maple photos on Flickr

In a year when fall color has often been disappointing, the grand old maple tree just west of the old courthouse in Williamsburg once again has come through with strong, beautiful color. While there Monday, comments overheard included, "I think this is the most beautiful tree I've ever seen" and "This tree always amazes me." The whole tree is shown in the next photo; photos of this tree from earlier years are in my Fall Color and Williamsburg, except Christmas sets.

This really should be viewed large on black in the light box.

Maple Leaf forever by Sheila Cain-Sample

I thought this was appropriate as it was voting day for us. A maple leaf, symbolizes our Country and our freedom.

Maple tree by Cheryl

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A beautiful maple tree in fall color at the Hoyt Arboretum.

Portland, OR

Maple leaf by Ann Tu

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Simple life

Autumn Fire by Scot Martin

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Maple, Lola Valley Park, Redford, MI

Maple Bonbons by Jennifer

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A family favorite! I made these for my mother-in-law many years ago, and now she requests it every Christmas!

Maple Bonbons Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1. 2 sticks of creamed, salted butter (no substitutes!!!)

2. 3 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar

3. 3 tablespoons of maple flavoring

4. 2 cups of chopped walnuts

5. 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

6. 1 cup of butterscotch chips

7. Waxed paper

8. Toothpicks

9. Candy sprinkles (optional)

10. Ziploc baggies (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

* Clean out enough space in your freezer to accommodate the freezing balls (insert naughty joke here...ba dum dum!)

* Soften the butter in the microwave. Cream together the butter, sugar, and maple flavoring until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Insert a toothpick into each ball (I should just call them "bonbons," shouldn't I?) and make sure that the toothpick goes all the way in/through. This will save you from getting your hands VERRRY chocolate-y! Put the candy sprinkes, if you're using them, into a Ziploc baggie. Insert bonbons into the Ziplocs, shake a few times to coat, and then return the bonbons to the cookie sheet. Freeze for several hours or, if desired, overnight.

* In a microwave, melt the butterscotch and semi-sweet chips. Stir to combine the chips. Dip the bonbons into the mix and return to the waxed paper. Return to the freezer (or refrigerator, if you'll be eating them sooner than later). Store uneaten bonbons in the refrigerator.

JEN NOTE: Trust me when I tell you to play the toothpick game with these. Do NOT do what I did and attempt to coat the frozen bonbons in the hot chocolate mixture yourself! Doing so uses much more chocolate than you've got, and you'll end up, as I did, with some poorly-coated chocolate. I simply ran out of chocolate!

1013 by koyagi_no_mari

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Japanese maple

The Maple by Jim Frazier

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St. James Farm

www.dupageforest.com/Conservation/ForestPreserves/St__Jam...

near sunset on October 9, 2011

Warrenville, Illinois

k111009eDSC_7944a640

Maple Colors by Martina

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