Quick Biscuits with Maple Butter

These are the biscuits that I made with the dreamy cream scones to use up my leftover Thanksgiving whipped cream and I had very low expectations for them because the picture in the NYTimes made them look just like any other lesser biscuit. Low and flat and not particularly flaky. But then I made them with butter and cream, not margarine and grain milk. and you better believe these were so packed with butter and cream that it was like eating a flaky, salty stick of butter and if you are into that thing, well, then you can imagine it being pretty amazing. So much for being "well."

We didn't try out the whipped maple butter, but trust me, these don't need it.

From the NYTimes Well Thanksgiving blog 2012:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/12/health/20121111_vegetarian-thanksgiving.html#Quick_Biscuits_With_Maple_%E2%80%9CButter%E2%80%9D

Ingredients:

For the biscuits:

2 C. all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface

1 T. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 C. vegan margarine... or ahem butter...

3/4 C. soy, almond or rice milk... or real milk, or cream...

For the "maple butter":

1 C. vegan margarine, at room temperature

1/4 C. maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add margarine and cut it roughly into flour using a pastry cutter, until mixture is the texture of coarse meal with a few larger margarine lumps. Add nondairy milk and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Do not overwork.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into an oblong shape, about 1 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch floured cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits out and place them on a baking sheet (or just cut them into wedges). Brush the tops lightly with melted margarine and bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden. Remove biscuits from oven immediately and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5. Make the maple “butter.” In a mixing bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer, whip margarine with maple syrup until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until serving.

Nutmeg Maple Cream Pie

I know everyone else made this pie a million years ago when it first came out in the New York Times, and I've had it on my list to make for at least two years now, but with a title like "Nutmeg Maple Cream" it's not as compelling as anything chocolate or peach, you know? But this last weekend we had some cream and not much else, and I let the Robber choose a pie off my unmade list, and that all led to us finally making this pie and you know what? It was delicious and so easy to make. Seriously really delicious. Like a perfect flan, in a pie crust. Who knew? I wouldn't make it again in the summer, you know, when there are peaches around, but I would make it in the winter and be glad every time.

Of course I tripled the nutmeg and threw in a splash of cinnamon. So I'll put the increased number here and you can reduce it if you want. I used my mother's pie crust and that was good, but I also think the smoky almond and vanilla wafer crust from the Creamy Peach Tart recipe would also work well with this.

From the NYTimes (why why why aren't they having their Vegetarian Thanksgiving feature this year???)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/155crex.html?_r=0

Ingredients:

¾ C. maple syrup
2¼ C. heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
¼ tsp. salt

1 T. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce maple syrup by a quarter, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg. Whisking constantly, slowly add cream mixture to eggs. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup or bowl with pouring spout. Stir in salt, nutmeg and vanilla.

3. Pour filling into crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pie is firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the frosting that the Robber used for my carrot cake birthday cake. After making the recipe we both thought it wasn't maple-y enough, so the Robber added in perhaps another 1/4 C. of maple syrup but then the frosting was too runny. What to do? Use maple extract instead of syrup? So there is that speed bump to consider but the maple in the cream cheese with the cake was actually very good and worth trying to find a way to make it work. Tried to find help with that on the reviewers comments on Epicurious, but no luck.

The link also sends you to a carrot cake recipe that the Epicurious people just love, love, love so if our other carrot cake recipe ever disappoints we may try turning to that one. The reviewers are also a fan of some cream cheese lemon zest frosting recipe on Epicurious, so if you think maple sounds gross try looking for that one. I'll only be posting the recipe for the maple frosting here, however, not the cake or the lemon frosting.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-102155

Ingredients:

10 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

5 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1/4 C. maple syrup (Robber used 1/2 C.)

Directions:

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended.

2. Beat in maple syrup. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

3. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup icing. Top with second layer. Spread remaining icing over entire cake. Arrange walnut or pecan halves around top edge. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes

I made these for my friend J. for brunch and they were sweet and autumnal and light and delicious as a pancake should be in the fall. You can either put the walnuts in the pancake or sprinkle them on top, it's pretty equivalent either way. The recipe is originally from Mirror Lake Inn at Lake Placid in New York (there's a little nostalgia here for upstate New York in the fall), found on the internet by way of Epicurious, but I have modified it somewhat here as per the reviewers comments.

The original recipe at Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Walnut-Flapjacks-108613

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C. buttermilk

3/4 C. canned pure pumpkin

4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

2 T. sugar

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 C. cake flour (can also use regular or 1/2 whole wheat)

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ginger

3/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Vegetable oil or butter

1/2 C. finely chopped walnuts

Pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Whisk buttermilk, pumpkin, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend; whisk in melted butter.

2. Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl to blend.

3. Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture and whisk to combine.

4. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold whites into batter.

5. Lightly oil or butter heavy large skillet set over medium heat. Working in batches, pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto skillet; cook until bubbles form on top, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn flapjacks over and cook until second sides brown, about 1 minute.

6. Transfer flapjacks to plates. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve with syrup.

Maple Pumpkin Pie with a Gingersnap Crust

Sounds intriguing, no? The maple and the pumpkin are really good together, and gingersnap crusts are always my friends, but somehow the combination didn't WOW me like I wanted it to. This recipe has wowed other women in large numbers, however, so it is worth giving it a try and it is worth making again, to mix the pumpkin pie world up and to give the boringness of most pumpkin pies a little zing. But I think the "throaty" Sokolov pie elsewhere on this blog has my true pumpkin pie heart.

From Kimberly at Pie Love You:

http://pieloveyou.blogspot.com/2010/11/45-maple-pumpkin-pie-with-gingersnap.html

Ingredients:

For the crust:

14 2-inch gingersnaps (about 4 oz)

1 C. pecans (about 4 oz)

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1/4 C. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the filling:

1 C. pure maple syrup

2 C. canned solid-pack pumpkin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. heavy cream

2/3 C. milk

2 large eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Use a small amount of the melted butter to grease a 9" (1 quart) pie pan. (Note: Use a big one, this is not your average thin pumpkin pie.)

2. In a food processor grind gingersnaps, pecans, and sugar until fine and add remaining butter, blending until combined well. Press mixture onto bottom and up side of buttered pie plate. Bake crust in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden around edge, and cool on rack.

3. In a 3- to 3 1/2-quart heavy saucepan gently boil maple syrup until a small amount dropped into a bowl of cold water forms a soft ball, about 210° F on a candy thermometer, and cool slightly. In a bowl whisk together pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cream, milk, and eggs and whisk in maple syrup.

4. Strain filling through a fine mesh sieve. Use a spatula to stir and press mixture through sieve. Once you get almost everything through the sieve (no need to force the small amounts of stringy or flavorless pumpkin, which are the only things remaining in the end, through the sieve), pour filling into cooled shell. (I skipped the straining part and didn't half a problem.)

5. Bake pie in middle of oven 1 hour, or until filling is set but center still shakes slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer pie to a rack to cool completely.

Caramel for Apples 2

This is the second recipe the Robber and I tried and the flavor, as promised on Epicurious, is fantastic but unfortunately I overcooked our half batch (not having a thermometer) or something and it came out hard as a rock. :( Will have to try again on another day.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caramel-Dipped-Apples-102427

Ingredients:

1 lbs. dark brown sugar (about 2.25 C.)

16 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 C. dark corn syrup (used light)

1/3 C. pure maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. robust-flavored (dark) molasses (used light)

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan (about 3 inches deep). Stir with wooden spatula or spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes.

2. Attach clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236°F, stirring constantly but slowly with clean wooden spatula and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 12 minutes.

3. Pour caramel into metal bowl (do not scrape pan). Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel; cool, without stirring, to 200°F, about 20 minutes.

Roasted Applesauce

This is the featured recipe on the Epicurious home page this week. I am a big fan of homemade applesauce, but it takes such a long time to peel the apples and then stir it for a really long time while the apples soften on the stove. Perhaps by roasting the apples I could save a little time? I think in the end that turned out to be true, and I find the sweetness of this applesauce to not be overbearing but quite pleasant. Roasting may be my new go to method of making applesauce.

Note: Of course I six-tupled the recommended amount of cinnamon.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/ROASTED-APPLESAUCE-50149126

Ingredients:

4 1/2 lbs apples, cored and peeled

2 T. lemon juice

3 T. butter

1/4 C. honey

1/4 C. maple syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Chop cored and peeled apples into 1-inch size pieces and toss in a bowl with the lemon juice.

2. Place a thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat and place the butter in it and melt. The butter will foam but it will subside. When the butter smells nutty and takes on a light tan color remove it from heat immediately and place the butter in a cold glass container to stop the cooking process (I skipped this step).

3. Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large pan toss together the apples, butter, honey, maple syrup, salt, and cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing the apples every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking.

4. Using a fork or potato masher mash the apples. Serve hot/warm/cold or store in the fridge for up to two weeks for later use.

