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Maple Ginger Chicken Thighs

By Brandy

Oct 08, 2015, Updated Mar 05, 2017

These maple ginger chicken thighs are packed full of flavor and perfect for any day of the week. Marinated in a maple syrup ginger mixture and baked to perfection with sweet fall apples. If you love maple syrup this is your new favorite recipe! 

You guys I totally forgot to tell you how I spend my weekend. I know it’s Thursday but just pretend it’s Monday. I watched a crossfit competition where I saw Gina lift a bunch of heavy stuff, went to a German beer party, made a giant vat of slow cooker beef chorizo taco chili, watched Bridget Jones Diary (Mark Darcy…swoooooooon!) and flipped through my friend Katie Webster’s new cookbook Maple for the billionth time. Basically it was a mix of social butterfly meets introverted caterpillar.

PLUS today’s recipe is from the Maple cookbook so lucky you you’re all in for a maple packed perfect for fall dish. 

The first time I met Katie I immediately knew I would be friends with her. She is bubbly, friendly and has the most infectious laugh. She also gets my sarcastic dry humor so that basically means she is awesome.

When I heard she was writing a cookbook devoted to maple syrup I was all over that! This book doesn’t just give you dessert recipes with maple it gives you 100 sweet AND savory recipes. That means you can get into the kitchen and use maple syrup in any way you dream. It also means you better stock up on maple syrup because you’re going to go through a lot!

{Looking for more chicken thigh recipes? Try my honey spiced glazed chicken, citrus herb roasted chicken thighs or my crispy pan roasted chicken thighs.}

I made these chicken thighs from the book and I’m so happy to share them with you. They are the perfect balance of sweet and savory and were PERFECT for dinner. The maple syrup gives the chicken a nice subtle sweetness and helps create a beautiful crust on the outside of the chicken.

Also (because I’m a total rebel) I opted to make my chicken in a large cast iron skillet. I love using them for chicken dishes and they are a breeze to clean!

Make sure to get your copy of Maple! It would make a PERFECT holiday gift!

Maple Ginger Chicken Thighs

These maple ginger chicken thighs are packed full of flavor and perfect for any day of the week. Marinated in a maple syrup ginger mixture and baked to perfection with sweet fall apples. If you love maple syrup this is your new favorite recipe!

Yield: 8 chicken thighs

Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 13 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 3/4 cup apple cider 
• 1/2 cup dark pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus 5 sprigs for the roasting pan
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• 3 medium apples, cored and quartered 

Directions:

In a medium bowl whisk shallot, cider, maple syrup, grated ginger, apple cider vinegar, chopped thyme leaves, kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Pour marinade into a large ziptop bag and add in chicken thighs. Seal bag and let chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.

After the chicken has marinated preheat your oven to 400 degrees, add chicken to a large cast iron skillet or 9x13 baking dish and arrange apple slices and thyme sprigs around the chicken.

Pour the marinate over the chicken and bake the chicken for about an hour or until the chicken if fully cooked. Baste the chicken with marinade a few times during the cooking process.

Let the chicken cool slightly and devour!