Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Quantity: 24 cookies Who would have known that you can make dessert recipes with wild mushrooms? The Candy Cap mushroom is truly one of a kind, boasting a sweet vanilla and maple-like flavour that makes it a perfect addition to cookies and pastries. Many chefs use dried candy caps in muffins, crème brûlée, cornbread and homemade ice cream as they hold such a strong flavour and are novel menu ingredients. Picked in Washington and Oregon, these local wild mushrooms are a must-try for an adventurous cook!
Ingredients:
- 5-10g WCWF dried Candy Cap mushrooms
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 ½ cups flour, sifted
- ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped
Directions:
- Place dried mushrooms in a bowl of lukewarm water, soak for 15-20 minutes
- Drain water and pat dry with a paper towel
- Add 1 tbsp butter to a pan over medium heat, sauté candy caps for 7-10 minutes
- In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar then beat in egg and vanilla
- Slowly add flour while stirring, then chopped pecans and sautéed candy caps
- Roll cookie dough together into three logs, each about 1 ½ inches in diameter
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F)
- Slice cookies about ¼ inch thick and place on ungreased baking sheet
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until bottom of cookies are a light golden brown
- Serve and enjoy!
Tip:
You can prepare a batch or two of the cookie dough in wax paper to freeze and hold for a special occasion! If you don’t have a sweet tooth, you can still enjoy these unique beauties in savoury dishes; some people cook them with pork, game meat, soups and risottos, and stir-frys!
