Maple was a huge part of my life growing up. My parents started making maple syrup in 1971 with just 6 taps. Now my Dad and his team of helpers on the farm have nearly 6,000 taps each sugaring season. Seems each season, my Dad is trying to obtain a new sugar bush. Most of the property that they tap is leased. We spent many of our weekends in the fall and winter at different festivals, fairs and maple association meetings. Mainly to demonstrate how to make maple candy and different value-added maple confections. Granulated maple sugar is the dry form of maple syrup. Maple syrup is heated to about 265 degrees F and then stirred continuously until all of the steam works out of the hot syrup and it becomes a granulated form. Because granulated maple sugar is essentially the dry form of maple syrup and has no moisture, it can be substituted for equal parts. Any recipe that calls for 1 cup granulated sugar or brown sugar can be substituted for 1 cup of granulated maple sugar. This will add a unique depth of flavor to any recipe.

Maple sugar can be added to your coffee, tea or even homemade iced tea. I will say that it is a bit expensive. But, maple syrup in general is expensive. I think it’s one of those ingredients I always keep in the house. Maybe because we were brought up making maple syrup. But, I really love the taste it provides for some of my cakes, apple crisp or on top of a boneless pork roast. Plus, it’s an all-natural, unrefined sugar. Which to me is so much better for you.

For someone looking to purchase granulated maple sugar, it’s available online through many sugar houses or even on Amazon. Here is a great deal- 10-pounds bulk on Amazon. Which makes it roughly $11 a pound including shipping. If you are looking to stock up on it, this is the best value. Just keep it in an airtight container and it will last indefinitely. For those of you who are local to New England, many times you can find granulated maple sugar houses and larger sugar houses. Mom and Pop style grocery stores, specialty food stores or even General stores have maple sugar. Especially those stores that are in New England. If you are looking for a great recipe this weekend, try my Farmhouse Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip cookies (page 166 on my cookbook: New England Farmgirl) Oh, these are soooooo yummy! With the weekend looking like it’s going to be a complete washout, it might be fun to try and bake a little. Make sure you try my apple crisp recipe, which uses maple sugar. This one is so simple to make and very yummy~