Easy Maple Nut Fudge-12 Days of Christmas Treats

I love the frosting that comes on maple bars.  This easy fudge is reminiscent of that frosting.  It goes together in less than 10 minutes if the nuts have already been chopped and toasted.  I chop and toast a large batch of nuts at a time and keep them handy in my refrigerator.  Either walnuts or pecans work well in this recipe.  10 minutes of real work and a couple of hours of wait time, and you have another delicious flavor to include in candy gifts.

The maple extract is listed as optional, but you will get a more pronounced maple flavor if you use it.  Measure and then sift the confectioner's sugar.  I actually like to put the sugar through a fine sieve using the back of a spoon

This is a softer fudge than usual, so I keep it well, wrapped in the fridge, cutting it and letting it set to firm up a bit when I serve it.

Maple Nut Fudge
1/4 c butter or margarine (I always use butter)
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. maple extract (opt.)
4 1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar, sifted or put through a sieve
1 c. chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts

Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add maple syrup, milk, vanilla and maple extract.  Stir till well blended.  Remove from heat, add confectioners’ sugar, stirring until sugar is well incorporated and the mixture is smooth.  Stir in pecans or walnuts.  Turn into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Chill in refrigerator until firm.  I like to store this, well-wrapped and uncut in the refrigerator, cutting the fudge as needed and letting it set a while to firm up.  Makes 64 1-inch squares.

Banana Maple Bacon Muffins-Secret Recipe Club

Here it is time for another post for Secret Recipe Club.  This is where I am assigned another blog, go to that blog, find and make a recipe I like, then share the recipe on my blog on a specific day.  The blog I was assigned this time was Jane’s Adventures in Dinner.  This is a Canadian gal who has been blogging since August of 2010, so there were plenty of recipes to choose from.  This, of course, made it very hard to pick a recipe.  Of course, the sweets caught my eye, and I have added several of them to my to-make list, especially Apple Crumble Cake, Fudge Topped Cake and Upside Down Banana Cake.  There were others, but you should go take a look for yourself.

Since I had made a number of desserts recently, in the end, I chose to make something a little more healthy, Banana Maple Bacon Muffins.  I had ripe bananas on hand to use up, and these muffins seemed like they would be something I would like to have on hand for a quick breakfast.  I think bananas, maple and bacon was an inspired combination.  It will be very nice to have these in the freezer.

I did not change the recipe from Jane’s recipe except that my bananas were on the large side so I used 3 instead of 4.  I keep already-fried bacon pieces around and  bacon grease in my fridge from when I do fry fresh bacon so I used those.  The muffins may have been a bit better if I had fried my bacon fresh.  I baked the muffins in my silicone muffin cups.

The ingredient list is right, and there is no leavening in this recipe.  The muffins are more bread-like than most muffins.

Be sure to visit Jane’s Adventures in Dinner to find some great recipes.

Banana Maple Bacon Muffins
4 bananas
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. pure maple syrup
1 T. melted bacon grease (or vegetable oil)
1/4 crispy fried bacon bits
3 c. flour

In a mixing bowl, mash bananas until smooth  Add egg and milk and beat well.  Stir in maple syrup, bacon grease and bacon.  Add flour and mix just until flour is moistened.  Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes 12

To join in all the fun of Secret Recipe Club check out the information here.  See what recipes other bloggers have chosen to make this month by checking out the links below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Winter Squash Maple Nut Muffins-Eating the Alphabet

This month we have reached U, V, W.  There are only a few vegetables, fruits or grains that begin with these letters so these are some of the hardest letters in the alphabet to find something to blog about.

I checked Veggie Ventures index, and she has nothing listed for U and V.  For W there is only watercress and winter squash listed.  I am not sure that I have ever seen watercress although I have read about cucumber and watercress sandwiches in books.

That left me with winter squash.  Now technically that is a category of vegetable, not a specific vegetable, but since many winter squash varieties can be used interchangeably in recipes, I think winter squash is legal for the challenge.

