National Nut Day – October 22nd
National Nut Day is October 22nd. There are so many different types of nuts I cannot mention them all.  Every year around the holidays, a basket of nuts would appear in the living room by the fireplace. I can remember sitting in front of the fire listening to my father read out loud and trying to crack the nuts. We had basic metal nutcrackers which could be a challenge for a small girl. The bowl would have walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, and brazil nuts. To this day, I have no idea who ate the brazil nuts, they were impossible for me to crack. The pecans, walnuts, and almonds were the easiest to crack and my favorites. Â
Almonds
My mother would make almond bark around Christmas with whole almonds. It may be the
Recipe from The Novice Chef
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp almond extract
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and almond extract. Mix until combined.
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Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture gradually until combined.
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Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Roll 1 T. dough into small ball and press flat on baking sheet.
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Bake 8 minutes. You do not want them to brown around the edges, don’t worry if they do not look done. Let cookies rest on baking sheet 5-10 minutes before moving to cooling rack.
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For Glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar, milk and almond extract until smooth. Drop a spoonful of glaze on each cookie and smooth with the back of the spoon or small spatula. Let glaze set for at least 10 minutes.
Pecans
I am a southern girl, pecans are my preferred nut but they are expensive. I stock up whenever I find a good deal and keep them in the freezer.  My mother makes pecan pie for the holidays. She uses the recipe off the back of the Karo syrup jar (she uses dark Karo, but I prefer light Karo).  I found this Pecan Pie recipe for when I have a craving but don’t want an entire pie sitting around.
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup butter
- 2-3 Tbsps water
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup pecans
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To make crust: Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with water until crust comes together. Shape into a ball. Roll dough out and place in 4-5 inch dish. Trim off excess pastry and fold under the crust.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix corn syrup, egg, sugar, salt, butter, and vanilla in a bowl. Stir in pecans. Pour over pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes until set. Remove from oven and let cool
adapted from Joanie Zisk
Walnuts
My ex-husband’s grandmother and grandfather immigrated from Greece in the 1920’s. His aunt shared her recipe for baklava shortly after we were married. Baklava is one of those things that always scared me, filo dough is very intimidating. I finally gave it a try one year for Christmas and not only was it
The baklava does have to sit 24 hours after baking.
- 1 lb. phyllo (defrosted)
- 2 cups butter
- 20 oz. shelled walnuts (finely ground)
- 2-3 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup honey
- pinch of cinnamon or cinnamon stick
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
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Open filo package and unfold phyllo. Cover with a damp dish towel.
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Mix ground nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and 1 cup sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter and keep on low heat while working but don’t let it brown.
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Pour some of the butter in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Place a phyllo sheet in pan and brush with melted butter. Continue to layer sheets and brush with butter until you have five sheets. Spread with some of the nut mixture. Continue alternating two phyllo sheets brushed with butter and nut mixture until all the nut mixture is used. Top with five buttered phyllo sheets. Pour any remaining butter over top making sure the edges and corners are well covered in butter.
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Cut into diamonds by making cuts 1″ apart lengthwise and then 1″ apart diagonal cuts.
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Bake at 350 degrees for one hour until light tan. Remove from oven and let cool.
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To make syrup: Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a deep saucepan. Cook until sugar dissolves. Add 1 cup honey and bring to a boil, stir in lemon juice and cinnamon, bring to a boil again. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. Pour hot syrup over the pan of baklava.
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Let it stand overnight. Cover pan with foil, sealing tightly around the edges. Place a cookie sheet over the top and flip the pan over. Let it stand for another 12 hours. Flip back over and remove foil to serve.
Pistachios/Hazelnuts/Cashews
I don’t want you to think I forgot the other nuts. Pistachios are my favorite for snacking on. I am not a fan of hazelnuts accept as a flavoring in my coffee.  Â
Cashews are good to snack on also but I have to admit I have no idea what a cashew in a shell looks like. It turns out they look like this and the shell is toxic.
