Maple-Butter Roasted Chicken

Mmmm....we had this for dinner tonight.  I just used chicken legs and thighs instead of a whole chicken and I used dried thyme and left out the lemon since I wasn't stuffing a whole chicken.  I'm sure that fresh thyme would've been scrumptious, but I didn't want to go back to the store today and I forgot to buy it.  Anyway, the skin was delightfully crispy and the meat was juicy and tender.  Tiernan and Mia dubbed this "the best chicken ever!"  : )  Oh, I drizzled a little maple syrup over the chicken after I finished spreading the butter all over the chicken - just for a little extra maple-y goodness.  : )

Maple-Butter Roasted Chicken

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoon(s) maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh thyme
• 1 bunch(es) thyme sprigs
• 1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chicken
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together butter, maple syrup, and chopped thyme. Set aside.
2. Place chicken in a roasting pan and stuff cavity with lemon and all but 4 thyme sprigs. Slide hands under the chicken's skin to loosen. Spread half of reserved butter mixture between loosened skin and meat. Rub remaining butter mixture on top of skin and season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh reaches 165 degrees F, about 1 1/2 hours (or about an hour if you're not roasting a whole chicken). Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Garnish with remaining thyme sprigs

Recipe altered slightly from Country Living magazine