What to Do with Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are native to the United States (and other continents), easy growers for the home orchardist, and a great source of quality calories. The shrubs they grow on are perfect for creating hedges. They start producing harvests in less than five years. And, hazelnuts are ideal for growing as understory plants next to apple trees, peach trees, and other fruit trees.

For these reasons, they are something that those wishing to grow food at home should look into as being serious components of an edible landscape. One shrub can provide up to 20 pounds of nuts, so with a few plants in the mix, the harvests can become significant quickly.

However, as with anything we grow, the whole point of sowing a plant, nurturing said plant, and harvesting for it is to eat the fruits (and nuts) of what we sow.

To the point, what does one do with dozens of pounds of hazelnuts?

Plant-based Milk

Like almonds and cashews, hazelnuts can be used to make delicious, nut-based milk perfect for those of us who don’t use dairy. Hazelnut milk is as easy as soaking a cup of nuts overnight, draining them in the morning, then whizzing them up with three cups of fresh water. Filter out the hazelnut pulp with some cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, and it’s ready to go.

Hazelnut Cheese

Making plant-based cheeses at home is incredibly empowering and extremely delicious. Again, cashews and almonds get loads of press in the nut-cheese game, but hazelnuts make some nice cheeses, too. Hazelnuts behave a bit more like almonds than cashews which makes them perfect for “ricotta” and crumbly cheeses.

Nut Butter

Though the nut butter scene used to center almost solely around peanut butter, things have changed in the 21^st century. Almond and cashew butter are wildly popular now, and it’s no big secret that other nuts can be blended into delicious nut butter spreads as well. Hazelnut butter is wonderfully delicious for sandwiches, toast, and smoothies.

“Nutella” Spread

Nutella is a much-loved chocolate-hazelnut spread in Europe. It’s very popular folding into crepes or smeared across toast. Surprise, surprise, it’s a doable DIY for folks with easy access to hazelnuts. Making homemade “Nutella” is a fun and delicious way to make the most of a good hazelnut harvest.

Desserts

Hazelnuts are very easy to feature in cakes and cookies. There are loads of plant-based hazelnut dessert recipes to explore. OGP alone has over a dozen to choose from. Like macadamias and walnuts, hazelnuts slip seamlessly into sweet recipes, providing healthful calories and flavorful additions to all sorts of treats.

Nut/Granola Bars

Whether in superfood bites form or molded into granola bars, hazelnuts can feature in these energy-rich snacks that keep us going between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. They are fun and simple to make at home, and they can be packed with all sorts of stuff, including homegrown hazelnuts.

Hazelnut Ice Cream

Nothing says “We are having fun now!” quite like a scoop or two of ice cream. Ice cream isn’t so difficult to make at home, and it can even feature favorite (or available) flavors like chocolate and hazelnuts. This recipe for chocolate and hazelnut ice cream keeps it simple, and with the basic ingredients involved, it can’t help but be delectable.

In short, there are tons of avenues for using hazelnuts to bulk up a healthy diet with worthwhile fats, plant-based protein, and tons of fun. Plus, in the end, hazelnuts are awesome to put in a dish on a table with a nutcracker. They are a scrumptious snack as-is.

Related Content:

• A Beginner’s Look at Growing Hazelnuts in Your Backyard Orchard
• Hazelnut Milk Dark Chocolate Latte [Vegan]
• Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Tarts [Vegan]
• Braided Hazelnut Challah, Two Ways [Vegan]
• Beet and Hazelnut Burgers [Vegan]

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