how to tweak this recipe

I am getting ready to whip up my 2nd batch of bier muncher's Black Pearl Porter. Pretty much everyone who tried it, really liked it. I can't get lactose or dextrine locally, so I had to leave those out. Same for this go around. The 1st time, I thought it turned out a little too malty (1.068 down to 1.022) for my taste and it really didn't have much head. I would get a little, but not very much and it didn't hang around all that long.

Are there any 'common' ingredients (read: grocery store) I can add to help me get it a little drier and add a little more head.

I thought about adding a little more oats to help with the head retention, but then that will throw off the mouth feel. I was also thinking about adding some maple syrup to the boil to add a little dryness and a bit of woodsy flavor that might help balance out the malt.

I'm up for suggestions and not really commited to any one change or any changes at all.

It sounds like you might have missed your temperatures by a little and left some non fermentables to leave you at 1.022. Hit your 158 and hold it. Do you think you might have gone a bit high last time?

Yeah, an FG of about 1.019-1.022 is about right with all the specialty grains in there. For some of my beers I add cane sugar for dryness, but i don't suggest it for this recipe. Maple syrup, or even better, Belgian Candi might work.

Supposedly Belgian Candi adds head retention.

Actually, according to my notes, the temp was a little low the last time. I'm planning on fixing that this time, so that could be why it didn't get lower. I'm just planning on getting the same results with the mash to worse case things.

I haven't added maple syrup to any beers before. Is there anything I should look out for or avoid (preservatives, etc...)?

Just make sure it is 100% maple syrup and that you don't exceed 10% of your batch (probably won't even come close to that). Also, and you may already know this, there are several different types of maple syrups to choose from that may impart different notes in the beer. It's all up to your preference.