Maple syrup, I love you. Date puree, I love you even more. Why? Because date puree is high in fibre. But in spring, I have no choice but to raise my hat to Quebec’s liquid gold: good old maple syrup. It’s such a unique flavour. Hahaha! When I was little, we’d spend the sugaring off season sugar shack hopping, visiting all the different shacks in my family: there was Michel’s, and Rodrigue’s, and Adrien and Louisette’s place, and then Raymond’s… Let’s just say, I was rather spoilt. So, I’m delighted to introduce my very first crunchy energy cookie, the Certified Gold.
A crispy energy cookie? Yes, that’s because the recipe doesn’t call for date puree. Instead they’re sweetened only with maple syrup, and it’s this natural sugar that makes the cookies a little crunchier, a bit more like a traditional cookie. Ohhhhh! Plus, this simple recipe is EGG-FREE (vegans, this one’s for you) and GLUTEN-FREE (if made with gluten-free flour).
Why did I use nut/peanut/soya butter or the likes for this recipe? I wanted to tip my hat to one of our family traditions (as I said, the sugar shack is part of my culture). At my house, when you eat maple taffy on snow, you eat it with peanuts (see photo above). Hahaha! Why’s that? Because it’s a perfect sweet-salty match and you also get to eat even more taffy… Hahaha!
Next time you’re at the sugar shack, give it a try. Take your wooden stick and roll it in the maple taffy to make a neat little lollipop and then roll it again, this time in salted peanuts. MAMAMIA! An EXPLOSION OF JOY, HAPPINESS, CONTENTMENT AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
Enjoy the sugaring off season and happy spring!
