vanilla and eggs, beating until mixture is smooth. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to first mixture alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in walnuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans. Bake at 375° for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Maple Frosting

In a saucepan, cook 1 cup maple syrup until a soft ball forms when a small amount is dropped in cold water. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed, but mixture is not dry. Slowly drizzle the syrup into the beaten egg whites, beating all the while. Blend in 1 teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat until frosting is desired consistency.

This recipe is adapted from Diana's Kitchen.

Classic Maple Glazed Ham

4-6 pound fully-cooked ham
Whole cloves (about 30 or so)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (preferably Dijon-style)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Insert cloves into ham.

Bake uncovered 1-1 1/2 hours until temperature reaches 140 degrees.

While ham is baking, combine brown sugar, syrup and mustard; spoon over ham during the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Ontario Maple Cake

THE MAPLE CAKE DESSERT

1 lemon cake mix (white cake is fine too)

19 oz (540 mL) can unsweetened crushed pineapple
1/4 cup (50 mL) Maple Syrup
Mix these two ingredients together and set aside.

8 oz (250 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) milk
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Maple Syrup
1 package lemon or vanilla instant pudding
Cool Whip

Mix cake mix and bake as directed on box (use an 9 X 13 inch pan or larger). Immediately when the cake is baked and removed from the oven spread the pineappple and 1/4 cup (50 mL) of Maple Syrup over the cake.

Let cool for at least one hour.

Beat Philadelphia cream cheese in medium size bowl and blend in milk, maple syrup, pudding until real smooth. Spread over cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Top with Cool Whip and drizzle Maple Syrup over each serving. This cake can be made the day before.

Recipe from Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association.

Vermont Maple Festival's Maple Cookbook

There's "something for everyone" in the cookbook of the Vermont Maple Syrup Festival. Here are just two: "Maple Sesame Stir Fry Sauce" and "Homestyle Maple Barbecue Sauce".

The 41st annual festival is scheduled for 27-29 April in St. Albans, Vt.