Recipe: Quaintrelle | Photo: John Valls

Quaintrelle, a farm-to-table restaurant located in North Portland, serves pacific northwest-inspired cuisine “made with passion and intention.” Chef Sedona McCaffrey-Allen’s Hazelnut-Coffee Pot De Crème with Chocolate Ganache and Hazelnut Shell Smoked Marshmallow will take your taste buds through a journey of interesting textures and unique flavors.

Directions

Smoked Marshmallow

Heat smoked sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment  until soft peaks form. Once sugar has reached 240 degrees, remove from heat and slowly stream into the egg whites while the mixer is running on high. Continue mixing for 8-10 minutes until the mixer bowl returns to room temperature. Add vanilla and mix until medium-stiff peaks form.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Pot de Crème

Lightly heat cream, milk, and hazelnuts together. Leave to steep in the fridge overnight. Next day- strain hazelnut cream. Bring cream mixture and sugar up to a light simmer. Add 6 sheets of bloomed gelatin. Cool, strain, and mold however you prefer. Small mason jars look great.

Yield: 1 dozen
Time: 35 minutes

These cookies are coated in delicious finely chopped hazelnuts and studded with small bits of floral Earl Grey tea. They are best paired alongside a steaming cup of the tea to bring out their bright flavors.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the tea leaves to a spice grinder and pulse until finely chopped. Toss the tea with the brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low for 1 minute to combine the flavors. Add the butter and cream for 2 minutes, until smooth and pale brown in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Mix in the vanilla and egg. Add the salt and then the flour. Mix on medium-high until all ingredients are combined into a cookie dough. Place the bowl with the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Spread the finely chopped hazelnuts on a plate and stir in the granulated sugar. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and roll into 12 balls, a little smaller than the size of a golf ball. Roll each ball in the hazelnuts and sugar. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Press a hazelnut half in the top of each.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and the centers are firm. Let cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe: Kathy Body

Directions

Chocolate Hazelnut Flourless Cake

Melt butter and chocolate over a double boiler. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, Frangelico and salt. Temper the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar mixture. Prepare a spring from pan by lining the interior with parchment paper and coat the paper with butter. Wrap the outside of the spring form pan with foil and bake in a water bath 350 degrees. This should take approximately an hour to an hour and a half, or until cake is firm and the top feels dy. Cool cake before serving.

Hazelnut Ice Cream

Heat heavy cream and milk together on stove until almost boiling. Whisk together sugar and egg yolks. Temper milk and heavy cream into the eggs and sugar. Add Frangelico and hazelnuts and let steep overnight under refrigeration. Strain Hazelnuts out and discard. Then Put the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker and process until thickened. Serve chilled.

Frangelico Chantilly

Whip mixture until stiff peaks form. Serve.

Recipe: Vicky Cassidy | Photo: Vicky Cassidy

Yield: Serves 6-8
Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add peeled sweet potato and boil until potato is soft. Drain and let cool slightly, then mash. Measure out 1 cup.

In a large bowl, beat together mashed sweet potatoes and canola oil. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture, mixing until well combined. Finally, add chopped hazelnuts.

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Directions

For crust:

Blend flour and hazelnuts in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add brown sugar and salt; blend 20 seconds. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add 4 tablespoons ice water; stir until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together; divide into 2 equal pieces. Form each into ball; flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

For filling:

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Toss apples, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in large bowl. Roll out 1 dough disk on generously floured surface to 12-inch round, rotating crust often to prevent sticking. Generously flour 11- or 12-inch tart pan bottom. Slide tart pan bottom under dough round. Carefully slide dough round into 9-inch pie dish. Press crust onto bottom and up sides of dish; pinch and press to seal any cracks. Spoon filling into crust; drizzle with melted butter.

Roll out second dough disk on generously floured surface to 13-inch round. Slide same floured tart pan bottom under dough round. Carefully allow dough round to slide off tart pan bottom onto pie filling; pinch to seal any cracks in crust. Press top crust and bottom crust together at edge. Fold edge under; crimp decoratively. Cut X in center of top crust. Brush top crust lightly with milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Transfer pie to rimmed baking sheet. Bake pie 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie 25 minutes. Cover crust edges with foil collar to prevent overbrowning; continue baking until crust is golden, apples are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly in center, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer pie to rack and cool. Serve with ice cream.