Baked Acorn Squash With Walnut Oil and Maple Syrup

I was hoping this would provide a way for me to fall in love with squash. They are so appealing, the fall and winter squashes, round and fat in their wooden bins in Wegmans. I first found this recipe last year but didn't make it, and this year I have decided to cook what would be Thanksgiving recipes all fall long if and when I have time. Unfortunately, the acorn squashes themselves that I purchased lacked flavor and so while the toasted walnuts were delicious, the squash itself remains lacking. The Robber, however, is adding melted butter and some maple syrup to his quarter squashes and in so doing is happily making his way through the lot. His stomach is amazing. Now what to do with all the leftover walnut oil?

From Recipes For Health:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/health/nutrition/13recipehealth.html

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons walnut oil

Freshly ground nutmeg

Ground walnuts (I used finely chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until soft enough to easily cut in half. Cut in half, and scoop out the seeds and membranes.

2. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Stir the maple syrup and walnut oil together in a bowl, then brush over the cut surfaces of the squash. Sprinkle with a very small amount of ground nutmeg. Place in the oven and bake one hour, brushing every 10 minutes with more oil and maple syrup. When the squash is tender, brush once more, then spoon a tablespoonful of finely chopped walnuts into each cavity and return to the oven for five to 10 minutes, until the walnuts are toasty. Remove from the heat. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: Makes four large servings or eight medium servings.

Maple Oatmeal Scones

Just because I had some aging blueberries. Not that this recipe calls for them, but why not throw them in? One of the few Annie's scones recipes I haven't tried yet. Don't worry, there are only two more to go in the bunch. Also I froze them all, but the batter with the blueberries was delicious. Naturally because I froze them I didn't try the glaze, and probably won't since I will bake them one at a time with the other frozen scones, but I include it below.

Here's the link:

http://annies-eats.net/2007/05/07/maple-oatmeal-scones/

Ingredients:

For the scones:

1 ¾ c. all purpose flour

½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. quick cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling

1 T. baking powder

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ lb. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced

¼ c. cold buttermilk

¼ c. pure maple syrup

2 eggs, lightly beaten

(Approx. 1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsbp. water for egg wash

For the glaze:

½ c. + 2 T. confectioners’ sugar

¼ c. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend in the cold butter with an electric mixer on the lowest speed and mix until butter is in pea-sized pieces. (If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.) Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs and add quickly to the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just well blended. The dough may be sticky.

3. Dump the dough onto a well floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough ¾ to 1 inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with egg wash.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

(I didn't roll these out, I just dumped portions on to pieces of plastic wrap, gently teased them into round 1 inch thick shapes, and wrapped up the plastic wrap and stored them all together in a freezer bag.)

5. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of glaze. Sprinkle with some uncooked oats for garnish.

Pumpkin and Ginger Scones

The second recipe of my scone experiment/binge. This one comes, yes, from Recipes For Health and Ms. Shulman. How she suckers me in! I was at the less-fancy Wegman's, which didn't have crystallized ginger, so I substituted 1/2 cup baking raisins and 1/2 chopped walnuts for the ginger. Not the same effect, I know. And maybe raisins are weird with pumpkin? But they wanted using and I had them, so I guess I will find out when I bake up one of these! I also cut this into 8 instead of 12, because it just seems like a more reasonable scone size, and they are a little easier to freeze when cut larger.

Here is the link to the recipe in the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/health/nutrition/26recipehealth.html?ref=pumpkin

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup pumpkin purée, well drained, canned or made from 1/2 pound fresh

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup chopped candied ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Sift together the flours, salt, ginger, baking powder and baking soda. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

2. Add the butter to the food processor, and pulse several times until it is distributed throughout the flour. The mixture should have the consistency of coarse cornmeal. (I just do this step with a cutter, since I don't have a food processor.)

3. Beat together the pumpkin purée, buttermilk and maple syrup in a small bowl, and scrape into the food processor. Add the ginger, and process just until the dough comes together.

4. Scrape onto a lightly floured surface, and gently shape into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into six squares, then cut the squares in half on the diagonal to form 12 triangular pieces. Place on the baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

To roast the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the pumpkin pieces on the baking sheet, drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive or canola oil on top, cover tightly with foil and place in the oven. Roast for 1 1/2 hours or until thoroughly tender. Remove from the heat, transfer to a strainer or a colander set over a bowl or in the sink, and allow to cool and drain. Peel the pieces, and purée in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Nutritional information per serving: 143 calories; 4 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 223 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein

Candied Nuts

Bob wanted to make some candied pecans for a spinach salad we were making, so I tasked him with looking it up on the internet and making it happen. This is what he found:

http://comfybelly.com/2009/04/crunchy-pecans-and-spiced-nuts/

We omitted the nutmeg, and tripled the cinnamon, and the result was much to Bob's liking and overall a very good addition to our salad. The nuts came out a little sticky, and perhaps would be less so if we had used syrup rather than honey. I guess I'll have to make these again and find out!

