Are you wondering what new dessert to try this year? Try these tasty recipes for your next holiday gathering! Both of these recipes come from the new book Let’s Bake!: Over 100 Dessert Recipes for Gifting & Giving (Hatherleigh Press, November 2024) by Gail Sweeney. Whether you are more fond of maple or cinnamon and ginger, we have some tasty options for you to explore!

Maple Leaf Cookies with Maple Syrup Glaze

Equipment: Three 12 x 18-inch parchment-lined cookie sheets, stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld mixer, maple leaf cookie cutter.

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 yolk at room temperature
• ⅔ cup maple syrup (Grade B is best if you can find it)
• ½ teaspoon maple extract

For the Glaze

• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 cups icing sugar
• Pinch of salt

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt on a large sheet of parchment paper.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the whole egg and yolk and continue mixing until fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually stream in the maple syrup and extract, and beat until well incorporated. Tip in the dry ingredients until just blended.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured sheet of parchment or wax paper. The dough will be quite soft. Knead the dough a few times and form the dough into two large discs. Chill the dough for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Take the dough out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before you plan to roll it out.

Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper to a ¼-inch thickness. Cut out the leaf shapes and place them on your prepared cookie sheets 1 inch apart. I often use one small and one medium-sized leaf cutter, as I think it makes for a nice presentation. Chill the cookies on the baking sheets for 30 minutes. You can stack the cookie sheets one on top of another with a piece of waxed paper in between.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cookies for approximately 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cookies cool on wire racks.

While the cookies are cooling, make your glaze. Add 2 cups of icing sugar to ½ cup of maple syrup and stir to a smooth, creamy consistency. If the glaze is too thin, add more icing sugar; if it is too thick, add more maple syrup. Add a pinch of salt to taste.

Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and let the glaze set on the cookies for 2 hours at room temperature. These cookies can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for 2 months.

Pumpkin Loaf with Maple Glaze & Maple Pecans

Equipment: A 9 x 5 or 9 x 4-inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper, a large mixing bowl

Ingredients

For the Loaf

• 1¾ cups flour
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed mixed with 2½ tablespoons water (This is your flaxseed egg)
• 15 ounces, 1½ cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1¼ cups brown sugar
• ½ cup Canola oil or any other vegetable oil
• ¼ cup almond milk

For the Glaze

• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 1½ cups icing sugar
• A pinch of salt

For the Maple Pecans

• 1 cup pecans, lightly salted
• ½ cup maple syrup

To start with the loaf, preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the flaxseed with the water and let sit until the mixture thickens (about 15 minutes). In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, almond milk, then the flaxseed.

With a hand whisk, mix until the ingredients are well incorporated. On a large piece of parchment paper, whisk together the flour, spices, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then, release it onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Toward the end of the loaf’s baking time, start making the glaze. In a small saucepan on medium-low heat, combine the maple syrup and icing sugar. Continue whisking until there are no lumps and the glaze has a nice pouring consistency. If the glaze needs to be thicker, add more icing sugar. Remove from the heat and continue whisking for a few minutes as the glaze cools down in order to ensure a smooth consistency. Pour over the lukewarm cake in two layers.

Garnish with maple pecans. Heat the maple syrup in a skillet until it reaches a slow boil. Add the pecans and stir the nuts until the maple syrup has crystallized around them. Scrape the nuts onto a parchment-covered board and quickly separate them with an offset spatula. Use as needed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gail Sweeney has been baking and tweaking her recipes for over 25 years, providing specialty markets, bistros, and boutique stores with her renowned goods. Her love for baking stems from the happiness it brings to others. Also an aspiring food photographer, her recipes have been featured in local newspapers and television in Ontario, Canada.

Photos provided by Gail Sweeney