I happened to have some leftover acorn squash in my fridge so went looking for something to make with it.  When I measured it, I had right at a cup and decided to look at muffin recipes on the file in my computer.

Because I had maple flavor on my mind from yesterday’s Dessert Challenge, when I found a recipe for Maple Pumpkin Muffins that called for 1 cup of pumpkin, I knew I had found the base for my muffins.
I changed the pumpkins to squash, changed the spice from pumpkin pie spice to allspice and added some walnuts for crunch.

The muffins were moist and very good with a subtle maple flavor that paired very well with the squash flavor.  Any mashed winter squash could be used in these.  They would be a slightly different flavor for each one.

Winter Squash Maple Nut Muffins
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 T. baking powder
1 t. allspice
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 c. mashed cooked winter squash or pumpkin
1/3 c. chopped walnuts or other nuts

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and allspice.  Mix well.  In a small mixing bowl, combine maple syrup, butter or margarine and the egg.  Beat well.  Add mashed squash and stir until well blended.  Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture, stirring just until blended.  Add nuts and mix briefly.  Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool 5 minutes and remove from pan.  May be served warm or at room temperature.  Makes 12 muffins.

Brenda from Meal Planning Magic is planning to do this challenge next year which will be year three.  Eating the Alphabet has been a great challenge which has helped me eat a bigger variety of vegetable, fruits and grains.  If you would like to broaden your vegetable, fruit and grains horizon, I strongly suggest that you sign up and follow Meal Planning Magic to get all the details for 2014.

Check out the links below to see what other bloggers have done with the letters U, V, W.

Maple Pear Walnut Pudding Cake-Dessert Challenge

The flavors for this month’s Dessert Challenge hosted by Sheryl at Lady Behind the Curtain are maple and pear.   These both make you think of the crisp, cool days of fall.

I chose to do a version of what we used to call pudding cake, which is a batter with a liquid mixture poured over it that then bakes into a yummy sauce below the cake.  When served, the sauce can be spooned over the cake.

The cake batter is very thick and full of pears.  I used diced Asian pears because that is what I had on hand, and I like their firmness.  Any other ripe, fresh pear can be used.  Out of season, canned pears can be used.  I added chopped walnuts for some crunch and  maple flavoring to the sauce mixture to make a maple/brown sugar sauce.

Hubby gave this dessert a 10

Maple Pear Walnut Pudding Cake

Cake Batter
1 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
2 c. diced fresh pears or 1 (16 oz.) can pears, well drained and chopped.
1/3  c. chopped walnuts

Sauce
3/4 c. boiling water
1/4 c. butter
1/2 t. maple flavoring
3/4 c. brown sugar

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Mix well.  Stir in milk.  The batter will be stiff.  Add pears and walnuts and mix well.  Spoon into well-greased 8-inch baking pan.  In a 2-cup glass measuring cup combine water and butter.  Microwave on high 4 to 5 minutes or until water is boiling and butter is melted.  Carefully remove from microwave and add maple flavoring.  Carefully stir in brown sugar until well combined. Pour over batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.  Makes 8 servings.

Next month's flavors are eggnog and cranberries.  If you would like to join in the fun, Sheryl has all the information here.

Linking to these great parties:
Full Plate Thursday
Tasty Thursday
Catch a Glimpse Party
Showcase Your Talent Thursday
Show Off Your Stuff Thursday

Check out the links below to see what other bloggers have made with pears and maple.

Maple Walnut Bars

Life outside of blogging has been happening at Grandma Loy’s Kitchen, so I am posting this Saturday Sweet on Sunday.

Last weekend hubby hit a rock while out four-wheeling and was thrown from his machine.  Fortunately, he didn’t break any bones, but he has a gigantic bruise on his left side and one at the base of his spine.  He is very sore and can barely stand moving around so he has been pretty much planted in his recliner.  He has had two chiropractic treatments and is beginning to feel better, but I don’t like to spend lots of time on the computer when he is not feeling well.

