Buttermilk Donuts With Maple Glaze

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup mashed potatoes (use 1 cup boiling water and 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes or buds)
4 and 1/2 cups flour, DIVIDED
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar and beat well. Add buttermilk butter, vanilla. Stir in mashed potaotes. Sprinkle exactly 3 and 1/2 cups flour, plus powder, soda, salt and nutmeg over the dough. Stir until just blended. The dough will be extremely sticky. Line a dinner plate with waxed paper. Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour on top of waxed paper. Gather sticky dough up and press onto waxed paper; sprinkle the top with remaining 1/2 cup flour. If you need to pat atop a little more flour to be able to work with the dough, go ahead and sprinkle/pat it on top but DO NOT mix it in. You can refrigerate dough for a couple of hours at this point if you want, but not for too long or the dough will turn black from the potatoes.

Let the dough rest on the plate for five minutes. Meanwile, heat large heavy pot with 1 inch of oil until oil is about 375 degrees. Turn donuts out onto flat floured surface. Pat the dough into a square only slightly larger than the plate. The dough should be about 1/2 inch thick. Do not knead in the flour that have you sprinkled on the donuts. It will cook away on the outside. Cut donuts with donut cutter, or use the top of a prescription pill bottle for donut holes. Holes are the best in my opinion. Fry donuts until pale golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Cool for five minutes before glazing.

Maple Glaze: Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons maple extract and about 4 tablespoons cream (or milk) until smooth. Double this for entire donut recipe or make half maple, some sugar and some powdered sugar donuts/holes.

Maple Pecan Scones

Ingredients:
3 C all purpose flour
1/3 C sugar
5 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
½ lb. (2 sticks) butter, chilled
¼ C pecans, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
¾ C heavy cream (I used half and half)

Maple Icing
1 lb. powdered sugar
¼ C milk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
Dash of salt
2 tsp maple flavoring

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Finely chop the pecans and stir into the flour mixture. Mix the egg & cream together and stir into the flour mixture until just combined. Turn the mixture onto a cutting board and push it together into a large ball. Don’t knead too much—only until it sticks together.

Gently roll the dough into a 10-inch circle and cut the round into eighths. PW recommends that in order to have perfect eighths, you could first cut an X and then cut a plus sign.

Transfer your wedges to a baking sheet that has been covered in parchment paper or lightly sprayed and bake for 20-24 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow the scones to cool.

Meanwhile, mix your glaze together and pour generously (don't be wimpy!!!) over each scone. Garnish with a couple pecans.

Maple Pecan Candies

Ingredients:
1 cup pure dark amber maple syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup toasted, coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:
Lightly oil a 9 x 9-inch baking pan. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the maple syrup, sugar, cream and corn syrup. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it reaches 236° F on a candy or instant-read thermometer.

Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the metal bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand at room temperature until it has cooled to 110 ° F. (This takes quite a while, so go find something else to do for a bit.)

When the mixture has reached the appropriate temperature, add in the vanilla extract and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed just until it begins to thicken and loses its gloss. Be careful not to over-beat, which can cause a grainy texture.

Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chopped pecans. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer. Allow to cool and set for several hours before cutting and serving.

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies With Maple Frosting

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup self-rising flour
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:
Whisk together flour and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter.
Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
Add flour/spice mixture to sugar mixture in three additions. Alternate with pumpkin in two additions, ending with flour mixture.
Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.
Drop on cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about four dozen cookies.
Let cool.

Maple Brown Butter Frosting
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp maple flavoring

Sift sugar and set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn.
Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl.
Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.
Spread on top of cookies with an knife or offset spatula.

Pumpkin and Maple Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Ingredients:
In one bowl, mix:
3 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
1 C sugar
1/2 C oil
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 C milk
2 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla

In another bowl, mix:
3 eggs
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C molasses
1/2 C oil
1 T ginger
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 C milk
1 3/4 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 t maple extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat all ingredients together. Pour each batter in rotating layers into a well greased & floured bundt pan. Run a knife through the layers to marble the batters together. Bake bundt for 52-55 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched.

Maple Brown Sugar Ham

Ingredients:
7-8 pound bone-in spiral-cut ham
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup all natural maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
2 cups pineapple juice

Directions:
Use a 6-7 quart slow cooker. Unwrap the ham and discard flavor packet. Place the ham into the slow cooker stoneware, flat-side down. Rub brown sugar on all sides. Pour on maple syrup and pineapple juice. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. An hour before serving, baste ham with the collected juices from the bottom of the slow cooker. When cooking is done, remove carefully and let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before carving.