I came across this recipe from Saveur when a local shop, Cooks Shop Here posted a link on their Facebook page. It was the height of maple sugaring season in our area a few weeks ago and I was so excited to find some good recipes that used maple syrup. I have to say, my expectations were high – maybe unrealistically so. I have been debating about whether or not to post this recipe but in the end decided that even recipes that aren’t slam dunks still have the potential spark some discussion or new ideas for how to improve them.
Things that contributed to not feeling 100% satisfied by the experience:
The dumplings were a bit too dense.
It felt a little wasteful and expensive to use so much maple syrup. Nearly two cups of maple syrup would normally last a lot longer around our house when we’re just drizzling a little on waffles or whatnot.
This was all I ate for breakfast that day (and I’ll confess I ate more than the one sixth serving size). Sweetness overload! A couple small bites paired with some other complementary breakfast foods would have been better. Salty bacon and fruit salad perhaps?
The pan I used was a bit shallow so dumplings were not entirely submerged and required turning.
I enjoyed these dumplings but I think they could be better, although I’m not entirely sure what I would do differently. I would like them to be a little lighter and fluffier but they already have quite a bit of baking powder in them. What would you do?
Maple Syrup Dumplings – makes 6 servings
1 3/4 cups maple syrup (I used a good, local, medium amber syrup from a nearby farm)
1 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, frozen
3/4 cup milkBring syrup and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Grate butter on large holes of a box grater into flour and toss to coat; add milk and stir with a fork until dough forms. When syrup mixture reaches a boil, use a spoon to drop large clumps of dough into syrup. Cover pot; simmer until dumplings are cooked through, 10–15 minutes. Spoon dumplings and sauce into 6 bowls and serve.
Check out more pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649
Kitchen Dancing 
I don’t know about dumplings, so I don’t know how to adjust this recipe, but one of my favorite things to do with maple syrup is to caramelize onions in olive oil and the syrup, toast some pecans or walnuts, saute some spinach, cook up some butternut squash ravioli, toss it all together and top with feta. It’s amazing. I think it takes about a cup of syrup, but I never measure it, so I’m not entirely sure.
i’m going through maple syrup withdrawal and so the very mention of it sets my mouth to watering!! i think these sound fantastic…i’m wondering about cooking the dumplings in the syrup…maybe a better solution would be to place the dough in boiling water and then cover top them with the syrup?? hmmm, i’ll have to think on it…