This is the other maple-flavored recipe that I said I would post this week and is very different from the Glazed Maple Walnut Bars.  This one has a brown sugar, shortbread-like base with a topping much like that for pecan pie.  You actually could use pecans instead of walnuts and have Maple Pecan Bars.

One thing that I do when I make this is to place the uncracked eggs in a bowl of very warm water while I am making the cookie base.  This warms the eggs up so that they are less likely to want to cook when the hot syrup is poured over them.

I always toast the walnuts as I think it enhances the flavor of the cookie.  This step can be skipped if desired.

This is a very rich cookie that goes well on a cookie tray.  The original recipe came from Farm Journal’s  “Best-Ever Cookies” book, 1980, one of my favorite cookie cookbooks.

Maple Walnut Bars
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. maple table syrup
1 t. maple extract
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 c. chopped, toasted walnuts

Placed the uncracked eggs in a bowl of warm water and set aside.  Combine the flour and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.  Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Press mixture into a foil-lined 9x13-inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  While cookie base is baking, combine 2/3 c. brown sugar and maple table syrup in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes.  Break eggs into a mixer bowl and beat slightly.  Slowly pour hot syrup into the eggs, beating constantly.  Stir in maple extract, vanilla, flour, and salt.  Mix thoroughly and pour over the baked base.  Sprinkle the walnuts evenly over the top.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and set.  Cool in pan on rack.  Cut into bars.  Makes about 32.

Glazed Maple Walnut Bars-12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

Wow, here we are at the halfway point of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats.  Time is going by so fast, I can hardly believe it.  My flavor choice for bar cookie this week is maple.  There were two very different recipes that I had a hard time choosing between, so I finally decided that I would post them both this week, one today and the other one for Saturday Sweets.

The recipe for today is an unassuming looking little bar cookie that packs a great flavor punch.  A maple-flavored, walnut-filled cake is saturated with a maple-flavored glaze, making a very moist bar cookie.

The recipe is an old one, so uses both baking powder and baking soda, and the method of alternating the flour mixture and milk when adding them to the dry ingredients.  I usually add half the flour mixture, all of the milk, and the last half of the flour mixture.

I think the flavor is enhanced if the walnuts are toasted, but the bars are still very good if they aren’t.

I do have one caution.  When pouring the glaze over the baked bars, pour slowly and evenly.  The glaze sinks into the cookie very quickly and cannot be spread out over the top if you miss a spot.

If you like maple flavor, I think that you will love this Christmas treat.

Glazed Maple Walnut Bars
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 t. maple extract
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 c. chopped walnuts (preferably toasted)
1 2/3 c. sifted powdered sugar
2/3 c. milk
6 T. butter or margarine
1 t. maple extract

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter or margarine and sugar together until fluffy.  Beat in eggs and maple extract.  In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir into creamed mixture alternately with milk, mixing until well blended.  Stir in the walnuts.  Spread mixture in a greased 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  While cookies are baking, combine powdered sugar, milk and butter or margarine in a medium saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full rolling boil.  Remove from heat and add the maple extract.  Set aside if cookies are not yet done.  Remove cookies from oven and prick top all over with a fork.  Slowly and evenly drizzle glaze over hot cookies.  Cool cookies in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.  Makes about 48 cookies.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats is hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  There are still 6 weeks left to join in the fun.  You can find the sign-up information in this post.

Maple Curry Glazed Delicata Squash-Eating the Alphabet

Here we are in the last quarter of 2013’s Eating the Alphabet hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  We are up to the letters S and T.  I am taking a bit of freedom here and making a recipe using winter squash. specifically Delicata squash.  To really go by the guidelines, I probably should have chosen Spaghetti squash, but wanted to use a vegetable that I had never eaten.

My local Safeway had organic Delicata squash for $ .99 a lb. so I purchased two that were about 7-inches long and 3-inches in diameter.  This amount should make four servings.  The skin of this squash is eatable, but most people will probably not want to eat it.

