Hazelnuts are no longer a challenge to use in everyday baking.
Hazelnuts are found in a wide variety of confectionary recipes for cakes, cookies and biscotti, yet their popularity comes with a price: They are incredibly difficult to peel. But this annoying inconvenience shouldn't prevent chefs from enjoying the unique flavors of this nut in their creations. All that's required is some time in the oven to break the meaty insides of the hazelnut from its thick, fibrous inner skin.
Instructions
1. Crack the hazelnuts from their shells with a nutcracker. Using a hammer is a good substitute as well. Remove the nuts from the shells.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Place the nuts on a baking sheet, and stick them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. This will begin the process of toasting the nuts. They will swell inside the inner skin, which does not expand with the nuts. This will force the skins to crack open. When the nuts are ready to come out, they will start to turn golden brown.
4. Remove the nuts from the oven, and set them aside for about a half hour. This will allow the nut meats to retract their size, and their oils will cool so as to release the skin entirely.
5. Rub the nut meats together to shed their skins. Wrap them in a towel or rag, and scrape them against each other. The skins will scale and leaf off, and the meaty insides will be ready for use.
Tags: This will, inner skin, meaty insides, nuts from, Remove nuts, Remove nuts from
