I hope I don’t sound like a broken record, but honestly, for a tiny state the size of my beloved Vermont, how is it possible to have so many amazing food products, produced by hand in small batches by REAL LIVE humans?! It’s an embarrassment of riches. I’ve lived in Vermont most of my life and I adore this state for so many reasons, not the least of which is… the food!
Speaking of great food products, I have a friend who has a small, family-run maple sugaring operation called Couching Lion Maple Sugar Farm. She recently shared some of her maple syrup and maple sugar with me. I love maple sugar – gorgeously golden, crystallized essence of maple. I’m no maple expert, but I do know that making it involves boiling the syrup down and then stirring. And stirring and stirring and stirring until it crystallizes. It’s a time consuming labor of love and the result is worth it- pure maple flavor. I’ve used my friend’s maple sugar in a number of things, sweet and savory. I loved it as part of a soy glaze on pork. We also tried it in a braised collard green dish – fabulous.
The other day I was walking the dog at Shelburne Farms and popped into OBread bakery (is there anywhere better on a winter Sunday than a warm bakery, hazy with flour and fragrant with butter? Just saying.) I grabbed some of their flaky chocolate croissants to bring home and I made this Maple Sugar Bread Pudding, with maple sugar glazed pecans and a little maple caramel drizzle. It’s a deliciously old-fashioned and comforting dessert.
Check out Couching Lion’s website! A bit of trivia- Couching Lion (“La Lion Couchant”) is the name that Samuel de Champlain gave to our iconic mountain, Camel’s Hump!
- Soft butter for buttering the baking dish
- 6 eggs
- 1½ cups half and half
- ½ cup maple syrup, plus 1 tablespoon for drizzling on top
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 6 chocolate croissants, chopped into pieces
- 1 cup maple sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling on top
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Butter a 2 quart baking dish
- In a big bowl, using a fork, mix the eggs, half and half, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
- Add the croissant pieces to the egg mixture and toss until well coated. Allow the croissants to soak up some of the liquid for a minute or two.
- Stir the sugar into the croissant mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the top with a tablespoon of the maple sugar and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.
- Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, until tester comes out clean.
- Allow to cool slightly and firm up a bit before serving.
- Serve with Maple Sugar Glazed Pecans and a maple drizzle.
- 2 cups whole pecans
- ¼ cup maple sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Toss all ingredients together on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 6-8 minutes, until sugars harden and become crunchy. Check frequently to avoid burning. Cool.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup maple sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Pinch salt
- Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk until smooth and bubbly. Continue whisking at a simmer until slightly thickened.
