Maple Butter Food

MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• Pour maple syrup into a medium saucepan; add cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees (soft-ball stage), 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, discard cinnamon stick, and stir in butter until melted.
• Immediately transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat, starting on low and increasing to high, until mixture is thick, opaque, and creamy, about 8 minutes. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 2 weeks.

MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• In a bowl, blend the butter, maple syrup, and allspice together until light and smooth. Refrigerate and use as a spread or melt and drizzle over pancakes, grilled sweet potatoes or popcorn.

MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• In a deep saucepan, boil the maple syrup with the oil, until it reaches about 235°F (112ºC) on medium-high heat. Monitor the temperature using a fast-reading digital probe thermometer like this one from Thermoworks.
• Immediately, transfer the boiled syrup to your stand mixer bowl, and drop the bowl into a big ice bath to cool the syrup down to about 60°F (15-16ºC). Then let the syrup warm back up to room temperature.
• With the paddle attachment, beat the syrup on low for a very, very long time (like 30 minutes even) until it turns opaque and the color of sesame butter (the texture on your tongue when you sample it will go from syrupy at the beginning of the process to very finely powdery).
• Quickly transfer the maple butter to a large jar and store in the fridge.
• If the maple butter separates at any point, just give it a good stir before using.

MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat butter until smooth. Gradually add syrup, continuing to beat until smooth. Freeze in small portions.

ALMOST-FAMOUS MAPLE-BUTTER BLONDIES

Steps:

• Make the blondies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter the foil. Pulse 1/2 cup walnuts in a food processor until almost fine (do not overprocess). Whisk the ground nuts, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat 10 tablespoons butter and the brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate and the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until the blondies are light brown around the edges and spring back when pressed, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.
• Meanwhile, make the topping: Place the maple syrup and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the mixture bubbles and thickens, swirling the pan, about 6 minutes. Add the cream and continue to cook until the mixture is the consistency of caramel.
• Use the foil to lift the blondies out of the pan, then cut into large bars. Serve warm topped with ice cream, the maple-butter sauce and the walnuts.

MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place the pieces in the work bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the maple syrup. Starting on slow speed, beat until the butter and syrup start to incorporate.
• Turn up the speed to high and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture softens. The outside of the mixing bowl should feel cool. If the bowl begins to get too warm, stop the mixer and refrigerate the bowl for 15 minutes before continuing.
• When all the ingredients are well mixed, use a spatula to scrape the butter onto a large sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Roll the butter into a long tube that is 1 to 2 inches in diameter, and twist the ends to seal in the butter. Chill for at least several hours.
• The butter can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for several weeks. When you are ready to serve the butter, cut it into rounds and remove the parchment paper. Alternatively, simply put it into a ramekin and place it on the table.
• Add 1/2 cup toasted, finely chopped walnuts after the syrup is incorporated. You also may want to try Maple Pecan or Maple Almond butters.

MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator, for about 30 minutes. Form into a roll using waxed paper and store wrapped. It can be frozen for later at this point if desired.

REAL MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• Fill your sink with at least 6 inches of very cold water before starting to cook the spread.
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, bring the maple syrup and corn syrup to a boil. Cook the syrup until a candy thermometer reads exactly 232 degrees F/112 degrees C., stirring occasionally. The correct temperature is very crucial in the process.
• As soon as the syrup reaches the correct temperature, take the pan off the heat and carefully lower it into the cold water bath. Allow the syrup to rest and cool until it reaches 70 degrees F/20 degrees C, about 30 minutes.
• When the syrup reaches 70 degrees F, remove the pot from the cold water bath and beat the cooled syrup with an electric mixer on high speed until the syrup forms a creamy, thick spread, about 3 minutes.
• Pack the spread into a container, cover, and ripen in refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving. Maple butter will keep covered in refrigerator up to a month. If chilled maple butter is too hard to spread straight from the refrigerator, allow to come to room temperature.