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Try this earthy and rich vinaigrette on your next salad. Be sure to @royaltypecans in your social posts! We love seeing how creative you are with our Always Fresh pecans!

Toasted Pecan Vinaigrette

Prep time: 5 min     Cook Time: 10 min    Servings: 1.5 cups

Ingredients

• ½ cup Royalty Pecans Pecan Halves
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp chopped shallots
• ¾ cup Royalty Pecan Pecan Oil
• Vegetable broth or water for thinning around ½ cup
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place Royalty Pecans Pecan Halves on a cookie sheet.

2. Bake the pecans, stirring occasionally, until toasted and fragrant. Around 10 minutes. Cool completely. Coarsely chop the pecans.

3. In a high-powered blender or food processor, add pecans, vinegar, syrup, and shallots. While blending, slowly add in Royalty Pecan Pecan Oil. Blend until completely smooth. Add broth or water as needed to thin.

4. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.

5. Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks

The past 4-6 weeks in the orchard have been busy. Our field crew has been battling the cold and wet Texas weather to hedge our pecan trees in anticipation of bud break and sunnier weather.

We use a unique piece of equipment to trim the pecan trees; you won't find another exactly like it.

 Andy, our Orchard Manager, was able to grab this video of Nekota hedging this block of pecan trees. It's important we hedge the trees this time of year for a couple reasons. One, the trees are still dormant so there's less leaves and debris. Two, bud break is just around the corner. We hedge the trees now, so the leaves that come in over the next month or two have less competition for nutrients and sunlight, and are better positioned to yield a beautiful crop. If the trees aren't hedged regularly, the leaves and branches can become overcrowded and reduce sunlight to the inner most or lower most branches. 

Next month is bud break. Isn’t April a little late for trees to be leafing out? Let’s talk about that next time.

You can find out more about our orchard by joining us on an Orchard Tour, hosted by Andy Sherrod, our Orchard Manager. Book tickets here.

I'm Andy Sherrod, Orchard Manager at Royalty Pecan Farms. 

Royalty Pecan Honey, it's back! But let me clear one thing up. This is not pecan honey. Pecans don't need pollinators, like bees, to spread the pollen. The wind does that. This is honey from Royalty Pecan Farms. We have about 15 hives on the farm. An area beekeeper has a few and I keep a few, just as a hobby. 

So why do we sell honey at all? Well, it's local. Consuming local honey that's loaded with local pollen can help with allergies. Buying honey from Royalty Pecan Farm supports the local economy. And honey? Well, it's just plain good. You can buy liquid honey or honey comb from our Farm Store or online, while supplies last. Sweet!

Orchard Manager Andy Sherrod explains how earthworms keep the soil healthy and benefit pecan trees.

Next time you’re in a bind for a simple and delicious dessert, try this easy version of a “Dump” Cake. This dessert is a cross between a cobbler and cake, and gets its name because the ingredients are dumped into the pan it’s baked in - no mixing bowl necessary. 

We used berries for this cake, but you can use apples, strawberries, pineapple, or any other fruit. Fresh pecans add delicious flavor and crunch, and pecan flour adds light texture to the cake. It’s perfect on its own or with a scoop of fresh vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 (21 oz) can blueberry pie filling
2 cups fresh mixed berries
8 oz pecan pieces
1 box yellow cake mix
Pecan flour
1 stick of butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a 9x13 inch pan, mix pie filling and fresh berries. Add dry cake mix over the berry mixture. Add the layer of pecan pieces on top. Add a thin layer of pecan flour. Finish with a layer of thinly sliced butter on top of the pecan flour.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown

Fall is just beginning, and the new crop of pecans are right around the corner! The pecan shucks have split, and fresh pecans are waiting to be harvested. We did a test batch of these cookies in our farm kitchen and shared them among the staff. These fresh baked cookies paired with a cup of hot Southern Pecan Coffee was a delightful mid-morning snack break. We hope you enjoy!

P.S. Have you pre-ordered the new crop pecans yet? 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Royalty Pecans Pecan Pieces
• 3 cups of Royalty Pecans Pecan Flour
• 10 Tbsp Palm shortening (½ cup + 2 Tbsp)
• ½ cup sugar (or sugar substitute)
• ½ cup brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute)
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 10 Tbsp coconut flour (½ +2 Tbsp)
• ½ cup finely shredded coconut (unsweetened) 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• ½ tsp orange zest

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cream the palm shortening, sugars, and maple in a stand mixer. Add eggs and vanilla, and continue to beat until smooth.
• In a large bowl, combine Royalty Pecans Pecan Flour, coconut flour, shredded coconut, soda, salt, spices, and orange zest.
• Stir the dry mixture into the wet. Add Royalty Pecans Pecan Pieces. 
• Use a mini ice cream scoop (or two spoons) to place level scoops of cookie dough onto two parchment lined baking sheets. (Level scoops will make about 36 medium size cookies - use heaping scoops for about 24 larger cookies) Smooth out the edges a bit with your hands if needed, but don't flatten them.
• Sprinkle with additional sugar (or sugar substitute) before placing them in the oven for 14-18 minutes, or until the surface just begins to brown and is slightly firm to the touch. It may seem like they're not quite done in the middle, but they'll firm up as they cool.
• Remove from the oven. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 full minutes - set a timer so you don't cut this step short!
• After 10 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Don’t over bake these. You’ll be tempted to leave them in the oven longer because the center will feel a bit too soft but, I promise, they’ll firm up as they cool.
• Cooling on the pan for 10 minutes, then cooling completely on a wire rack keeps the bottoms from getting soggy, as can happen with nut flour cookies. 
• Feel free to substitute whatever spices you like and omit the orange zest if you prefer.
• You can freeze the batter or the baked cookies in a plastic sandwich bag or airtight container.