Sweet Birch Bark and Sweet Treats for Easter

Betula lenta, or sweet birch, is a forest friend and a very giving tree. Birch trees give us their nutritious sap in the early spring, and their buds and leaves for tasty and nutritious medicine. They grow medicinal mushrooms (birch polypore, tinder polypore, chaga) to help keep us healthy. So much to say about Betula lenta! but today we’re going to talk about the bark. More specifically, baking with birch bark flour.

Sweet birch bark has a cherry/wintergreen-like smell and taste that adds flavor and nutrients to your baked goods. The bark not only provides flavor, but nutrients and anti-inflammatory benefits as well.

It’s best when harvested in the late Winter or early Spring, just as the sap starts to flow. It should be harvested with care from living medium size branches, not the main trunk of the tree. Using a draw knife, shave the outer and inner bark layers from the woody stems.

1/4 lb (4 oz) $15

1/2 lb (8 oz) $20

1 lb (16 oz) $37

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Healthy Body Tea Set

A cute little tea package to celebrate spring, Easter, Mother's Day, or just because.

Package contains:

Healthy Body Tea 2 oz
Raw Farm-Style Honey 4 oz
Tea Infuser, Strawberry

$20

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Easter Tea Basket

A sweet little Easter treat that is healthy too!

Package contains:

Chocolate-Reishi Tea Blend 2 oz
Honey-Infused 6-Mushroom Blend 4 oz
Prophecy Chocolate Bar

$27

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Prophecy Chocolate - Wild New England

This chocolate bar combines the delicious chuncho cacao with beautiful wildcrafted herbs and fruits from New England. We harvested Wild Maine Blueberries below the sacred Mt. Katahdin in the wilderness for this intense and earthy chocolate.

70% Cacao. 25% Maple Sugar, 3% Chaga Mushroom Extract, 2% Wild Maine Blueberries.

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Prophecy Chocolate - Blue Lotus

This delicious chocolate combines the classic taste of the heirloom chuncho cacao wtih marshmallow leaf and root - a traditional herb from Healing Spirits herb farm. The bar is then sprinkled with beautiful and delicate blue lotus flowers to create a sumptuous and uniquely delightful chocolate experience.

70% Cacao, 25% Coconut Sugar, 5% Herbs (Marshmallow Leaf, Marshmallow Root, Blue Lotus Flower).

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Prophecy Chocolate - Heart ~ Mind

The bar to balance the heart and mind. All the herbs are from Healing Spirits Herb Farm in Western NY. This herbal combination seeks to enhance and balance both the heart and mind. This is the most intense herbal chocolate we have!

70% cacao beans, 25% direct trade panela whole cane sugar, 5% herbal blend (Reishi Mushroom Powder, Lions Mane Mushroom Powder, Rose Petals, Dandelion Root).

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Making Birch Bark Flour

Harvest the bark of the sweet birch and allow to dry in the open air. This takes only a couple of days.

Grind the bark in a Vita-Mix, blender, food processor or meat grinder until it is a powder.

Once you’ve made your flour you’re ready to bake! The general rule of thumb is to substitute ¼ of the flour stated in a recipe with bark flour. More than that can cause bitterness.

Below is a recipe for shortbread cookies, but you can make bread, crackers, put it in your oatmeal…..

Birch Bark Shortbread Cookies

¼ C birch bark flour

¾ C unbleached white flour

¼ C organic cane sugar

½ C butter, softened

Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients and stir until the dough is a good consistency to roll out.

You can either roll the dough and cut with a cookie cutter or roll into balls, put them on your cookie sheet and smash flat with the bottom of a glass.

Cook 8-10 minutes. Savor the earthy flavor!

Recipe provided by Wendy Welles. Wendy is a volunteer at Healing Spirits, and an aspiring herbalist.

Click here to view and print recipe online.