Best Hazelnut Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated December 12, 2016
Whether you're looking to add a little crunch to your favorite dishes or nutty flavor to any dessert, hazelnuts are the perfect addition. We've compiled a short list of our favorite recipes including a hazelnut-and-chocolate meringue cake, hazelnut-crusted pork chops with morel sauce and more.
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Hazelnut-and-Chocolate Meringue Cake

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This extraordinary dessert, made with crisp chocolate-hazelnut meringue and whipped cream, is simple to make. But pastry chef Daniel Jasso of Portland, Oregon's Genoa restaurant has nicknamed it "the beast," because slicing it can be tricky--the meringue tends to crumble. The solution: Freeze the cake, cut it with a serrated knife and let it return to room temperature before serving.

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Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce and Toasted Hazelnuts

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This rich, earthy dish featuring canned pumpkin puree was inspired by stovetop mac and cheese. The hazelnut and chive garnishes lend an elegant touch to this hearty pasta.

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Brown Butter Mushrooms with Hazelnuts and Whole-Wheat Pasta

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Toasted hazelnuts add a little crunch to this rich and satisfying pasta dish.

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Buttery Hazelnut-Fig Biscotti

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"The texture of most biscotti can break your teeth," Julianne Jones says. So she came up with this softer, chewier version by including butter and sweet dried figs.

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Endive Salad with Persimmons and Hazelnuts

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Jeff Cerciello blends olive, canola and hazelnut oils to give depth to the dressing for this fantastic winter salad. For even more color, use both red and white endives.

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Milk Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Sandies

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These crisp, buttery cookies from Sarah Hart are a riff on classic hazelnut sandies; the cookies are doctored with crunchy cocoa nibs and then dipped in luscious milk chocolate.

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Black Quinoa and Sliced Avocado Salad with Cracked Hazelnuts

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This salad features thinly sliced avocado arranged over a bed of quinoa. It's drizzled with good olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt and toasted hazelnuts. It's also excellent tossed with a side of fresh greens and herbs.

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Watercress Salad with Prosciutto, Tangerines and Hazelnuts

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This salad is an intriguing mix of strong flavors--sweet, peppery, earthy. The hazelnuts add richness, chef Govind Armstrong says, plus they "do their job as the texture police." He uses duck prosciutto here; it's easy to find in specialty-food stores, or you can substitute regular prosciutto.

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Chocolate-Glazed Hazelnut Meringues

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Pastry chef Gale Gand's six-year-old son Gio loves these meringues that Washington, D.C., baker Warren Brown taught Gale how to make on her show.

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Toasted Hazelnut Pumpkin Cake with Espresso Icing

© Sarah Bolla
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This cardamom scented nutty pumpkin cake is baked with ground and chopped hazelnuts, while it's crispy exterior gets drizzled with a deliciously-fun espresso icing. A slice of this cake can make for a nice treat with coffee in the morning or served as a special dessert.

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Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies

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Many traditional holiday flavors come together in this little sweet, with its layer of chocolate sandwiched between cookies spiced with cinnamon, allspice and cloves. A sprinkle of chopped hazelnuts gives additional crunch.

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Chocolate-Caramel Hazelnut Tart

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If the French celebrated Thanksgiving, they'd probably serve this caramelized hazelnut tart for dessert instead of pecan pie. At Vanille Patisserie in Chicago, Dimitri Fayard spreads layers of soft caramel and creamy chocolate ganache in a sweet pastry shell, then sprinkles chopped hazelnuts over the top.

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Hazelnut-and-Green Olive Pesto

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This isn't a typical pesto, since it has no cheese; instead, it's made with an irresistible blend of crunchy toasted hazelnuts, fresh green parsley, salty green olives and garlic.

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Hazelnut-Brown-Butter Brownies

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"In Japan I got into all different flours, like roasted soy flour," says Stella Parks. "Then I thought, Why not use nut flour to make gluten-free brownies?"

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Hazelnut-Crusted Pork Chops With Morel Sauce

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