Like many things, foods go in and out of popularity as the years go by. With such a variety of edible mushrooms out there, we’re still finding delicious new flavors and flavor combinations. Candy cap mushrooms burst onto the scene when their taste was found to be practically identical to maple syrup. 

Now, their extract is used to make popular desserts such as cake, cookies, and ice cream. Although some people are skeptical to see mushrooms on the dessert menu, they change their minds after trying this sweet and unique mushroom flavor. This appropriately-named fungi even smells like maple syrup, especially when it is dried out. 

These kinds of mushrooms are native to Californias and can be found under both conifers and hardwood trees. They are quite small and grow near moss and on rotting wood. There are several species of candy cap mushrooms. The most common ones include lactarius fragilis, rubidus, and rufulus. 

Candy cap mushrooms are small in size and are burnt orange, red, and sometimes brown in color. Should you go out looking for candy cap mushrooms, you must be very careful that you identify them correctly. They are similar enough to certain types of poisonous mushrooms, such as galerina marginata, to warrant careful examination and expert advice before eating. 

For cooking purposes, it’s usually the extract of these mushrooms that is used. However, there are ways to get creative with the actual mushroom once it has been rehydrated and the juices have been taken. For example, they can be pureed and added to desserts to add color and some fresh mushroom specks to certain kinds of desserts. 

Candy Cap Pecan Cookies Recipe:

Makes 2 dozen 1½ inch cookies

• ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons powdered Dried Candy Cap Mushrooms (nearly ¼ cup finely ground in a mortar or a cleaned coffee grinder)

• ¼ cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

• ¼ cup toasted Wild Pecans, finely chopped and flaky

• sea salt (like Malden) for topping the cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. Bake pecans on a cookie pan for about 15 minutes to toast them.

3. Beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, candy cap powder, and salt until it is creamy.

4. Add the flower and chopped toasted pecans. Beat to combine the ingredients. Put the dough on wax paper in logs around 1¼ inches thick.

5. Place dough into the refrigerator for about 45 minutes. Then, take it out and cut the log into cookies. Sprinkle with sea salt.

6. Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes so that their edges begin to golden. Cool the cookies on a rack and then they are ready for eating!

Eating fresh foods that you foraged for yourself makes the dish taste even better. There are so many things that you can do with mushrooms, especially ones as unique as candy cap mushrooms.

Want to find your own? We have mushroom foraging classes fall through spring in Marin, Sonoma, and the Santa Cruz Mountains.