Best Hazelnut Recipes

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.

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.

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

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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?"