Hickory Nut Drop Cookies

Hickory nut cookies are a Midwest heirloom recipe that traces back to when folks foraged wild hickory nuts from their own land. The nuts have a rich, buttery flavor somewhere between pecans and walnuts but more intense. Combined with chopped raisins and a sour milk dough, they bake into soft, cakey drop cookies with a tender crumb.

The dough uses sour milk or buttermilk, which reacts with baking soda to create a lighter texture than you’d get with sweet milk alone. That tang from the sour milk also balances the two full cups of sugar and keeps the cookies from being one-note sweet. Shortening rather than butter gives them a softer, more tender bite and helps them stay fresh longer.

These are simple drop cookies with no chilling time. Scoop by teaspoonfuls for smaller cookies that bake evenly in a moderate oven. The edges should be just set with very little browning. Overbaking turns these from soft and pillowy to dry and crumbly fast.

Pro Tips

• If you can’t find hickory nuts (they’re seasonal and regional), pecans are the closest substitute in flavor and texture.
• Chop the raisins before adding. Whole raisins create heavy pockets that sink to the bottom of the cookie. Chopped raisins distribute evenly.
• Sift the baking soda and baking powder with the flour as directed. Clumps of either will leave bitter spots in the finished cookies.
• Drop these small. A level teaspoon of dough per cookie keeps them from spreading into each other on the sheet.

Variations

• Replace raisins with dried cranberries for a tart, colorful swap.
• Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter for a spiced version.
• Drizzle cooled cookies with a simple powdered sugar glaze for a more finished, bakery-style presentation.