I had seen a recipe over at Veggie Venture for a simple maple glaze used with butternut squash.  I adapted this glaze recipe to use with the Delicata squash and added a bit of curry powder.  I used 1/2 t. curry powder, but adjust it to your taste.

Since the original glaze was used with butternut squash, and I used it with the Delicata squash, the glaze would be appropriate for almost any winter squash.

This was an easy and delicious recipe which I will add to my often used recipes. I think these would be attractive to use for a dinner party.

Maple Curry Glazed Delicata Squash
2 Delicata squash, about 7-inches long
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
1/2 t. or more curry powder

Wash squash well and cut off stem and blossom ends.  Slice each squash into 3/4-inch rings.  You should get about 8 rings from each squash.  Using a spoon and knife remove the seeded area from the center of each squash ring.  Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan liberally with non-stick spray.  Place squash rings in baking pan.  Combine melted butter, maple syrup and curry powder and mix well.  Brush the tops and inside centers with the glaze mixture.  Bake squash at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn squash over.  Brush with glaze and bake 10 more minutes.  Repeat above, turning and basting with the glaze every 10 minutes until squash is tender, abut 40 minutes total.  Place squash in serving dish and drizzle any glaze that is left over the top.  Makes 4 servings.

Linking to these great parties:

Take-a-Look Tuesday

Tasteful Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesday

Time to Sparkle

Tuesday Talent Show

Two Cup Tuesday

Simple Supper Tuesday

Share Your Stuff Tuesday

Show Me What You Got

Tasty Tuesday

Tuesday Trivia

Show Me What Ya Got

Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Hi all, I think that I have gotten my ISP and other life challenges worked out so will be posting more often.  Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.

I have said before that I fix quite a lot of pork tenderloin.  Hubby and I both like it, and it is frequently on sale.  The ones I purchase weigh 24 ozs.

Recently I prepared Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin.  I seasoned the pork with a new seasoning from McCormick called Perfect Pinch.  I used the Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper flavor.  McCormick doesn’t know I exist.  I am just sharing what I used.  Use seasonings of your choice.

I used Balsamic vinegar and spicy brown mustard in the Maple Mustard glaze.  Other vinegar or mustard flavors could be used which would result is slightly different flavors.

This is a very easy to do recipe.

Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin
1 (24 oz.) pork tenderloin
seasoning of your choice to rub into the pork
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1/4 c. vinegar (I used Balsamic)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. mustard (I used Spicy Brown)

Remove tenderloin from refrigerator about 30 minutes to 1 hour before putting it in the oven.  Rub on all side with desired seasonings.  Set aside to allow meat to lose its chill.  In a 1 cup glass measuring cup measure maple syrup.  Add vinegar, brown sugar and mustard to maple syrup and blend with a wire whisk until mustard is well blended into other ingredients.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  When ready to put tenderloin into the oven, pour about 1/4 cup glaze over the meat.  Place in oven and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting with additional glaze every 15 minutes until the temperature on a meat thermometer reads 155 to 160 degrees.  Let tenderloin rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.  Heat remaining glaze mixture in microwave for about 1 minute and serve with the pork.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Linking to these great parties:
Mealtime Monday
Busy Monday
Manic Monday
Mix It Up Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
What'd You Do This Weekend?
Make The Scene Monday
Mop It Up Monday
Marvelous Monday
Monday Funday
Made by You Monday
A-Peek-into-My-Paradise-TGIF-Link-Party
On the Menu Monday

Maple Glazed Roasted Fennel and Yams-Eating the Alphabet

One of the reasons that I joined Eating the Alphabet last year was to enlarge my exposure to different vegetables.  When the letter “F” came around last year, I wanted to try fennel.  I looked everywhere and could not find any so I had to pass that up.  This year when”F” came around again , I was determined to find some fennel.  I finally found some at a grocery store 30 miles away from home at a very expensive price.  They told me they have it all the time, but I won’t be buying it often at its current price.

