sprinklefingers

i have a love-hate relationship with hazelnuts.
first of all, i love their nutty, sweet flavor. i love their texture. i love their shape and how they snap between your teeth when you bite them.

but i hate their bitter skins! hazelnut skins can take a dessert (or a snack) from sublime to bitter in just one bite - which is frustrating. who’s with me?

in the interest of helping home cooks everywhere, i bring you my method for removing some or most hazelnut skins…i know, i know. i’m the best.

first, toast the hazelnuts:

preheat oven to 350. roll hazelnuts onto a sheet tray in a single layer. place in oven and bake until you can smell their toasty goodness. if you can’t rely on your nose to tell you when they’re done, i say you give them 5 minutes in the warm oven, then open it up and check to make sure things aren’t burning. you could even test a nut or two to just make sure. but i usually just wait until i can smell them. honestly. i do.

next, add friction:

once the hazelnuts are toasted, tip them into a fine mesh sieve. grab a wad of paper towels (or a kitchen towel) and rub the nuts like crazy. against the mesh of the sieve, against each other - whatever you can do to cause friction. the friction (and the heat from the oven) will cause the skins to peel off.

soon a pile of removed skin bits will be collecting in the bottom of the sieve. once you’ve rubbed for a good bit, you will have removed enough of the bitter skins to make a huge difference in your hazelnut flavor. not ALL of the skin will be gone, but that’s okay. it will honestly make a big difference to have even some of the skin removed.

now that you’ve removed the skins from your hazelnuts, what will you do with them? post coming soon!