Canada's Road Review and Maple Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

In Canada's Road: A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria, author Mark Richardson provides a daily account of his 2012 road trip through Canada from east to west. Richardson's journey across the country along the Trans-Canada Highway is laid out step-by-step in stories of towns visited, wonders discovered and people met. The scenes Richardson lays out, the details about the history of the Trans-Canada Highway and our country, the details of his journey and the journeys of those who went before him, left me feeling so much like I had made the trip with him that I almost felt no envy at all. Almost. Before reading Canada's Road I didn't have a bucket list; now item number one is traveling across Canada, stopping along the way to absorb as much of our culture and heritage, past and future as I possibly can.

Bottom line: Read this book. It will awaken a place full of pride and thirst for adventure in Canadians and just might help the rest of the world love us that much better.

Canadian Maple Chippers
In honour of Richardson's travels, I give you a recipe for Canadian Maple Chippers - a chocolate chip cookie sweetened with Quebec maple syrup, perfect for any road trip.

2 1/4       c     all-purpose flour
1             T     cornstarch
1              t     baking soda
3/4         c     butter, softened
1/2          c     lightly packed brown sugar
1/2          c     (scant) granulated sugar
1/2          c     Canadian maple syrup
1/2          T     vanilla
1              c     chocolate chips

Combine flour, cornstarch and baking soda. Set aside.
Beat wet ingredients, including sugars, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Mix in the dry ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake at 350F for 9-12 minutes.

Note: I received a copy of Canada's Road through a contest held by the publisher, however this review and all opinions expressed are solely my own.