Even though our own children are teenagers, I look forward to March Break. Years ago when they were very young, my husband bought some second-hand maple syrup buckets, lids and spiles from our local TSC store. He took the girls on a wintery walk into our bush and they tapped five trees. How fabulous it was to see the sap dripping for the first time. After a couple of days the buckets were full. We boiled it down on our woodstove for about twenty-four hours, and made our first home-made maple syrup. We’ve been doing it ever since and we get about six to eight liters each year, which is enough to last us through to the next maple syrup season. I love the process for making maple syrup, it’s so Canadian. I find that kids get the most engaged with their food when they have participated in the process, and maple syrup is a prime example.
Quick Maple Syrup Raisin Buns
Biscuit dough:
2 cup (500 mL) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (10 mL) salt
1 tablespoon (15 mL) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (10 mL) baking soda
2 tablespoon (30 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, cubed
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
1 egg
Filling:
2 tablespoon (30 mL) melted butter
1/4 cup (60 mL) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon (10 mL) cinnamon
1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins
1/2 cup (125 mL) maple syrup
1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter for pan
• Heat oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Butter an 8 inch square pan with one tablespoon of butter.
• Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and granulated sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add egg to buttermilk and beat with a fork. Add all at once to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together and forms a moist dough. Sprinkle some flour on your counter, and dump out dough onto counter. Gently knead it 3-4 times. Sprinkle a little bit more flour on the counter if needed and on rolling pin, and roll out dough into a rectangle, about one centimeter thick.
• Brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Roll dough up into a log, and with a sharp knife, slice it into nine even circles. Pour maple syrup into prepared pan, tilting pan to spread out syrup evenly. Lay buns, cut side down, into pan. Place pan in hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Buns will be puffed and browned. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge and invert pan onto a plate. Let pan sit upside down for a couple of minutes to catch any excess syrup. Remove pan and let buns cool for as long as you can stand it. Best eaten the same day.
• Makes nine buns. See how long they last.
originally posted (by Christine) on EcoLiving London blog – check it out at:
