Tag Archives: maple

Baking with B: Maple Syrup Muffins

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Let’s be honest with each other here; I’m not that into maple flavor. (Yes, I realize that makes me a bad Canadian.) Give me chocolate, chocolate, chocolate any day. There are times, though, when I have to make an exception and these muffins were meant to break my maple rule. My mom used to make these when I was younger and I’m happy to keep the recipe in my repertoire- they’re not sweet or fake-tasting but full of real, honest-to-goodness mapley flavor that’ll make you want to dig out your best plaid shirt. Aunt Jemima is not invited.

Maple Syrup Muffins

Muffins:

½ c. soft margarine or butter, room temperature

½ c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour

¾ c. rolled oats

½ c. milk

½ c. maple syrup

Icing:

1 tbsp butter, room temperature

½ c. sifted icing sugar

3 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 muffin cups or coat with cooking spray. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat margarine with sugar and salt until evenly combined. Measure flour, baking powder, and oats into a small mixing bowl. Stir with a fork until well mixed, then stir into margarine mixture. In a measuring cup or small bowl, stir milk with maple syrup. Pour into batter, stirring just until combined.

Immediately spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake in centre at 350F oven until golden and a cake tester inserted into centre of a muffin comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes.

To make icing, stir butter with icing sugar and first tablespoon of maple syrup until smooth. If icing is too thick, stir in additional maple syrup, little by little if needed, until the icing is spreadable but not runny.

B’s Tip: Don’t freak out and think that you’ve made too much icing- you’ll figure out why once you start icing the muffins. The heat lets the icing pool and eventually level and harden- which is why it’s best to eat them super quick!

Remove muffins from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Spread tops with icing and then remove from pan. Place muffins on a cooling rack. Serve warm. Store muffins in a sealed bag or at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate or preferably freeze.

Happy baking!

B

KBwB-BFlower-50Baking with B appears every other Monday on the Keeping Busy with B Blog. Find out why I like baking so much here. For more of my baking, click here. And for even more recipe inspiration, check out my Pinterest full of food eye candy that will have you licking your computer. Promise.

Baking with B: 7 Days of Christmas Cookies: Maple Butter Cookies

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If you’re too worn out from all of the holiday excitement, may I suggest making these super simple cookies to add to your Christmas cookie platter? I came up with this recipe after wanting to be creative with my basic butter cookie recipe that I make every year. I already had the maple flavoring in my baking box and it adds a subtle element to the buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture of the cookie. Tinker around with the flavor to see what suits you the best.

Maple Butter Cookies (makes approximately 36 cookies)

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
about 1 tbsp maple extract or 2 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)

In a mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar. Add flour a little bit at a time as the dough gets quite thick and difficult to manipulate. You may want to use a food processor. Add maple extract to taste. Knead until a large ball starts forming, then flatten the ball into a disc. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to make your cookies, preheat the oven to 350F. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll into small balls. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Before placing them in the cover, press down on the top of each ball of dough lightly with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes.

B’s Tip: To make sure all of your cookies are in uniform shape, use a small dessert spoon (or I like to use a coffee spoon) to scoop the same amount of dough. Roll into a ball using the palm of your hands.

Let cookies cool on a cooling rack for about ten minutes before serving to let the shape of the cookie set. You may wish to drizzle an icing glaze over the top for a sweeter cookie, and if you really love that maple flavor you may wish to add a drop of maple extract to your icing as well. I pressed chopped walnuts into the top and that tasted great too!

If you can’t find maple extract in the aisle where vanilla extract is sold, you may want to try experimenting with maple syrup. Just remember to add a little bit at a time so the dough doesn’t become too sticky.

This cookie pairs perfectly with a cup of Christmas tea.

Happy baking!

B

KBwB-Flower-50

I’m counting down Christmas by sharing some of my favourite holiday cookie recipes with you! I’ll be posting a different Christmas cookie recipe every day for the next seven days so you can follow along in my family’s baking tradition, and have more cookies to add to your Christmas baking arsenal! For more inspiration, you can check out more of my baking here. For even more recipe inspiration check out my Pinterest full of food eye candy that will have you licking your computer. Promise.