American Hazelnut Recipes

Boy did this weekend get out of hand.  Friends dropping by, canning needing to be done, both the solar and electric dehydrators going, and then I took some time to go kayaking to gather chanterelles!  I love the chaos that is late summer and autumn. 

Anyway I promised a few hazelnut recipes in my last blog post so I thought I better get to doing what I promised.

Hazelnuts, like any other nut tree, do not give the same amount of nuts every year.  Some years there are lean years where there isn't hardly a filbert to be found.  Other years, which are called mast years, the bushes are so loaded with nuts that the branches break off.  There really isn't a rhyme or reason to it, that's just the way it is.  This year was an average year, but because of the drought there really isn't a great deal of food for the wild animals to live off of and to get them into the winter.  Because of this I decided not to gather buckets and buckets.   But I do love this nut so I gathered up a good amount that will be my treat throughout the year. 

Some of the recipes I will share will be for those years that you have tons of filberts to spare, others are the special recipes for when you have a few precious nuts to remind you of nature's bounty.  Often the times that I only have a few are the times I learn to be grateful for what I do have.  This should be one of those years.

The first recipe is:

Lemon-Hazelnut Scones

I grow my own dwarf Meyer lemon trees and this is a nice brunch scone to serve either with guests or to hoard for yourself on those quiet days that seem so few and far between right now.

1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
 1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
4 Tbsp butter
1 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. chopped toasted hazelnuts
1/2 c. dried sweetened cranberries
1 Tbsp
grated lemon rind
1 egg
1 c. lemon yogurt
sugar
lemon curd

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add butter, cut in with pastry blender.  Stir in wheat germ. Add hazelnuts and cranberries. In a separate bowl combine lemon rind, egg, and yogurt.  Add to flour mixture, blend until just moistened.

On a greased baking pan pat dough into large circles, about 3/4 inches thick.  Score with a knife into wedges.  Sprinkle top with sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes.  Best eaten warm and wonderful with a good lemon curd

Banana Hazelnut Bread

3/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. softened butter
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 c. toasted wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
pinch of salt
1/2 c. sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 c. hazelnuts toasted

Combine sugars and butter, mix until fluffy.  Add mashed bananas, egg and vanilla.  In separate bowl combine the next 6 ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to banana mixture, blending well.  Stir in cranberries and hazelnuts.

Place in a greased loaf pan, 9"x5", and bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 to 45 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Turn bread out on rack and let cool.

Maple Crunches

an easy treat that uses up some lose wild edibles you may have around the house

6 c. popcorn (puffed wheat cereal from the store works fine here too)
1/2 c. dried sweetened cranberries
2 c. toasted and chopped hazelnuts
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. butter

Combine sugar, maple syrup and buttering a sauce pan over low heat.  cook, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Meanwhile combine popcorn, cranberries and hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan.  Pour maple syrup mixture over popcorn mixture and toss to coat well.  Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool, break into pieces if needed, and store in sealed container.  Good as a snack, sprinkled into yogurt or over ice cream.


Nut and Maple Pie

1 9 inch pie shell
3 eggs well beaten
1 c. maple syrup
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp almond flavor
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 c. hazelnuts, chopped and toasted

Combine all ingredients but pie shell.  Pour into pie crust and bake at 325 degrees F. for 30 to 40 minutes.   Cool before serving.

Hazelnut and Parsley Pasta

6 to 8 oz of uncooked fettuccine or linguine
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c. chopped hazelnuts
3 or 4 garlic cloves
1/2 c. chicken broth
A good handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese

in large pot of lightly salted boiling water cook pasta according to package direction.  Meanwhile melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add hazelnuts and cook ,stirring frequently until lightly browned.  Add garlic and cook for a couple minute longer.  Add broth and cook until liquid has reduced to about 2 Tbsp. 

scoop out a bit of the pasta water, set aside then drain pasta when ready.  Return it to the cooking pot and pout the reduced hazelnut mixture over pasta.  Add parsley and toss everything well.  If too dry add a bit of the pasta water.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with Parmesan cheese.

The hazelnut is a rich nut that is wonderful in many dished that you would normally serve pecans, walnuts or hickory nuts with.  Since pecans aren't a northern nut, I will swap them for recipes that call for pecans.  Toasted over an open fire in the winter and munching on them with friends is one of my favorite ways of eating them.  It brings us together at that moment and through the years as the scent of them toasting bring back memories of past times, friends that have moved on, and other warm fires that we sat around on a cold winter's day. 

See, even though I enjoy my wild friends, I needed a few of these nuts for fires and friends.  It is part of winter here in Wisconsin and just another piece of my life I do not want to miss.  Still, I'll let the wild ones have the lion's share and maybe that will be what gets them through the winter as well.