Beaked hazelnuts

[HappyYooper]

My daughter & I were out berry hunting and we came across a ton od beaked hazelnuts Other than roasting them do you have any other ideas for their use? Is there a way I can use them in my coffee?

[PyroDon]

We have some very good producing hazel nut/filburt bushes
never noticed anything strange about them though they are about half the size of those from large trees

[HappyYooper]

do you harvest yours? If you do how do you use them? We're packing a lunch and heading out Saturday to pick berries, apples and these nuts. Yes, these are smaller too. We sampled one last night and we could taste the delicate buttery flavor....sooooooo good!

[Tabitha]

oh my, do I envy you. hazelnut maccaroons, hazelnut in cakes and cookies, in granola, hazelnut icecream, hazelnut crocant to put on top of a cake, hazelnuts are just wonderful and I am allergic to them when they are raw. I have no idea how to use them in coffee though, never done that.

[PyroDon]

yes we harvest when we can beat the squirrles to them .
pretty easy as they grow in groups of 4 in a husk .
we use them in cookies and just plain as snacks .
I would offer starts but at the moment couldn't dig here with a jackhammer .
perhaps this fall . Its 105 out side

[Jenn]

PD MM where do you live? I assume in AL it is too hot for me to enjoy my favorite nut. I enjoy them fairly green for some reason- picked off the tree when they taste good to me just before or when they fall off the tree. I ate kgs raw but also put a few kgs every year in the freezer- after shelling- to use (often raw eaten out of hand) later sometimes in brownies or fudge. I have no liking for the dry older tasting filberts that come in a Xmas mix. Raspberries and cobnuts (hazel or filberts) are the things I'll miss most from my garden in England.

[BeckyW]

Y'all are lucky lucky dogs to have hazelnuts in your backyard! It is one of my top two favorite nuts.

Here's my Hazelnut Breakfast Cake recipe for all to enjoy:

1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla 1/2 hazelnut extract)
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp brown sugar
1 cup chopped hazelnuts (you can lightly roast them first to intensify the flavor, if desired)
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with each addition. Add sour cream and extract/s; beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and beat just until blended.
In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon for filling.
Place 1/3 of the batter in a well-greased and floured tube pan. Sprinkle with 3/4 of the filling mixture. Spoon in the rest of the batter and sprinkle with remaining filling. Bake 1 hour until tests done.
This cake can be made ahead and frozen, if desired.
Note: This batter is like a poundcake rather than a traditional box cake. If your batter gets a little too heavy, add a bit more sour cream sparingly.

BW

[PyroDon]

Jenn
Im in SE Ks. we dont have trees we have bushes about 8ft high they were loaded last week and completely bare this afternoon ( squirrels )
didnt even manage a pound this year . Still have a few from last year.
in a normal year we can pick about 15-25 pounds the ones I did get this year were really small we havent had much rain. think I may take the pea shooter down and guard the hickory tree . Black walnuts are everywhere but our pests dont mess with them , No pecans either on our trees

MountainMamma91
Best of luck in your picking they are great

[HappyYooper]

Ratsin fratsin grrrrrr it's raining cats and dogs this morning. It's a good thing though cuz we really need it. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 79 and sunny....guess we can go after I grocery shop.
I live in the U.P.
Thank you guys for the info and the recipe! I can't wait to get out there! Blackberries are looking pretty good too. I missed out on those last year.
Now..off to feed the critters.....

[HappyYooper]

I forgot I posted this! My daugher and I did get out to pick! The only thing we did wrong was we left the paper bags with the nuts outside over night & the bags were gone in the morning We have a bumper crop of hazelnuts this year so I'm going to try once again. Now more questions...after the nuts are picked (I was told to soak them in water and I won't end up with little stickies in my fingers!) should the be roasted? I would like to have them to use for baking & munching on. And how do y'all shell them?

[haypoint]

Black berries are not ready around here. Red raspberries are ready and service berries are ripe, too. No apples for awhile.

My hazelnuts get stolen by squirrels or a worm gets them. The few I've picked were good fresh. Crack the shells with a hammer, lightly.

[Sanza]

Hah! After reading this thread I ran out after 10 PM and picked what I could see and I can get the rest tomorrow, and know I beat the squirrells this year.

[HappyYooper]

hubby & I picked blueberries, raspberries & chokecherries yesterday. We're keeping a close eye on the blackberries but they have a ways to go yet before picking. Serviceberries are ready but either the critters got to them or it wasn't a good year for them, darn....do the hazelnuts need to be roasted? Or can I just shell them and then freeze them?

[HermitJohn]

If you are thinking hazelnuts taste anything like that artificial hazelnut flavored coffee, think again. If you want real hazelnut flavoring, perhaps buy a small bottle of cold pressed hazelnut oil from a health food store and try a little of that in your coffee. I suppose if you had oodles of hazelnuts you could press your own oil, but it would take lot nuts to get very much.

[HappyYooper]

naw...I figured using them for mostly baking....

[HappyYooper]

I've been watching the hazelnuts closely (every other day) for the outer picky cover to turn brown but I'm noticing the green ones are disappearing rapidly Is it ok to pick them while green?