Butter-Toasted Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are one of my favorite types of nuts. They're amazing. They have such a sweet, deep flavor that evolves with heat, more so than other types of nuts. There's a local hazelnut vendor at the farmer's market by my house, and I've always wanted to buy their raw hazelnuts and toast them. I've toasted hazelnuts before, but I wanted to explore what else I could do with toasted hazelnuts. As usual, working with nuts meant taking a gander at what Heidi Swanson has to offer. A quick search brought up her Butter-Toasted Hazelnuts Recipe, which is easy, subtle, and delicious.

Start off with some hazelnuts and toast them in the oven.

Lightly brown some butter.

Toss the hazelnuts in the butter with a good amount of lemon zest, orange zest, and thyme leaves.

The end result is a batch of beautifully crisp hazelnuts with really light hints of citrus and thyme. The zest and the thyme are perfect for balancing out the natural sweetness of the hazelnuts.

So simple, so good, and they make the air in your apartment edible.