Because I only bought one bulb of fennel, I knew it would not go far.  I have been having a love affair with roasted yams (sweet potatoes) so I decided to combine some of them with the  fennel  and roast them.  After the fennel and yams were roasted, I decided to add a couple of tablespoons maple syrup.  All in all, I thought the combination made a very good dish, and I will make this again.

Maple Glazed Roasted Fennel and Yams
1 bulb fennel, about 1 lb.
1 lb. or so small yams, about 1 1/2-inches in diameter
1 T. olive oil
2 T. pure maple syrup

Cut top from fennel bulb.  Wash and slice bulb into about 1/2-inch slices and place in a medium bowl.  Peel yams and slice into about 1 1/2-inch chunks.  Add to fennel in the bowl.  Pour the olive oil over the fennel and yams and toss until everything is well coated with the oil.  Turn out onto a foil-lined jelly-roll pan.  Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Toss well.  Continue roasting another 10-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and drizzle the maple syrup over the vegetables.  Toss well.  Return to oven and roast another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Toss once more and place in a serving dish.  Makes 4 servings.

If you would like to join Eating the Alphabet, you can get all the necessary information here on Brenda's information page.

Maple Mustard Roasted Carrots-Eating the Alphabet

The letters for this month’s Eating the Alphabet challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic is “C or D".  This is a blog hop using veggies, fruits, grains or legumes to help us find more recipes for eating healthy.  I decided that carrots would be the vegetable I would use this month.

I like cooked carrots, hubby not so much; so I usually make them just for me. Roasting is my preferred method for cooking carrots as it seems to bring out their sweetness.  The maple/mustard flavor combination is one I have used in the past so I thought I would try it with carrots.  Hubby tried them and said that they were OK which is big praise from him.  I, myself, loved them and will be making this recipe often.

Since there are just the two of us, I only made an 8x8 pan full.  If I was feeding a family, I would double the recipe.  Although I used regular carrots, peeling and cutting them up, a lb. of baby carrots could be used instead.  Cut the baby carrots so they are all about the same size if necessary.  The flavor of this recipe can be changed up some by using different flavors of mustard.

Maple Mustard Roasted Carrots
8 or so medium carrots, peeled and cut into about 1 inch chunks (enough to fill a 8x8-inch baking dish) or 1 lb. baby carrots
1 T. olive oil
3 T. pure maple syrup
1 1/2 t. Dijon mustard or mustard of your choice.

Place carrots in a greased 8x8-inch baking dish.  Drizzle with the olive oil and toss until carrots are well coated.  Place pan in a 350 degree oven.  Roast about 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until carrots are crisp tender.  Combine maple syrup and mustard in a glass measuring cup and mix until very well blended.  Pour over carrots and mix well.  Roast another 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until as tender as desired.  Makes 4 servings.

If you would like to join our eating adventure, Brenda has a information and a sign-up form in this post.

Maple Curry Roast Pork Tenderloin

Good Monday to all and welcome to my new followers.  I appreciate all of my readers so much and thank you for taking time from your busy lives to visit my blog.  Hopefully you will find some useful recipes here.

I have mentioned before that pork tenderloin in one of my favorite cuts of pork, and I buy it whenever it is on sale.  Right now a local grocery store is promoting them for $5.99 each so I have been stocking up.

Stocking up means that I am on a constant look out for new recipes.  Recently I gave this one a try.  It is from the recipe files on my computer, and I don’t know the original source.

I thought the sauce for this was very good and well worth the splurge for the pure maple syrup.  I will definitely be making this one again.  This would be a wonderful dish to serve at a dinner party.

The pork tenderloins I purchase are 1 1/2 lbs.  The only suggestion I would make is to watch the sauce carefully.  It will begin to caramelize after about 40 minutes.  If the tenderloin is not done at that point I would pour the sauce out of the baking pan into a small sauce pan and add some water to the baking pan to finish cooking the tenderloin.

