Candy Cap Mushrooms - The Dessert Mushroom

Candy cap mushrooms cannot be found in the Halloween candy aisle of your grocery store. Candy cap mushrooms do not contain artificial sweeteners or additives of any kind; they have one ingredient: mushroom.  Why the name?  Candy cap mushrooms are sweet, making them one of the only mushroom varieties recommended for use in desserts.

The Best Thing About Candy Cap Mushrooms

The best thing about candy cap mushrooms is that they smell like this:

If you are now craving pancakes, check out my pancake recipe.

Every time I came home from an errand for the first few days after receiving a package from Oregon Mushrooms with the dried candy caps, I imagined a server at IHOP greeting me and telling me about the Rooty Tooty Fresh N' Fruity. 

Not only did the dried candy caps smell like breakfast, the shipping box they came in even retained the smell.  I opened the box (not the sealed package in the box) in our bedroom, and for days it was like I was sleeping in a vat of maple syrup.  This might disgust some of you.  But, for me, it was like the pure joy of Scrooge McDuck swimming in money. 

The scent of the candy caps was completely intoxicating. Since Oregon Mushrooms was kind enough to send me 4 oz to play with, I decided to try three different recipes with the candy caps.  I made a soup, cookies, and of course, cupcakes.  In upcoming posts, I'll tell you about the different techniques that I used with the mushrooms and my varying levels of success.

If you want to try out - and improve upon - some of my recipes, be sure to pick up your Halloween candy at Oregon Mushrooms.