A few years ago, Ben became deeply passionate about the fate of the American chestnut. The American chestnut was once one of the great American trees, rivaling the Giant Sequoia in size and lifespan. Billions of these trees reached far up into the sky, defining the forest canopy and feeding animals and humans alike with nutritious nuts. Then, the blight hit. Starting in New England, the blight systematically wiped out the great American chestnuts in the early 20th century.
The blight kills what is above ground before it can get big, but it doesn't kill the roots. What we have left of the American chestnut are scrubby trees that struggle to survive between routine blight beatings. It's not great. While you can stumble on an American chestnut in the forest, the species is considered functionally extinct.
Ben learned about the work of the American Chestnut Foundation and was hooked. They are creating a disease-resistant tree that can grow big once again. As they work, they are distributing their very best blight resistant seeds for the American chestnut to members to plant. Note: these are not seeds from scrubby non-resistant trees struggling to stay alive. These are super hero seeds that are a step closer to eventually having forests anchored by American chestnuts in the future.
Getting some of these seeds became the goal, and once they arrived we planted carefully and watched excitedly. As the first sprouts began to emerge, I happened upon two women selling chestnut flour at a local Earth Day event. Baking a treat felt like the perfect way to celebrate, and I had seen a recipe for chestnut flour brownies from fellow American chestnut fan and chef, Clare de Boer.
This recipe is hers, and I share it here to encourage reconnection with heritage and honor for the place we live. Plus, it's naturally gluten-free!
Ingredients:
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 200 grams sugar
- 86 grams dark chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
- 60 grams fine chestnut flour
- 47 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
- Melt butter and sugar in small saucepan until lightly bubbling. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until melted, allowing mix to cool down in advance of adding the eggs.
- Whisk in eggs, vanilla, and instant coffee. Add flour in 3 batches, whisking between to remove lumps.
- Add cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour batter into lined pan, nudging into the corners with a spatula.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the middle feels set — fudgy, not squishy. Let cool 20-30 minutes to let them set.
Enjoy!