Since there are just the two of us, I put the sauce in a small bowl, sliced the tenderloin as necessary, and drizzled the sauce over the cut slices.  There was enough for a main meal, and a couple left-over meals for each of us.  I served this with a corn pudding and a Brussels sprout dish which I will post soon.

Maple Curry Roast Pork Tenderloin
1 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
2 t. ketchup
2 t. orange zest
1 1/2 t. curry powder
1 1/2 t. ground coriander
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
2  cloves garlic, minced

Trim pork of all visible fat.  Place pork in a large zip top plastic bag.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork in bag.  Seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, turning once.  Remove from refrigerator and continue marinating about 30 minutes, turning once.  Place pork with marinade in a small greased baking pan.  Roast, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, turning tenderloin in sauce every 10 minutes.  If pork is not done after 40 minutes, pour sauce into a small sauce pan and add a bit of water to the baking pan.  Continue to cook until the pork is done (160 degrees).  Pork should still be slightly pink in middle.  Let pork stand for 10 minutes before slicing.  Reheat sauce if necessary and drizzle over thinly sliced pork.  Serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings

Linking to these great  parties:
Hunk of Meat Monday
Busy Monday
Mealtime Monday
Making Monday Marvelous
Marvelous Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Mix It Up Monday
Mop It Up Monday
The Bulletin Board
Make the Scene Monday
Made by You Monday
Mangia Monday
Must Try Monday

Secret Recipe Club-Maple Pecan Brown Sugar Cake

My assignment for Secret Recipe Club this month was the blog, A Dusting of Sugar.   What a great find this was for this Great Big Sweet Tooth Dessert Lovin’ grandma.  The blog is filled with wonderful dessert and baking recipes from Rebecca, a college student who does most of her cooking in a dorm kitchen.  She is getting a bit better kitchen to cook in this year, I understand.

Looking through the blog, I found recipe after recipe that I wanted to try, but when I came across the post for Brown Sugar Cake I knew that was what I was going to make.  I also totally agree with sentiments she expresses in the post about eating sweets.  Just a couple of the other recipes that I want to try are Milk Muffins and Nutella Nanaimo Bars.

With fall coming, I have had the flavor of maple on my mind so decided that I would add maple flavor to the recipe and also some chopped, toasted pecans.

The cake is topped by a penuche type frosting to which I also added a bit of maple flavor.  This made the frosting taste similar to what is on bakery maple bars.  The cake is a sturdy cake which I actually cut into small enough  pieces to serve as a bar cookie.  No matter if you cut it into larger pieces to serve as cake or smaller ones to serve like bar cookies, it is  a delicious dessert well worth making.  Thanks for sharing a great recipe, Rebecca.

Maple Pecan Brown Sugar Cake
based on a recipe found at A Dusting of Sugar

1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs at room temperature
1 t. maple flavoring
1 T. vanilla extract
3 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 c. chopped toasted pecans

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, shortening, and brown sugar and beat until light and creamy.  Add eggs and mix until well blended.  Blend in maple flavoring and vanilla extract.  Combine flour and baking powder and stir well.  Add flour to creamed mixture and mix until well blended.  Add milk, mixing until batter is smooth.  Stir in pecans.  Pour batter into a well-greased 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.  The batter will fill pan very full.  Bake at 350 degrees 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched with a finger.  Let cool to room temperature.

Maple Frosting
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 c. milk
1/2 t. maple flavoring
2 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan on the stove.  Add brown sugar, bring to a boil and boil over low heat for 2 minutes.  Add milk, cook and stir until mixture boils.  Remove from heat.  Stir in maple flavoring.  Add powdered sugar and mix in well.  Pour frosting over cake spread out quickly and evenly over the top.  Frosting will set up quickly.  Cool and cut as desired.  Makes 60 or more bar cookies or 15 servings as a cake.

 If you would like to join in the fun, just click on over to The Secret Recipe Club information page to find out all the details.