Leigh Santini of Portland, Oregon, writes: "A group of coworkers and I had a fantastic dinner at the nearby Farm Café a couple of weeks ago. While we were waiting for our table, we had drinks and an order of the roasted hazelnuts on the deck. I know I tasted rosemary in the glaze but couldn't place the rest of the flavors. Can you help?"
The restaurant uses locally grown Oregon hazelnuts for this recipe. If the nuts have been stored in the freezer, bring them to room temperature before roasting so the coating maintains a smooth consistency.
It's important to keep the hazelnuts hot during the entire baking time so the glaze doesn't clump. To prevent the hazelnuts from cooling off, don't remove them from the oven when stirring — just pull the oven rack out slightly.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 4 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch baking pan and large rimmed baking sheet generously with oil. Mix hazelnuts, brown sugar, rosemary, salt, and hot pepper sauce in large bowl to blend. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Bake until sugar melts and coats nuts, stirring every 5 minutes, about 20 minutes. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cool completely. Break hazelnuts apart and store in airtight container at room temperature. (Can be made 5 days ahead.)
