sprinklefingers

we’ve discussed removing hazelnut skins, yes. and now that you have that skill under your belt (or wherever you put your skills these days,) let’s talk about what to do with all those hazelnuts!

first up, and my new favorite way to eat hazelnuts, preserving them in honey. this is really as simple as packing layer upon layer of toasted, slightly skinned hazelnuts and local honey into a jar as possible.

hazelnuts preserved in honey
river cottage preserves method

you need:

• empty, clean glass jars. half pint jars work best, simply to control portions.
• toasted, somewhat skinned hazelnuts (some skin on them will be fine because the honey will do a great job of masking the bitter taste of the skins.
• large jar of local honey

to preserve:

1. drop one layer of hazelnuts into the bottom of the jar.
2. cover with honey.
3. repeat

keep repeating the layers until you’ve filled the jar - you want the honey to completely cover the nuts once you reach the top of the jar. place the lid on the jar and screw on tight - store the nuts in a cool, dry, dark place.

these honey preserved hazelnuts are so completely delicious on plain yogurt - so delicious that it’s difficult for me to put into words how much i love the combination. since i started preserving hazelnuts in honey, i have served the nuts on plain, whole milk yogurt as dessert for every guest who’s come to visit. such a treat.

the preserved nuts are also great on ice cream, oatmeal, as part of a cheese plate, or simply straight from the jar. [also, i heard yesterday that the holiday season begins in like 3 weeks (seeing as how back-to-school supplies are already in stores, it MUST be true.) hazelnuts preserved in honey = super awesome holiday gift. trust me.

hazelnut whipped cream

i love adding finely ground, almost paste-like, hazelnuts to my whipped cream. i whip the cream with sugar like usual, then as it’s whipping i add small plops of ground hazelnuts (that have been toasted & skinned)…just enough to flavor the whipped cream, not enough to weigh it down. hazelnut whipped cream is delicious on anything chocolate, but elevates pumpkin pie to a level of deliciousness that i can’t describe in electronic words.

chopped hazelnuts in baked goods

thanks to study abroad and nutella, we all know that chocolate & hazelnuts go perfectly together. next time you’re whipping up some cookies, add in some chopped hazelnuts. sprinkle in some toffee and you may want to make sure the front door is locked - so no one walks in and sees you eating an entire batch of just-baked cookies.

chopped hazelnuts in crumble topping

next time you design-your-own-crumble, add some chopped hazelnuts to your crumbly top. their toasty goodness is especially delicious with stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines.)

hazelnuts everywhere else

we put hazelnuts in our oatmeal. we mix them into our homemade granola. we often enjoy them on salads. chopped hazelnuts have the ability to blow minds when sprinkled on top of sauteed brussels sprouts.

and one other thing about hazelnuts:

they freeze really well. pack them into an airtight bag and freeze. when you’re ready for hazelnuts, just grab the bag!

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and now, a feast for your eyes: hazelnuts preserved in honey…


ps: what’s with all this hazelnut talk? well, aside from me being addicted to the honey preserved version of the nut, i’m also in the midst of creating my own birthday dessert. i can’t explain the whole thing yet, but i can tell you it involves hazelnut-toffee AND it’s a tart. and my birthday is soon, so you won’t have to wait much longer for a full explanation.

oh my sweet, sweet lord. is there anything better than a giant jar of farmer’s market honey?

wait. don’t answer that. i know there is. there are actually plenty of things better. but, for some reason, this year is the year of honey for me. my weekly (sometimes tri-weekly) trip to the farmer’s market always involves tasting at least two types of honey - which then invariably leads to me lugging a quart or so of the sweet nectar back to my car.

it all sounds so cool & local doesn’t it? me buying honey made by local bees, sold by local beekeepers at the local farmer’s market. oooh! how so very now!

until you fast forward to my house and see that i’ve had to clear out a cupboard to store the giant jars of honey i continually buy. it’s kind of disturbing. i mean, i think i have just over 2 gallons of honey in my kitchen as i type this. that’s insane. do you know how long it’s going to take this family to use that much honey?

i spent about 20 minutes of this weekend figuring out what i could do with our surplus. and two ideas came to mind. [which means if i spend even longer thinking/researching what to do with the honey, i’ll come up with more ideas…right?]

first, back in the olden days, didn’t people preserve nuts & fruit in honey? well, that’s what i plan to investigate (future post coming soon!)

next, what if i taught myself to make yogurt and used honey to sweeten it?

done! i’ve used up one whole jar simply by thinking of what to do with all that honey! only like 8 more to go!

now i just have to teach myself how to make yogurt. if you’ll excuse me, i have some bacteria to investigate.