Black walnuts are one of my most favorite flavors— floral and earthy all at once they capture a sense of the South where I grew up. I had a black walnut tree in my yard as a child, but we never were able to get through the tough shells. I only recently learned about the laborious process of harvest. Really the only black walnuts available come from the fabulous Hammons whose unique operation really is unbelievable to learn about. I think black walnut lends itself particularly well to savory sweets, like shortbread. But, you know by now I like all my sweets savory. I adapted this recipe from my wormwood shortbread recipe on Edible Alaska. If you are not a black walnut fan, almond flour can easily be substituted into this recipe instead of the black walnut protein.
Ingredients
1/2 cup black walnut protein
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
zest of 4 cara cara oranges
1/2 cup spruce tips
14 tablespoons cold butter
Method
Preheat oven to 325. Line six 4 inch spring form pans with parchment or one 8 inch pan.
In a food processor, pulse together the tips, sugar, salt, and zest. Add in protein and flours. Pulse until well combined.
Add in butter and pulse until granular. You may see some small butter chunks, that is just fine.
Press the dough into the molds using the back of a spoon.
Bake for 20-27 minutes until the shortbreads begin to lightly brown and pull away from the forms. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before unmolding.