Popular Greene Co. Bakery's Cicada Treats Flying Off The Shelves

MOUNT MORRIS (KDKA) -- A Greene County bakery is whipping up some special treats, and they are just flying off the shelves.

Cicadas emerge from the soil every 17 years to mate. This is the year they are making an appearance, and some of them ended up at Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris.

The sign out front reads: "Float on in! Have a treat. Something savory? Something sweet?"

Rising Creek Bakery & Café is a popular eatery. Open for seven years, the owner prides herself in offering treats customers can't find anywhere else.

"They are here, the cicadas are here," says owner Jenny Bardwell.

That's right, the bakery is serving up cicadas.

"I've got a bag of cicadas. I froze them, then I take the wings off, the wings aren't that edible. We're gonna put them in a tray, sprinkle with sugar on top," says Bardwell.

Then, she puts them in the oven for five to seven minutes, preparing them for a chocolate chip cookie.

"We are going to place one on each cookie, then we are going to bake them again," Bardwell says.

The treat is a hit. Nicholas Amos, of Morgantown, West Virginia, describes the flavor.

KDKA's Brenda Waters: "What does it take like?"

Amos: "Like a chip, like sea salt and chives chip. So you would eat more cicadas? Absolutely, I think it's a good source of protein and a unique, seasonal dish. Once every 17 years."

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The bakery also prepares an ice cream custard with caramel sauce and cicadas on top.

Bardwell plans to take about 100 cookies to the Morgantown Cicada Festival at West Virginia University this weekend where several cicada dishes will be served.