Hickory Nut Recipes
1 cup Wild Rice
1 cup long-grain brown or white rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
6 Tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp salt
6 scallions, minced
1 cup Hickory (you could use Black Walnuts with this recipe as well)
2 cups diced apples
2 cups Chickweed and other tender wild salad greens (or parsley)
1. Cook wild rice and brown or white rice in separate pans until done. (Note: Use 3-1/2 cups water to 1 cup dry wild rice; use 3 cups water to 1 cup brown or white rice)
2. Do not stir while cooking or cooling. Let cool completely before mixing salad to avoid rice becoming sticky or gummy.
3. Add all the above ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Chill and serve, or serve at room temperature.
This recipe can be adapted freely as long as you use the same amounts of olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
This is the yummiest apple crisp recipe I’ve ever tried, after experimenting with apple crisps for many years, I’ve decided that this is the definitive recipe.
8 cups sliced apples (9 or 10 medium-sized apples)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp flour
½ cup water or apple juice
1. Peel, core and dice enough apples to make 8 cups.
2. Toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and flour.
3. Place in a 9x13 baking pan and add the ½ cup water or apple juice.
Topping:
1 cup Hickory nuts (use chopped walnuts if you don’t have Hickorys)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ - ½ cup Maple Syrup
1. Chop oats coarsely in a food processor or blender
2. Add flour, sugar, cinnamon and nuts and whiz until mixed together thoroughly.
3. Add butter and mix until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. (Note: Filling may get seem too wet, resembling a paste—don’t get discouraged if this happens, just spread it as evenly as you can, it will be just fine!)
4. Spread topping evenly over the sliced apples.
5. Drizzle the maple syrup over the topping.
6. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes.
Homemade granola is simple to make and far less expensive than the commercial granolas. My standard recipe is: 5 cups oats plus 5 cups nuts, seeds, or dried fruits plus ½ cup oil plus 1 cup sweetener. Here’s the recipe adapted to bring out the best in your precious Hickory Nuts:
5 cups oats (not instant oats)
2 cups Hickory nuts
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup cooking oil
1 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1. Mix all the ingredients together so the oats and nuts are well coated with the oil and maple syrup.
2. Spread in layers about ½ inch thick on cookie sheets.
3. Bake in oven set at 350° for 40 minutes. You’ll have to stir the granola at least every 10 minutes to make sure it gets toasted evenly.
4. The granola should be a nice, crunchy golden-brown color when finished. Allow to cool thoroughly before storing in airtight containers.
Since Hickory Nuts are so closely related to pecans, they make a fantastic wild version of pecan pie.
Pie crust:
1 cup white flour
1/3 cup butter or shortening
½ tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp cold water
Note: I like to make my pie crusts in a food processor. It’s quick and easy and makes a fine, flaky crust.
1. Put flour, butter and salt in a food processor.
2. Turn on medium to high, until it forms a coarse, crumbly mixture.
3. Add 1 Tbsp cold water at a time and blend until it forms into a lump. Be careful not to add too much water.
4. Roll out as for any pie crust.
Filling:
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter
Pinch of salt
1. Roll out your crust and line a 9-inch pie plate with it.
2. Beat brown sugar and eggs together until thick.
3. Stir in corn syrup, vanilla, butter and salt. Mix well.
4. Stir in Hickory Nuts.
5. Pour into prepared pie shell.
6. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until filling barely jiggles when shaken slightly.
7. Let pie cool thoroughly so that it can set before serving.
This pie is excellent when served with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.
This is an awesome recipe for sugar-free bars. The only sugar is the natural sugar in the raisins or dried fruit. The texture is very much like pemmican, a traditional high-protein survival food made from nuts, berries and fats.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
½ tsp salt
¼ cup oil
1¼ cups finely chopped or ground raisins, dried apricots, figs or other dried fruit of choice.
1 cup Hickory Nuts
1/3 to ½ cup water
1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Blend the flour, oats, salt and oil until evenly mixed.
3. Add the ground dried fruit. (Note: I grind the raisins or dried fruit in a meat grinder. It takes 3 cups raisins to equal 1¼ cup paste for this recipe).
4. Add the nuts and water and mix them in (you'll have to do this by hand). Use the larger amount of water only if absolutely necessary to make it all hold together.
5. Press down into a greased 8x8 pan and cut into 16 squares before baking.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Makes 16 two-inch bars.
These cookies are the wild version of Pecan Sandies! This is a great recipe for using the tiny bits and pieces and Hickory Nut dust found at the bottom of the jar.
1 cup butter
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2¼ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
3/4 cup Hickory Nuts, small pieces
1. In a mixing bowl (food processor works terrific!) cream together butter and sugar.
2. Add flour, salt, and Hickory Nut pieces and mix until you have a smooth dough.
3. Form dough into 1-inch round balls and then press them flat unto an ungreased cookie sheet. (Cookies should be about 2 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick.)
4. Bake at 350° for about 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
5. Optional: Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.
These cookies can also be baked as 1-inch round balls, reminiscent of Russian Teacakes. Fabulous either way!
Here’s a nice wild stuffing recipe to use with chicken or turkey (double the recipe if you will be stuffing a turkey with it). If you’re lucky enough to have a turkey hunter in the family, this is the ultimate stuffing recipe for it!
1¼ cups dry Wild Rice
2 cups Hickory Nuts
8 oz ground sausage (optional)
1 Tbsp butter
2 large celery ribs, diced
1 medium onion, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1. Cook Wild Rice in 3½ cups water until very tender. Wild Rice takes up to an hour to cook, add more water if needed.
2. Cook sausage until well-done in a skillet. Add to the rice.
3. Add the butter, onion, and celery to the sausage drippings and sauté until tender.
4. Add sauté to the rice and sausage mixture along with salt and pepper and Hickory Nuts.
5. Mix together well. Stuff your chicken or turkey with this mixture.
Note: You could make this stuffing even more interesting by adding mushrooms, about 1 cup sliced, and/or 1 cup diced wild apples or cranberries. Don’t be afraid to be creative!