1Tablespoonsgranulated maple sugar, *see Notes for substitution
1Tablespoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonsalt, reduce to 1/4 tsp is using salted butter
5Tablespoonsbutter, salted or unsalted, cold, cut into small pieces
3/4cupwhole milk, or 2% milk, in a pinch
Filling:
6Tablespoonbutter, at room temperature
1cupgranulated maple sugar
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) with rack in centre of oven. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups and set on to a baking sheet. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, maple sugar, baking powder and salt. Blennd in butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Add milk and stir with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Gently knead dough 8 to 10 times with floured hands on a lightly floured surface.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 13 x 11-inch rectangle. Spread softened butter evenly over the dough and then sprinkle all over with maple sugar, pressing firmly on the sugar with your palm to help it stick to the butter.
Beginning with one long side, roll up the dough tightly, jelly-roll style. Trim both ends slightly, to remove any uneven part of the roll, then cut the roll into 10-12 slices with a sharp knife (about 1-inch wide). Place slices cut side down in prepared muffin cups. Gather any maple sugar from your work surface and sprinkle on top of rolls. Fill any empty muffin cups 1/2 full with water, to ensure even cooking.
Bake in preheated oven with muffin tins on top of a baking sheet to catch any bubble overs, until rolls are puffed and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the muffin tin for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool further.
Notes
If your maple sugar is more like flakes, simply run through a food processor for 30 seconds or so to make it more fine.If you can't find maple sugar, or it's too expensive where you live, you can make a simple substitute by combining 1 cup regular sugar with 1 1/4 tsp maple extract. Alternately, you could just substitute raw sugar or brown sugar, using a bit more than specified. They won't be maple, but they will still be delicious!Don't skip the baking sheet under your muffin tin. These will bubble up and over a bit and make a mess of the bottom of your oven if you don't have something under it. Even at that, you may wish to run your oven fan, as any bubble overs are quite sugary, so may burn and smoke a bit.These are best eaten on the day they are baked, but they do freeze well, so don't hesitate to freeze any you can't eat up right away. Store in an airtight container, once cooled. You can re-heat them to enjoy them warm again, by placing them on a baking sheet and re-heating in a 350F. oven just until warm.