Ingredients:

1 cup of nuts
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of butter, melted
3 tablespoons of honey (or maple syrup)
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Mix all the ingredients together until well-coated.

3. Place nuts on a stick-free baking sheet (I recommend parchment paper) and bake for about 15 minutes or until the nuts start to brown.

4. Cool for 10 minutes, or until dry, and enjoy!

Maple Creme Flan With Maple-Glazed Pears

Traditionally I have not very much cared for flan-- as although it is very creamy, the crust of the flan always left me with a funny after taste and the texture was not always my favorite. But as of late, I am not one to swear off foods unless I have gotten a crack at making them myself-- the exception being egg dishes. I still have no taste for eggs. So when I found this flan recipe on Epicurious I resolved to make it and, after purchasing a rather large bottle of maple syrup some time ago, decided to make it for the Robber as our dessert for his visit. The Robber, having eaten many flans during his time in Brazil, is not a big flan fan but I find if I am wily I can win him over on most things, as I did with this recipe. After consuming it, he said, "This is the best flan I have ever eaten!" and went on to rank the flan above most desserts, but still below coconut cream pie.

I liked the flan too, although the texture problems still weren't fixed for me. What I really liked too were the pears-- with I think stand alone nicely by themselves if you reduced the sauce and made it into more of a caramel (as the sauce here is rather thin)-- or could be served with icecream or angel food cake or in a mix with other fruits.

Per the reviewers, I increased the eggs and did not cover my flan with foil. I also increased the baking time at the lower temp by ten minutes. All together, my flan set up quite well and I am happy with the results. It was quite easy to make and the individual steps not that time-consuming, but the overall time might be prohibitive. I'll keep it in my repertoire, certainly, especially until/if I ever find another flan the Robber likes.

Ingredients:

Flan

1 cup pure maple syrup
3 1/2 cups whipping cream (I used 2/3 cream, 1/3 half and half)
7 large egg yolks (I used 8 egg yolks)
1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup

Pears

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ripe Bartlett pears, unpeeled, quartered, cored (I used four pears, the sauce is thin)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

For flan:

1) Simmer maple syrup in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Stir in cream; return to simmer.

2) Whisk egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot cream mixture. Whisk in salt. Strain custard into another large bowl. Cover and chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

3) Preheat oven to 300°F. Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and light corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 6 minutes. Pour syrup into 9 1/4x5 1/4x3-inch nonstick metal loaf pan, tilting pan carefully to coat sides. Let stand 10 minutes.

4) Pour custard into pan with syrup. Place loaf pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of loaf pan. Cover roasting pan with foil. Pierce foil all over with fork. (I did not not use foil.) Bake flan 1 hour 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 325°F. Uncover and bake until flan is set around edges but center moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour longer. Remove flan from water. Transfer to rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For pears:

1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange pears, 1 cut side down, in skillet. Cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Turn onto second cut side and cook until brown, about 4 minutes longer. Stir in maple syrup; bring to boil. Place in oven and bake until pears are tender, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Whisk crème fraîche and salt into sauce in skillet. Return pears to skillet and toss to coat.

Run sharp knife around edge of flan to loosen. Invert flan onto platter. Surround with pears and sauce.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Maple-Creme-Flan-with-Maple-Glazed-Pears-107327#ixzz1Fvpz8D4n

Maple Mousse Pie

Another pie from the NYTimes Thanksgiving list. This pie was not my favorite because the sugar-- if you cook it to 237-- becomes a tad too carmelized/burned which gives the pie not an unpleasant, but certainly a more done, flavor. The chocolate sauce helps to mitigate the effect. The crust is good though, and I figured out how to smash up chocolate cookies better than I ever had before, using a disposable roasting pan and a regular cereal bowl. It was a total triumph to me.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fine chocolate cookie crumbs

1 cup maple sugar

Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B

2 cups heavy cream

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix crumbs with 1/4 cup maple sugar, the salt and the butter. Press into bottom and sides of a 10-inch pie plate. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Bake chilled crust 10 minutes, cool to room temperature, then place in freezer.

2. Beat egg whites until frothy. Place all but a tablespoon of remaining maple sugar in a saucepan, add 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil and cook until mixture is 237 degrees on a candy thermometer. Continue beating egg whites until softly peaked. Then, beating all the while, drizzle in all the maple sugar mixture and beat until egg whites are firm and glossy. Beat in 4 tablespoons maple syrup. Refrigerate.

3. Whip cream until stiff. Fold into egg white mixture. Refrigerate separately until cookie crust is cold. Spoon mousse in prepared cookie crust, smooth top and freeze 4 hours. When frozen, cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.

4. Melt chocolate on low heat. Whisk in remaining maple syrup and vanilla. Place in a container, cover and refrigerate.

5. Do not thaw pie for serving. Dust top with remaining tablespoon maple sugar and serve. Spoon some chocolate sauce over each portion.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

Squash Fries with Chili Cumin Salt and Maple Sour Cream

Here's another recipe I made from RebEatWorld. We ate these fries with homemade pizza and the Robber just about died and went to heaven. He loved them and the sauce, which is a perfect counter-point to the salty seasoned fries. He downed a boatload of them, so the next time I am willing to wrestle with a butternut squash I think I will make these again.

Ingredients:

2 lbs butternut squash, halved, seeded, and peeled
2 T olive oil
1/2 c sour cream
2 T maple syrup
salt
cumin
chili
2 limes, wedged

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425. Cut squash to half-inch wide fries. Coat with olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast until tender and crispy at the edges. I even like them quite brown at the edges, about 35 or 40 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, stir some maple syrup into sour cream to make a dipping sauce, and mix the salt with the spices. Sprinkle some of the spiced salt over the squash fries and squeeze some lime juice over them, pretty liberally.

Baked Custard

My classmate E. and I promised to bake together Saturday night, and when the time came she had custard cups-- brand-new-- and I had nothing but some eggs (we even had to borrow one of those) and some chocolate chips, so we settled on this custard recipe from the Moosewood and a little Harry Potter V to go along with it. The dark richness of the custard... er paralleled... the scenes from the movie.

There are three variations of this recipe, we made the first.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups milk (lowfat works just fine)
3/4 to 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (depending on how deeply chocophilic you are)
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 350F. Have ready six ovenproof custard cups and a 9 x 13 baking pan. (We used just four custard cups and filled them up.)

2) Place the milk and the chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally, until all the chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir until blended. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

3) Place the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor. Add the milk mixture, scraping in all the wayward clumps of chocolate, and whip until frothy.

4) Divide the batter among the custard cups. Place them in the baking pan, and half-fill it with water. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the custards are solid in the center when shaken.

5) Carefully remove the cups from the baking pan. Cool to room temperature, then cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and chill.

MAPLE CUSTARD

1) Omit the chocolate chips. Add 1/3 cup real maple syrup. Optional: Add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.

2) Omit step 2 above. Blend all ingredients together as in Step 3 and bake as directed above.

MAPLE-PEACH CUSTARD

1) Make Maple Custard batter. Divide 1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced fresh peaches among the custard cups, pour the custard over the peaches, and bake as directed.

Maple-Walnut Pie

From The New Moosewood Cookbook. Mollie Katzen says, "Delicious-- and very easy!"

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
3/4 cup real maple syrup (I used 1/2 syrup and 1/4 cup honey)
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
Optional: whipped cream, for the top

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 F.

2) Beat together all ingredient, except walnuts and pie crust, until light and frothy.

3) Spread the walnuts into the unbaked crust. Pout in the batter.

4) Bake for 30 minutes or until solid in the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

5) Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold, with or without whipped cream.

Yield: About 6 servings.


I doubled this recipe and made two pies at once. I used my mom's pie crust recipe (see Apple Pie) and baked the pie crust by itself for 10 minutes at 450 prior to adding the filling and baking the whole pie as directed. This made for a less soggy crust.

I served this pie in two places, both times with Cool Whip. First in PBL, where 2/3 of the people ate it and probably 1/2 liked it. Second at dinner with the missionaries where I also served bacon, avocado, and tomato (BAT) sandwiches on toasted English muffins, macaroni salad, and halved grapefruits. It was better received at dinner, but then missionaries can't really complain.

I wasn't in love with this pie, but I might make it again for a Thanksgiving if I was looking to make a variety different pies, or as an alternative to pecan pie which is richer. It also makes a good winter pie, since it doesn't require any fruit and syrup and nuts can be purchased during any season. The pie is also very easy and very quick relative to other pies, so while it might not win any awards, it might put dessert on the table in a pinch.