Glazed Hazelnut Squares Recipes

CANDIED HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat, swirling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer, and cook, swirling occasionally, until medium amber, about 4 minutes. Add hazelnuts and salt, and stir for 1 minute to coat.
• Pour mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a nonstick baking mat, and immediately separate nuts using 2 forks so that each stands alone on sheet. (You can also hold the pan at an angle and push each hazelnut onto sheet individually. If caramel thickens as you work, return to heat briefly.) Let cool. Break apart.

HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Roast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet until light golden, about 18 minutes. Rub the warm nuts in a kitchen towel to remove half of skins. Finely chop 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
• Put chopped nuts, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, the flour, 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Blend on low speed with a mixer until well blended.
• Grease a 9-in. square baking pan, line with foil (let it hang over edges), then grease foil. Press dough evenly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden and firm, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, very roughly chop half of remaining nuts to make 1 cup.
• Bring remaining 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 3 tbsp. butter, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, the maple syrup, and the brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup whole hazelnuts and the chopped nuts (2 cups total; you may have leftover nuts). Pour over crust and spread evenly. Bake until set when pan is tilted, about 18 minutes.
• Let cool on a rack. Lift foil with cookie to a board. Cut cookie into 16 squares, then cut each square in half diagonally.
• Extra-Toasty Hazelnut Shortbread Bars: Follow directions for Hazelnut Shortbread Bars. Keep temperature at 350° throughout recipe. In step 3, bake crust until very deep golden, 45 minutes to 1 hour. In step 4, reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes.
• Chocolaty Hazelnut Shortbread Bars: Follow directions for Hazelnut Shortbread Bars. After spreading nut topping on the crust in step 4, scatter 1 cup (5½ oz.) roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate on top, then bake.
• Fruity Hazelnut Shortbread Bars: Follow directions for Hazelnut Shortbread Bars. In step 4, stir 1 cup tart or sweet dried cherries or cranberries into nut topping.
• *Hazelnuts from Oregon--where virtually all the U.S. crop grows--taste much sweeter and fresher than imports. Find them in bulk bins in grocery stores (check the country of origin) and at freddyguys.com, hazelnuthill.com, or yournw.com?
• Note: Nutritional analysis is per bar.

GLAZED HAZELNUT SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, and spread hazelnuts in a single layer on top. Toast until golden and aromatic, 8 to 12 minutes. Shake the pan halfway through baking to make sure the nuts toast evenly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Place 1 1/2 cups hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until finely ground; reserve. Roughly chop the remaining 1/2 cup nuts, and set aside.
• Grease a 9-by-9-inch cake pan with margarine, and line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment, and dust with matzo meal. Whisk together the ground hazelnuts and 1/2 cup matzo meal, and set aside.
• In the detached bowl of an electric mixer, whisk egg yolks, whole eggs, and 1 cup sugar over a pan of simmering water until warm to the touch. Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until mixture is thick, light in color, and leaves a ribbonlike trail on the surface for 3 seconds when you raise the whisk. Fold in matzo-meal mixture. Fold in melted margarine.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 40 minutes.
• Invert pan, and turn out cake on wire rack so bottom of cake faces up. Set rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Spread remaining 1 cup sugar on the bottom of a 10 1/2-inch skillet. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice and potato starch; set aside. Place skillet over medium-high heat. Without stirring, let sugar begin to melt. When sugar begins to turn golden around edges of pan, about 4 minutes, reduce heat to medium; stir melted and unmelted sugar together. Continue stirring until all sugar has melted and is clear and golden, about 1 minute. Stir in orange-juice mixture; cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• Remove skillet from heat, and stir in the chopped hazelnuts. Pour the glaze over top of cake, and spread the nuts evenly with the spatula. Let cool. Cut into 3-inch squares, and serve.

ORANGE HONEY GLAZED HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet or line it with waxed paper or a nonstick baking mat. Toss all of the ingredients together in a bowl and turn out onto the prepared pan, spreading out the hazelnuts so they do not touch. Bake until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Check at 15 minutes then let bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Loosen the hazelnuts from the bottom of the pan with a spatula and cool in the pan at room temperature; store in airtight container.

LEBKUCHEN (GERMAN HONEY BARS)

Steps:

• Honey bars:
• Heat honey and water in a large heavy saucepan until runny. Remove from heat, and stir in butter until melted. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in brown sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
• Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture and stir just until combined. Add almonds, citron, and candied orange peel. Stir until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to 1 month.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper so it extends over the 2 long sides.
• Firmly press the dough into the prepared pan to form a smooth, even layer. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 30 minutes.
• Citrus glaze and decoration:
• In a medium bowl, beat together powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. While the lebkuchen is still warm, spread glaze evenly over the top.
• Mark into bars by cutting into the lebkuchen about ¼ inch deep with a knife. Decorate, if desired, by placing 1 candied cherry in the center of each bar. And arrange 4 blanched almonds around each cherry.
• Let stand in the pan on a rack until completely cool and the icing is set. Using the overhanging parchment as handles, transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars. If possible, let the cookies age for at least 2 weeks to allow the spices to ripen. Lebkuchen will keep for months in an airtight container.

LEMON HAZELNUT SQUARES

Steps:

• For crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil; butter foil. Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and nuts and blend until fine meal forms. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake until light brown around edges, about 18 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare filling:
• Blend first 6 ingredients in processor.
• Pour filling onto hot crust. Bake until filling begins to brown at edges and is just springy to touch, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.
• Lift foil and dessert from pan. Gently peel foil from edges. Cut dessert into 16 squares. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly; chill.) Sift powdered sugar over squares; serve at room temperature.