Yield: Makes 4-1/4 pounds of toffee (100 pieces measuring 1 x 2 inches)

Directions

Grease one large (12 x 17- inch) rimmed baking sheet or two smaller (10 x 15-inch or less) ones with butter.

Melt the pound of butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat on a wide-diameter burner. While the butter is melting, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup. Add this mixture to the melted butter, along with the water. When the sugars have dissolved, increase the burner setting to medium high, stirring with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Attach a candy thermometer to the pot and cook the mixture, stirring constantly to keep it from scorching. When the temperature reaches 240 degrees F, add the nuts and continue stirring. At 260 degrees, reduce the burner setting to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring occasionally, until the toffee reaches 300 degrees (“hard crack”).

Remove the pot from the burner and stir in the vanilla and salt, stirring quickly because the toffee will become quite thick at this point. Scrape it out onto the prepared baking sheet(s) or marble slab, spreading it out to a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. A silicon spatula is the best tool for spreading the sticky toffee.

Allow the toffee about 5 minutes to set up, then distribute the chocolate pieces evenly over the surface. The heat from the toffee will melt them. While it’s still soft, gently even out the layer of chocolate and then sprinkle it with the roasted and chopped hazelnuts.

At this point, you can refrigerate the toffee until it is cold and hard. Or you can just let it cool to room temperature over several hours or overnight. Once the toffee is very firm, it can be broken into smaller, irregular-sized pieces.

NOTE: If you use unsalted butter, increase the amount of salt in the recipe from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon.

Recipe: Jami Curl, QUIN Candy | Photo: Jami Curl

Time: 30 minutes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the Oregon hazelnuts with the corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Spread the concoction onto a non-stick baking mat that you’ve placed on a cookie sheet or sheet pan. It will look like a puddle of sugar studded with hazelnuts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring two or three times during baking, until the syrup surrounding the nuts is a lovely deep honey color.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the candy to cool completely. Once cool, break or chop it into manageable pieces.

Store the candy in an air-tight container, at cool room temperature, for up to one month.

Recipe: Tanner Creek Tavern | Photo: John Valls

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Situated in the Pearl District, Tanner Creek Tavern is restauranteur David Machado’s newest eating and drinking establishment. The menu emphasizes seasonal, approachable tavern fare with flavors inspired from around the world. Enjoy Chef Jeff Larson’s Maple Glazed Delicata Squash with Oregon hazelnuts, sage and lime crema alongside a glass of fine wine from their impressive list of up-and-coming vintages.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Place squash halves on the baking sheet, season with salt and place cubed butter evenly across the four halves. Roast for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and tender. For the last few minutes of roasting, brush the squash with maple syrup as a glaze.

To assemble the dish, place squash face up onto plate. Top with a dollop of maple crème fraiche, toasted Oregon hazelnut pieces and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Optional: fried sage.

Maple Crème Fraiche: Mix together 2 ounces maple syrup, juice and zest from 1 lime, 1 cup crème fraiche and a pinch of salt; whisk until frothy.

Yield: 12 cookies

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a medium baking sheet scatter hazelnuts. Roast until fragrant and the skins are blistered, 12-15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer 1⁄2 cup hazelnuts to a food processor along with the flour. Pulse until hazelnuts are ground into a fine flour. Roughly chop remaining hazelnuts and set aside.

Transfer hazelnut-flour mixture to a large bowl along with oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.

In a large bowl mash bananas. Stir in egg, honey or maple syrup, oil, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Stir in oat mixture until thoroughly combined. Fold in chopped hazelnuts and blueberries.

Pack cookie mixture into a 1⁄3-cup measure, then tap the measuring cup onto the baking sheet so the cookies fall out in rounds. Flatten each cookie slightly.

Bake until browned and set, 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet.

Yield: About 11⁄4 cups

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

On a medium baking sheet scatter hazelnuts. Place in the oven and bake until fragrant and the skins are blistered, 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, gently melt dark and milk chocolate, stirring frequently, until smooth. Take pan off heat and set aside.

In a food processor process hazelnuts until ground into a paste. Add oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt and process until very smooth. Add melted chocolate and process until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.