Maple Gingersnaps

For Christmas, my boss  got me this great cookbook:

Shelburne Farms is a working farm/national historic landmark and educational center in Shelburne, VT.  Their mission, quite simply, is to “cultivate a conservation ethic.”  This cookbook is great because it’s organized by ingredients one would find on a working farm in upstate Vermont, things like  early spring and summer greens, wild mushrooms, sweet milk, game and fish,  root-cellar vegetables(!), and a whole section on apples.  Rick Gencarelli is the head chef at the Inn at Shelburne Farms.

Since New Hampshire and Vermont share their place in the maple syrup nation, I was thrilled to find two chapters of maple recipes, one savory and one sweet.  For my first recipe using up some of our 2008 vintage syrup, I chose Maple Gingersnaps.

They are traditional, rolled cookies.

That sure do look a lot like gingersnaps!

But they stayed softer, and while they didn’t have an in-your-face maple flavor, they were a nice, subtle use of the stuff.  I added the finely chopped crystallized ginger that was suggested in the variation, and I think it overwhelmed the maple a little bit.  I also used 1 cup of whole-wheat flour.

If you have an abundance of syrup, here’s a way to use some up that’s a change from pancakes and waffles!

Maple Gingersnaps (from Cooking with Shelburne Farms)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t ground allspice
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t ground white pepper
• 3/4 c granulated white sugar
• 1/2 c light brown sugar
• 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 c plus 2 T pure maple syrup (grade B for strongest flavor)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and white pepper.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1/2 cup of the white sugar, the brown sugar, and the butter.  Cream on medium speed for two minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.  With the mixer running on medium, add the egg and then the maple syrup.

3. With the mixer on slow speed, add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4.  Roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls and roll them in the remaining 1/4 cup white sugar. Bake the cookies on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, 3-4 inches apart, for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and set at the edges but still soft in the middle.  Cool the cookies for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

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