Gingerbread Mini Loaves

Spicy, sweet, soft and quintessentially Christmas.  These mini loaves would make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, or friends.  I love how mini loaves are a perfect little package of tasty goodness, wrapped up as an extra bit of holiday cheer.  And it doesn't get much more cheerful than gingerbread, with it's soft, cakey goodness and lots of spicy flavor.  Gingerbread loaves and cakes don't always get a chance to shine during these days of decadent houses or crisp, men shaped cut-out cookies, frosted and adorned.  But I loved this delicious bread with all it's spice and molasses, plus the fun additional of maple syrup for a little twist.  Plus, I made 6 of these little loaves without breaking out my stand mixer--just two bowls, a whisk and a spatula. Holiday flavor was never so easy.

Maple Toffee Cookies

These cookies scream fall in New England without being pumpkin or apple flavored.  There's nothing like stopping at a sugar shack in Vermont while leaf peeping to pick up a jug of maple syrup, and possibly some other maple goodies.  But cookies are not a maple treat I typically see in our New England travels, so I was eager to try them and they certainly are delicious.  These maple toffee cookies have a strong maple flavor and are studded with crunchy toffee and speckles of chocolate.  A delicious and crisp cookie perfect for enjoying with coffee or tea, you might find these as a new fall favorite.

Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Okay, so I know maple isn't exactly a summertime flavor, but did you really want me to wait until October to share these with you?  They are still delicious and have a soft texture, sweet maple glaze and a touch of maple mixed into the cookie paired perfectly with the nutty oats.  These were also in the package I sent to my Dad and my brother, but I kept a few back for Dave and I to enjoy. These would be great with a little cream filling for a variation on a oatmeal cream pie.  Yup, that soft and delicious.

I pinned this recipe of Valerie's from une Gamine dans la Cuisine because I knew Dave would enjoy the maple flavor and my Dad would love the oatmeal variation.  It's a perfect recipe and I was intrigued that Valerie ground the oats--almost to a flour--before adding to the dough.  I really wanted there to be some maple flavor in the cookies themselves, so in lieu of almond extract, I used maple flavor.  I also added a bit of maple flavor to the glaze.  My glaze was significantly thinner than Valerie's, but still quite tasty.  If you want a glaze that stiffens up a bit faster and doesn't just pour over the edges, try adding a bit more powdered sugar or starting with a 1/4 cup of half and half and adding more until you get the consistency you like.  These are a lovely version of a strong oatmeal cookie that you can adapt with different enhancements and add-ins, but I think the maple flavor is perfect enough.

Mapledoodles

When I showed Dave this recipe, he only looked at the title and said yes.  My husband is a man of simple tastes and a true New Englander, he loves his maple syrup.  So a cookie, based on the classic Snickerdoodle no less, that tastes like maple?  Yes is all he needed to say.  You'll be pleasantly surprised by the subtle  maple flavor from the sugar and the glaze.  The cookie is both crunchy (at the edges) and soft (in the middle) and the topping combined with the glaze (which, can I just say how awesome this glaze was?  Perfect consistency, not too sweet and made a ton.) offer a unique cookie that is a grown up spin to a classic cookie.

This recipe is from King Arthur Flour.  I had forgotten about it when I went to the store and thus forgot to pick up the maple sugar.  However, Dave and I were at an apple festival a few weeks ago and a local Massachusetts maple grower had a booth set up, selling maple syrup, maple candies and, lucky me, maple sugar.  Turns out it was cheaper to buy it from the vendor and I felt good about buying local (the vendor's farm is about an hour from our house).  The recipe is flawless and I definitely recommend drizzling the glaze on the cookie, rather than slathering it on, so that you can appreciate the taste and texture of the sugar topping and not be overwhelmed by a lot of glaze.