A Black Squirrel Farms Featured Recipe

Black Walnut Patties

Sue recalls parking near an Old Sturbridge Village visitor’s exit and sneaking in to get cookies at least once…  

~The story of this recipe~

This recipe is shared by Yates County black walnut grower Sue Simmons. Sue grew up near Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.  Old Sturbridge Village is the largest living museum in New England, covering more than 200 acres and demonstrating through historic buildings and costumed interpreters what New England life would have been like in the early 1800’s. This recipe takes advantage of the classic maple / walnut flavor pairing with black walnut infusing the cookie and maple in the frosting. This recipe was taken from an Old Sturbridge Village cookie recipe booklet.

To make the Black Walnut Patties:

  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups sifted flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup black walnuts, chopped

Cream together the sugar and shortening until very light.  Beat in beaten egg and vanilla.  Sift together the dry ingredients and stir in.  Fold in walnut meats.  Drop on greased cookie sheet about three inches apart.  Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes


To make the maple frosting:

  • 1/2 cup maple sugar
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 4 Tbsp thin cream (modern cooks can use whipping cream with a little milk added…)
  • confectioner’s sugar

Cook together the maple sugar and butter over low heat until melted and bubbling.  Remove from the fire, add cream and beat until smooth.  Add confectioner’s sugar until it is barely thick enough to spread.

Pro tip: Maple sugar can be hard to find. Finding maple syrup can be much easier. Consider using a maple icing or maple glaze recipe that calls for maple syrup, not maple sugar, instead of the frosting recipe above.