Freshwater Feasts

By El Lower, Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS) communications specialist

The winter holidays are a great time for baking, and when the weather outside is dreary, foraged ingredients can remind us that warmer days will be on their way soon enough. Here’s a fun and easy recipe that’s been a hit among both foraging friends and non-forager family members, and contains two unusual ingredients — candy cap mushrooms (yes, mushrooms in cookies!) and sweetgrass extract.

Candy cap mushrooms (Lactarius rubidus) are a culinary mushroom that’s better in dessert than savory cooking — when dried, they smell and taste powerfully of maple syrup! Ground into a fine powder, they can flavor baked goods, whipped cream, or icing, and when whole they can be infused into dairy for desserts or even into alcohol — the sweet, woodsy, aromatic flavor is especially good in whiskey and makes a remarkable Old-Fashioned. Though this species is scarce in our part of the Midwest, candy caps can reliably be ordered online through culinary mushroom purveyors — or foraging friends who live west of the Rockies, if you’re lucky enough to have them.

Sweetgrass (Heirochloe odorata) is a very special plant native to both North America and Eurasia, with a long history of being used in basket-weaving, incense, perfume, and more. It’s considered both a sacred medicinal plant in many North American indigenous traditions and a culinary plant in parts of its range in Eurasia, where it is also called bisongrass and used to flavor alcohol and baked goods with its unique vanilla- and hay-like aroma. I was gifted a braid of dried sweetgrass and some sweetgrass extract from a forager friend this year who grew it herself as part of restoration efforts here in the Great Lakes region. As detailed in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s wonderful book on ethnobotany and environmental ethics, Braiding Sweetgrass, this plant actually benefits from careful human harvesting, allowing it to divide and spread more effectively than when it is left to grow untended. I’ve recently been using some of this sweetgrass extract in place of vanilla, especially in treats I’m sharing with others — to me, it’s a way to share a little knowledge of this important native plant with others and to keep the gift in circulation! If you don’t have sweetgrass extract or a splash of Polish bisongrass vodka, you can of course use vanilla and these cookies will be none the worse for the wear.

These cookies are very buttery, crumbly, and not too sweet, somewhat like pecan sandies or shortbread — you can use any tree nut you like or leave them out if you prefer. The little pop of flaky salt on top really makes the whole thing, so don’t skip it.

Candy cap walnut sweetgrass cookies

Yield: about 30 cookies 

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons powdered candy cap mushrooms (about 1/2 cup dried mushrooms, finely ground in coffee grinder)
• 1/2 tsp sweetgrass extract (or vanilla extract)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened but cool
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
• flaky sea salt, for topping the cookies

Instructions:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the candy cap powder, sweetgrass or vanilla extract, butter, sugar, and salt until well-combined, about three minutes. Add the flour and chopped walnuts, then mix on low until just combined.
2. Turn out onto a clean surface and fold by hand a few times to be sure the dough holds together. Roll the dough into two logs, about 12″ long and 1″ in diameter, and wrap the log in plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper for a better tubular shape. Chill until firm (about 1 hour, or up to several days). (Note: this recipe is for a double-batch, and the dough also freezes very well if you want to make half now and half later!)
3. Preheat the oven to 350º. Let the dough stand at room temperature for 10 or 15 minutes. Unwrap and slice each log into 1/4 – 1/2″ coins. Arrange the cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and top each cookie with a sprinkle of flaky salt.
4. Bake the cookies until light golden, about 20-25 minutes. This style of cookie will crisp up nicely as it cools, and will keep in an airtight container for up to a week and in the freezer for several months.