Maple Snickerdoodles

 It's fall, y'all!  And that brings the flavors of fall. Maple is one of my favorites and these cookies deliver on sweet maple flavor.  This soft and chewy cookie recipe comes from www.alattefood.com. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3/4 cup softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

2 tsp. baking soda

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

For the topping:

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add in maple syrup, vanilla, and egg. Beat until well combined.

Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to butter combination.

Chill dough for one hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.

Roll dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll in cinnamon sugar.

Place two inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops have cracked.

Smoky Maple Chicken Wings

 Baked in the oven and tossed with a sweet smoky sauce makes these wings a hit. Smoked paprika is the secret ingredient to deliver the smoky flavor.

Ingredients

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

2 Tablespoon canola oil

2 tsp. salt

3 pounds chicken wings

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine maple syrup,  soy sauce and garlic powder in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Reduce the liquid to about 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Add smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.

In a large bowl, toss chicken wings with oil and salt. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place wire rack on top. Spray rack with cooking spray.

Arrange chicken on pan. Roast until skin is brown and crisp, about 50 minutes.

In large clean bowl, toss chicken with glaze. Return chicken to pan and roast another 10 minutes.

Allow to cool 5 minutes before eating.

Mixed Greens Salad with Maple Curry Vinaigrette

 At a recent dinner at the Tennessee Cookhouse in Leadville, Colorado, we were treated to this delicious salad.  Wanting to enjoy it again, I created my version.   The sweetness of the blueberries, the tart apple and the salty feta combine perfectly with the maple curry salad dressing. A perfect salad for fall. 

Here it is! Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Salad:

Mixed baby greens

Fresh blueberries

Walnut halves

Thinly sliced  granny smith apple, cored and cut horizonally

Feta Cheese

For the Vinaigrette:

3 Tablespoons maple syrup

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

For the vinaigrette, whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, vinegar and mustard. Mix in curry powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Allow to sit at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator to blend the flavors before using.

Place salad greens in large bowl. Toss with dressing to evenly coat the greens. Place at portion on each individual serving plate.  Top with an apple slice. Sprinkle with blueberries, walnuts and a small amount of feta cheese. Serve immediately.

Maple Creme Sandwich Cookies

On a recent trip to Nova Scotia, we enjoyed maple creme sandwich cookies. Since coming home, I am still craving the flavor of these delicious cookies. An on-line search found this recipe from McCormick's. The aroma when these cookies are baking is amazing! 

I found small (about one inch) maple leaf shaped cookie cutters at Michaels. They were perfect for making these cookies, although you could use a 1 - 1.5 inch round cookie cutter as well.

Ingredients

For the Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1 Tablespoon maple favoring extract

2 3/4 cups flour

For the Maple Creme Filling

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 tsp. maple flavoring extract

1 box (16 ounces) powdered sugar

1 - 2 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the cookies, beat butter, brown sugar and salt in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and maple flavoring. Mix well. Gradually beat in flour on low speed until well mixed.

Roll out a portion of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Chill remaining dough in refrigerator until needed. Cut out with cookie cutter.

Bake for 8 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet for one minutes and transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.

Repeat for all remaining dough.

For the maple creme filling, beat butter and maple flavoring until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioner's sugar, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl. Add milk, one tsp at a time, until desired consistency.

Place about 1 teaspoon of creme filling on the flat side of a cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing down gently to spread the filling.

Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.

Maple Walnut Bars

I had a bag of leftover walnuts in the cupboard, so I looked around for a recipe to use them up. I found this one on "livforcake.com" - maple walnut bars.  The result is a brownie-style bar with lots of maple flavor.  You can drizzle more maple syrup on top if you just can't get enough maple!

Ingredients

1/2 cups rolled oats
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch pan and line with parchment paper.
Pulse oats in a food processor until coarse.
In large bowl, whisk together melted butter and sugar until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla and egg. Whisk until well combined. Fold in oats, flour and salt. Fold in 1/2 cup walnuts.
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup walnuts on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are golden and center is set.
Cool completely on wire rack and cut into bars.

Spiced Pumpkin Dip

A great snack or easy fall dessert.
Also, great for kids when you need to avoid peanuts and gluten.

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoon maple syrup or  more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Apples and/or pears for dipping

Instructions

In medium bowl, combine pumpkin and cream cheese. Add syrup and cinnamon and mix until well blended.
Serve with apple or pear slices.

Not a gluten-free option, but this dip is also great spread on graham crackers.

Maple Date Bars

More fall goodness!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup finely chopped dates
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon lemon rind
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup flour
1 cup regular oats
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Instructions

Combine dates, water and maple syrup in saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to boil and cook for 12 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. The mixture should look like jam. Stir in the lemon rind and cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat sugar and butter until smooth. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Stir flour mixture into butter-sugar mixture. The mixture may be crumbly.

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Press two cups of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread date mixture over the  pressed crust. Sprinkle with remaining flour mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.