Sweet Things

Huckleberry Muffins

It's huckleberry season here in the West. And while my favorite way to eat hucks is in a bowl with cream, I also love huckleberry muffins. My version has a bit of a tang to it from sour cream.

Sweet Things

Fresh Mint Ice Cream

Mint ice cream is pretty common, but usually it's made with mint extract. But if you make your ice cream by infusing the mint leaves into the cream overnight, you get a much stronger, more herby mint flavor you will not forget.

Foraging

Paw Paw Ice Cream

Paw paws, the Hoosier banana, custard apple or Indiana banana. America's largest native fruit, is indeed a little bit like a banana -- and it makes a great ice cream.

Recipe

Butternut Cookies

It's nut season all over the country, and one of my favorites is the butternut, a relative of the black walnut. These cookies are by far my favorite way to eat them -- and yes, they are wonderful with black walnuts, too.

Sweet Things

Elderberry Ice Cream

Elderberries are in season here in California, and one of my favorite ways to enjoy them during our hot summers is in ice cream. Here's how to make it.

Sweet Things

Anise Cookies

I don't eat a lot of sweet things, but I do have a soft spot for cookies. These I call "Bacchus Biscuits," and they're my take on a Greek fennel seed cookie. It's like a shortbread cookie, not too sweet, with toasted fennel seeds in it. They last a while and are great as a quick snack.

Appetizers and Snacks

Acorn Maple Shortbread Cookies

If you want to know what I am munching as I hit the road for a very long book tour, it's these cookies. Acorn flour makes a damn good shortbread because shortbread doesn't really need gluten to be good. These are nutty and sweet, with a hint of vanilla and maple.

Sweet Things

Gooseberry Sorbet

Gooseberries are among the tartest, most aromatic of all our berries. No matter what variety you find, grow or buy, you can make a pretty sorbet from the juice of the berries. Perfect for a hot summer dessert.

Foraging

Wild Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce has been part of the American holiday tradition for more than two centuries. It is a perfect accompaniment to roast turkey or venison, pork, wild boar or bear. And while this is a pretty classic recipe, it is made with real wild cranberries from New England.

Sweet Things

Snowball Cookies with Walnuts

Snowball cookies were my favorite Christmas cookie when I was growing up. My mom made them with regular walnuts, but my rendition of this classic cookie uses wild black walnuts.

Sweet Things

Wintergreen Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Wintergreen ice cream. Why not? I love regular mint ice cream, and after my friend Nate and I foraged for a bunch of wintergreen berries on Cape Ann in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago, I reckoned this would be a cool way to use them... no pun intended.

Recipe

Wild Ginger Ice Cream

A surprisingly wonderful ice cream from a surprisingly wonderful wild plant. Wild ginger grows on the forest floors of much of the United States, and, when eaten in moderation, is different - yet just as good - as the ginger you buy in the store.