These finger-licking good Sticky Maple Buns balance sweetness with a surprising, delicious savory element: Tahini. Worthy of the best springtime feasts!

Welcome to my Cooking with Friends series! This spring, as I work on cookbook projects that keep me very busy, I’ve invited some of my favorite blogger friends to share recipes with you. I hope you’ll have just as much fun cooking and baking with them as I do.

Today, I’m welcoming Hilary Morden from Cocoa Bean, The Vegetable. Hilary is a talented hobbyist food blogger and photographer, as well as an avid believer in using local products in her recipes. Today, she shares a delicious recipe worthy of the best springtime feasts: Sticky Maple Buns with Sweet Tahini Glaze. Enjoy!

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Very few seasons are as popular as maple season here in Québec. The hand-written posters that appear around various markets and grocers announcing the springtime maple harvest is a sure sign the trees are waking up and the warmer days of summer aren’t too far away.

As a born-and-bred Canadian, maple syrup is particularly wonderful for me because I associate it with fond memories. I remember visiting sugar shacks and watching the sugar water slowly drip from the tree, passing through what seemed like miles of tubing and into a large vat where it would boil and boil, eventually becoming the maple taffy that stuck to my teeth. Growing up we always had some of the amber gold in our house just in case we had an impromptu pancake breakfast. You better not mention table syrup around here though–that’s blasphemy!

This recipe for Sticky Maple Buns with Sweet Tahini Glaze makes maple the star of the dish, but compliments its sweetness with a savoury element: tahini. This mix of flavours is perhaps untraditional, but so delicious! A true comfort food dish that is best enjoyed around maple season, to commemorate and prepare us for the changing of the seasons. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

You can head to my blog, Cocoa Bean, The Vegetable, to get the recipe for Sticky Maple Buns with Sweet Tahini Glaze, along with many more delicious recipes to try today!

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Hi I’m Hilary, and I write and photograph my culinary adventures over at Cocoa Bean, the Vegetable. I’ve been a hobbyist food blogger and food photographer for over five years, and I love to create my own mix of flavours and textures. I try my best to use local products as often as possible, and I write about both healthy meals and sweet indulgences.

When I’m not thinking about food, I’m working at McGill University in the fundraising department, juggling a freelancer gig in public relations and communications, and trying to convince my husband that we should adopt a dog.

Make sure to follow Hilary through her blog and on social media:

• Blog: Cocoa Bean, the Vegetable
• Instagram
• Facebook

All photos in this article: © Hilary Morden.

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Maple Desserts & Treats Cookbook

Love maple? Then you need to get your hands on my Maple Desserts & Treats Cookbook! Filled with 25 maple-centric recipes, from timeless classics to modern treats, Maple Desserts & Treats is a downloadable eBook with a collection of irresistible recipes made with nature’s most aromatic sugar. Get it all in a handy, “save it everywhere” PDF format! LEARN MORE