How to Toast and Peel Hazelnuts

Toasted hazelnuts are so easy to prepare. This is great because these sweet and buttery nuts make a fantastic addition to baking, desserts, salads, and many other dishes. Their flavour is especially beneficial because it is strong enough to hold its own against other strong flavours without getting lost. This is why it’s so popularly used in combination with chocolate.

Hazelnuts are encased in a bitter skin that is usually removed before eating. Luckily, if you follow these easy steps for toasting hazelnuts, the skins will basically fall off with just a little rubbing.

How to make toasted hazelnuts

Preheat your oven to 350°. Take your hazelnuts and spread them out over a baking sheet. I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper first to make clean up a breeze later. Pop the tray in the oven and bake it for fifteen minutes.

After the time is up, remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a heat-safe surface. Don’t eat your hazelnuts yet! Allow them to completely cool first. The nuts are actually still steaming inside of their skins during the cooling period.

How to peel hazelnuts

Now that your toasted hazelnuts have cooled, it’s time to remove the skins. Here are two really easy methods that you can use to do so.

Option 1: Take a handful of nuts into a clean, rough dish towel and just rub them with the towel.

Option 2: Take a handful of the nuts between two hands and gently rub them together. The skins fall right off!

Whichever method you choose, repeat it in batches until you have peeled all of your hazelnuts.

Your toasted hazelnuts are now ready for use (or munching). You can store any extras in an airtight container for up to six months, or frozen in a freezer bag for up to a year. I like to have them ready on hand for whenever the mood for baking strikes me.

Aside from snacking, these particular hazelnuts will put to use in some delicious toasted hazelnut chocolate cookies (recipe coming soon).

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