Recipes in a Nutshell

Cooking with Beechnuts

The American Beech, Fagus grandifolia, is a medium sized tree, growing to about 80 feet with a trunk up to 4 feet across. The fruit is a reddish-brown bristly husk which splits into four sections revealing two nutlets inside, about one-half inch long. The nutlets are sharply pyramidal, ripening in the fall, somewhat hard to shell but well worth the effort. It is common in eastern Ontario and western Quebec on both well-drained slopes and rich bottom land. They are easy to spot in the winter because their parchment-white leaves stay on the tree until spring. The beeches, oaks and chestnuts all belong to the same family.

Broken Beechnut Cookies

Nature offers you the charming beechnut. Pass them along to your friends and family as broken beechnut cookies.

2 egg whites
¾ cup ground beechnuts
1 cup sugar

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar ¼ cup at a time, beating after each addition. Then fold in the beechnuts, and drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 275° F for 15-20 minutes until light brown. Yield is about 1 dozen 1½ inch cookies.

Arabian Beechnut Date Cakes

These cakes will stick to your ribs on a cold winter's day!

1 tsp baking soda
2 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped dates
3 Tbs butter
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1½ cups beechnuts

Stir the baking soda into the boiling water and pour over the dates. Let stand for 10 minutes. Mix butter, eggs, flour and sugar. Stir into the date mixture. Add the nuts. Spread into a pan and bake for 40 minutes in a 350°F oven. Cut and serve with whipped cream. (If it is a warm fall day, use ice cream instead of whipping cream).

Farmers Beechnut Pie

This pie will fill the corners at the end of a hearty meal.

3 eggs
¼ lb butter melted
1 cup white corn syrup
¾ cup sugar
1½ cups beechnuts
1 nine inch pie shell, uncooked

Whip the eggs. Slowly beat them into the melted butter, corn syrup and sugar. Pour into the pie shell. Bake in the oven at 275-300°F for 35 minutes. Remove the pie and quickly cover it with the nuts. Return it to the oven and raise the heat to 350°F for another 15 minutes.

Settler's Beechnut Coffee

Another of the many coffee substitutes used by early American settlers, this is especially welcome on camping trips.

½ cup ground, roasted beechnuts
4 cups water

Combine the coffee and water, and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 12-15 minutes. Then strain and serve. If desired, the coffee may be made in a percolator. This recipe will give you about 4 servings.

Provided by SONG. Feel free to copy with a credit.