‘Tis the season for maple syrup

    When the weather starts to turn cooler, we pick up some fresh Bosc pears to slice and bake with a butter-maple syrup glaze – just three ingredients and the oven does the rest of the work. It’s hard to resist those succulent treats that have been enhanced, believe it or not, with just a sprinkling of black pepper to bring out the sweet flavors.
    In the New England states, the maple sugaring process gets under way from late winter to early spring. People gather raw sap from sugar maple trees and boil it until the flow of sap turns into syrup. Actually, the early colonists learned sugaring from Native Americans, who collected sap in hollowed-out logs then steamed away the water by pouring the sap onto hot stones. Today, modern evaporators are used to help farmers control the syrup’s quality, which is graded according to federal standards. It takes 50 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.
    While there are imitation maple syrups that are cheaper than the real deal, they tend to taste more artificial. Look for the word “maple” in the name on the container. Labeling laws prohibit imitation syrups from having maple in their names.
 Maple apple crisp
    6 fresh baking apples
    1 tablespoon lemon juice
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
    Dash of salt
    3/4 cup whole wheat flour
    1/4 cup oats
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees; slice apples and place in a buttered 8-inch square pan; mix in lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; combine flour, oats, maple syrup, and butter; sprinkle over apples; bake until apples are soft, about 45 minutes; serve topped with ice cream; makes nine servings.
Easy maple oatmeal raisin cookies
    1 18-ounce package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
    1 cup uncooked quick oats
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1 cup raisins
    Maple glaze (recipe follows)
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease or oven-spray cookie sheets; let dough stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes; combine dough, oats, and maple syrup in electric mixer bowl; beat on medium speed until well blended; mix in raisins; drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets; bake 9-11 minutes; transfer to wire rack to cool; drizzle with maple glaze; makes three dozen.
    Maple glaze: Whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon maple syrup in bowl; add more syrup by teaspoonfuls until glaze is of drizzling consistency.
Maple mustard salmon
    2/3 cup melted butter
    1/2 teaspoon dried dill
    1/2 cup maple syrup
    1/4 cup Dijon mustard
    Salmon filets for 4
    Combine ingredients in pan and stir over low heat until melted together; grill or broil salmon, basting with sauce until cooked; makes four servings.
Maple butter baked pears
    1/4 cup unsalted butter
    3 tablespoons maple syrup
    4 large Bosc pears
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Preheat oven to 400 degrees; melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat; cook until butter browns, about 2 minutes; pour into large bowl; stir in maple syrup; cut pears lengthwise into 1/8 to 1/4-inch slices; toss with butter mixture to coat; arrange slices in single layer on baking sheet; sprinkle with pepper to taste; bake, turning once until caramelized to an amber color, 25-30 minutes; let cool about 30 minutes before removing from pan; makes six servings.
Maple-glaze butternut squash
    1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and sliced, or buy the prepared squash at the supermarket
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1/4 teaspoon ground mace
    1/4 cup dark rum
    2/3 cup water
    Place ingredients in large pan; bring to a boil; then simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender; transfer squash with slotted spoon to serving dish, reserving liquid; boil cooking liquid until thickened then pour over squash; makes four servings.

    Portia Little is the author of six cookbooks, including “New England Seashore Recipes & Rhyme,” “Bread Pudding Bliss” and “The Easy Vegetarian.” You can contact her at panntree@msn.com.