Oak Acorn Muffins

[Dale Smith]

Based on another thread, I searched the internet and found this recipe:

OAK ACORN MUFFINS


INGREDIENTS

Shelled acorns
Wheat flour
Vegetable oil
Eggs
Water




Harvest an amount of mature acorns. The amount to be harvested depends on the number of muffins you wish to bake. Acorns should be shelled and the "meat" ground as fine as possible *. Drying shelled acorns for several days prior to grinding will make the grinding process easier. Acorns are quite juicy. This liquid needs to be removed from the acorns to the extent possible to facilitate grinding.

If more batter is needed than the acorn meal will accommodate, simply add wheat
flour to the acorn meal to increase the total amount of batter. Add 1 or 2 whole eggs or a comparable amount of artificial eggs (egg whites plus yellow coloring). Begin whisking mixture, adding water until a thick batter results.

Pregrease a muffin pan with either butter or cooking oil (spray can cooking oil is useful here). Ladle into each muffin receptacle an amount of batter to fill receptacle about ¾ full. Do not fill to the top of receptacle! Place muffin pan in a preheated oven (350 degrees) and cook for approximately 20-25 minutes. Check on muffins halfway through oven phase to insure that they are not burning. Use a toothpick to check on whether muffins are done. Stick a toothpick into one of the muffins. If the toothpick picks up batter when you remove it from the muffin, additional oven time is required. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are ready to be taken out of the oven.

When done, allow muffins to cool slightly. Remove from muffin pan, slice and serve with a pat of butter. Such muffins go very well with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

•   Preparing acorns for the table is a somewhat labor intensive operation. You need to be prepared to spend some time on this phase. Remove the shells (this is the hard exocarp that surrounds the nut, not the cap at the base of the acorn). Shells can be removed using a commercial nut cracker or, lacking that, just place the acorns in a sealed bag and hit them somewhat gently with a mallet or hammer. Separate shells from the fleshier inner part of the acorn. This material (the inner part) needs to be ground into a meal using a food processor or spice grinder. The grinding process will go a lot easier the drier the acorns are. As they come from their shells they have a considerable amount of moisture. Mash the acorns on a sheet pan and place in a dry place for a few days to allow as much of the moisture to evaporate as possible. When dry, process the acorns in a grinder, adding wheat flour as needed to build up the total amount of batter to be used. Having arrived at this stage, you're ready to proceed with the recipe.

Bear in mind, acorns from red or black oaks are high in tannins and if not rinsed in water for a day, will produce rather bitter muffins. Acorns from white oaks have much less tannin and in most cases, do not require a water rinse prior to being used. Common red/black oaks in our area include: laurel oak, live oak, Shumard oak, turkey oak, southern red oak, sand live oak; common white oaks include: swamp chestnut oak, sand post oak, bluff oak, overcup oak.

[pam]

That's an interestin recipe. I knew the native american women used to use acorns to make a kind of flatbread with dried wild berries but this is the first actual recipe I've ever seen for usin acorns !

[Teresa]

I have an acorn tree right outside my deck and it is a royal pain in the derriere. They are everywhere.. and this is a wonderful thing to have in my recipe collection if I ever would want to take the time to do something with them.
Thanks so much..