Recipes
Our Favorite Maple Recipes
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We usually use Grade B syrup when cooking because it is the grade with the most maple flavor and we like it, but you can use whatever you have on hand
Maple Granola
5 cups rolled oats
2 cup wheat flakes or oat bran or both
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts)
⅛ teaspoon salt
¾ cup canola oil
¾ cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup raisins
Mix together the oats, flakes, seeds, nuts, and salt. Mix the oil, syrup, water and vanilla together and heat until warm. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix very well until moistened throughout. Spread in a layer around ½ to l inch thick on baking sheets. Bake at 300° for about 30 to 40 minutes, stir several times. Let cool completely and add raisins.
Ellie’s Maple Popcorn
We use all maple syrup in this recipe but many maple popcorn recipes use maple syrup and sugar (white or brown) in equal proportions.
3 quarts salted popped popcorn
1 ½ cups maple syrup
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons butter
Bring the maple syrup (or syrup and sugar) to a boil. Use a deep pot with a little butter rubbed around the top to help keep the syrup from boiling over. Cook until it reaches 250° on a candy thermometer. Stir in the butter and then the baking soda. The baking soda will foam and make the syrup a little easier to mix with the corn. You have to work quickly at this point. Pour the syrup over the corn while stirring gently. Keep stirring to thoroughly coat all the popcorn with syrup. Bake at 200° for about l hour, stir once or twice.
Maple Nut Squares
We once brought these bars to a barbeque and they were gone before dinner. If we bring a plate of these to a gathering, someone is sure to ask for the recipe.
Crust
1 ¼ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar (maple, white or brown sugar)
½ cup softened butter
Mix flour and sugar, then cut in the butter and blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press into the bottom of a greased 8 or 9” square pan. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°
Topping
1 cup maple syrup
½ cup sugar (maple, white or brown sugar)
2 large eggs, beaten well
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts (we like to use pecans or almonds but walnuts are good too)
Combine all ingredients except the nuts. Beat well, stir in the nuts and pour over the crust you have baked. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until set.
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1¼ cups canola oil
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
Crush the garlic clove and then thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Good additions to the basic recipe are: 1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil and about a tablespoon of soy sauce.
Maple Cream Sauce
This is great spooned over cakes and gingerbread or on top of vanilla ice cream.
¼ cup butter
1 cup maple syrup
2 cups heavy cream
Melt the butter slowly and stir in the syrup, keep stirring and cook together until it just begins to boil. Pour in the cream, bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Use a deep pot but be careful as it still might want to boil over.
Katie’s Maple Shoofly Pie
Prepare a single unbaked pie shell.
Crumb Topping
2 cups flour
pinch salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup maple sugar
½ cup butter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
Mix the butter into the dry ingredients until fine crumbs are formed.
Liquid bottom
¾ cup boiling water
¾ cup maple syrup
¾ teaspoon baking soda
Stir the baking soda into the maple syrup until it is dissolved and a little foamy. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the pie shell. Sprinkle the crumb topping thickly on top of the filling. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 minutes until set. This is good with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Elissa's Favorite Original Recipe
Elissa says: "Throughout the years, Mom never really appreciated the incredible messes I made in the kitchen. On a few rare occasions, however, my typically disastrous kitchen adventures have resulted in something good. This recipe is one of those. I've thrown this salad together for many potlucks and it has been a hit every time. It is quick to make and takes substitutions well - feel free to experiment."
Maple-Ginger-Soy Dressing
Combine:
2 Tbs Vermont maple syrup (I use grade B)
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
4 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp mustard
2" piece of ginger, finely minced (about 1½ Tbs)
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
(if you are in a rush, you can dump this all directly onto your salad fixings)
Carrot & Wheat Berry Salad
Combine:
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups cooked wheat berries
½ cup raisins
Add the Maple-Ginger-Soy Dressing to taste. This salad will not look 'dressed' so mix well and taste often.
This recipe takes substitutions and additions quite well. Try adding/substituting apple slices, shredded red or green cabbage, scallions, red onion, grapefruit sections, orange sections, baby spinach, walnuts, dried cranberries, grated beets, or whatever you have on hand.
Other ideas . . . .
- Maple syrup makes great baked beans. Just replace any molasses or sugar called for in your bean recipe
- The same is true for barbeque sauces
- The Official Vermont Maple Cookbook is full of great recipes and they are not just desserts!
Substituting Maple Syrup for Other Sweeteners In Recipes
Replacing honey: Simply replace honey, cup for cup, with pure maple syrup.
Replacing granulated sugar: Maple syrup is more flavorful but not quite as sweet as granulated sugar. Replace each cup of sugar with ¾ to 1½ cups of syrup, depending on how sweet you would like the recipe.
Baked goods: Decrease liquid in the recipe by 2-4 tablespoons per cup of maple syrup. It is usually best to reduce the liquid that is called for in the greatest amount (for example, reduce the milk, not the oil, egg, or liqueur). Because syrup is slightly acidic, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of baking soda (this may not be necessary in recipes that call for buttermilk, sour milk, or sour cream).
Baking temperature: Reduce the oven temperature by 25°, as the syrup will caramelize and brown more than white sugar.
These are simply guidelines; we frequently just replace the sugar called for with a little less syrup and increase the dry ingredients to compensate for the extra moisture. Have fun and experiment a bit-- some recipes will work better than others for substitutions and you may be pleasantly surprised by some unlikely combinations!
