Thanks sooo much for posting this!! I’ve lived here for 15 years with a big hickory tree in my back yard. When my daughter was little we used to crack the shells and eat the nuts. September 1 is tomorrow and these nuts are starting to fall everywhere. I’m collecting them now and can’t wait to make kickoff nut butter and syrup. I’m wondering if I can substitute stevia for sugar, not sure, will let you know. If you have a way to grind into smaller pieces, I’ve tried burning them in pellet stove. It worked and smelled good, but was a lot of work getting them small enough. For now once I get the fire going, I put a pile of nuts in the already established fire. Also burn them when having campfires in back yard. Most of all I want to try the hickory nut butter...I’ve been on keto and this would be an awesome compliment to roasts and steaks and cauliflower. Thanks again.