Candied Pecans

2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups pecan halves

In a large sauce pan combine sugars and sour cream. Stir constantly over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Without stirring, continue to cook until mixture reaches 238 on a candy thermometer or forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water. Remove from heat and add vanilla and nuts until well coated. Place on waxed paper, separating with a fork. Store in an airtight container. Makes 4 cups.

TERIYAKI ALMONDS

2 cups almonds
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place nuts in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake for 5 minutes. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in oil, ginger, salt, garlic and onion powder. Add heated almonds. Toss to coat nuts. Return nuts to baking pan. Bake 10 minutes longer, turning once. Cool and store in an airtight container.

BREAD MACHINE RECIPE

Chocolate Almond Bread

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 C milk
2 T buttermilk
(or regular milk with a dash of lemon juice)
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 t almond extract
3 egg yolks
1/4 C butter or margarine
2 C bread flour, divided
1/4 C sugar
1/3 C Dutch processed cocoa
1/2 t salt 3/4 t cinnamon
1 t orange peel
1 T brown sugar
2 t yeast

Put the milk and buttermilk into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add 1/2 cup of the bread flour and stir into a thick paste. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then put it in the bread machine pan and add the remaining ingredients. 2 Bake on a light or sweet bread cycle.

 

 

 

 

Almond Blue Cheese Loaf

Bread Machine recipe

1 C buttermilk
1 t canola oil
2 C bread flour
2 t honey
1 t salt
1/4 C crumbled blue cheese
1/4 C almond pieces (or slivers)
2 t yeast

Add the ingredients to your machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. You may add the almonds after the indicator beep, if you prefer chunks.

Use a regular, light, or rapid bread cycle.

 

Lemom, Blueberry and Hazelnut
Tea Bread

* 2 cups all purpose white flour
* 1½ teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* ¼ teaspoon baking soda
* ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
* ¾ cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons lemon zest
* 2 whole large eggs
* ½ cup milk
* 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
* 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
* ¾ cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts.

Position a baking rack in the lower third of the oven
and heat oven to 350º. Generously grease a
8x4x3 inch loaf pan with solid shortening. Dust lightly with flour; tap out excess. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and soda. With an electric mixer, in a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest until well mixed. Add eggs,
one at a time, and beatuntil light and fluffy.
Alternately beat in milk and dry ingreedients until mixture is smooth. Mix in poppy seeds. Fold in blueberries and ½ cup hazelnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts, and bake in the lower third of a 350º oven
for about 60 minutes, or until the top springs back
when lightly touched with fingertips, and a pick
inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand
for several minutes, run a knife around the edge of
the loaf to loosen and unmold unto cooling rack.

*Lemon Zest:

Lemon zest is the very thin outer layer of peel of the lemon which contains the oil and sweet, intense flavor
of the lemon. Zest can be removed with a tool called
a zester. For larger jobs, a potato peeler works well
to remove very thin strips of peel. Try not to remove the bitter white pith.

Recipe courtesy of the
Northwest Hazelnut Company

 

White Chocolate - Hazelnut Cheesecake with Raspberry Garnish

This creamy, smoothe cheesecake tastes as good as it looks. It is well worth the extra time to frost it with the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, although it is also delicious served plain with just a bit of raspberry sauce on the side. To keep the top from cracking as it cools, be sure to grease the pan well and to cool away from drafts.

The Cheesecake

* 3 ounces white chocolate, choped
* 1/3 cup whipping cream
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 3 strips lemon peel, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
* 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup sour cream
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 4 large eggs
* Raspberry Grand-Marnier Sauce

* White Chocolate/Cream Cheese Frosting
* 1 cup medium chopped toasted hazelnuts *

Fresh Raspberries Raspberry-Grand Marnier Sauce
* 16 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries (1 cup juice)
* 1/3 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
* 2 tablespoons orange liquer (such as Grand Marnier)

Hazelnut Crust
* 25 vanilla wafers (1 cup crushed)
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts * 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

White Chocolate Frosting
* 2 tablespoons whipping cream
* 2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
* 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Generously butter a nine-inch spring form pan. Cover the outside of the pan and up the sides about two inches with wide aluminum foil. This will prevent water from seeping in the pan while baking.

In a food processor, finely chop vanilla wafers. Add sugar and hazelnuts; chop fine. With the machine running, pour in butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate until firm. Position a baking rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place white chocolate in small bowl. Gently warm cream and pour over the chocolate. Let stand, stirring often, until chocolate is melted. Cool slightly. Place sugar and lemon peel in a food processor work bowl fitted with a metal blade. Process until the lemon peel is very fine, about one minute. Add softened cream cheese and process until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl several times. Mix in white chocolate, cream, sour cream, and lemon juice. Add eggs, one at a time, and process until smooth, another 30 seconds. Pour half of the mixture over the chilled crust, and drizzle with 1/4 cup of the Raspberry Sauce.

Top with remaining batter. Place the cheesecake in a baking pan about 2 1/2 to 3 inches deep and wide enough so there is at least an inch of room around the cheesecake. Pour boiling water into the baking pan to about half way up the sides of the spring form pan.

Bake in the center of a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Turn oven off and let cheesecake remain in oven, with door closed, for another 60 minutes. Remove from waterbath and cool in the pan, away from drafts. When cool, remove from pan and refrigerate.

To finish dessert, cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper in a six-inch round, using a saucer as a guide, and place in the center of the cheesecake. Frost the sides and top, around the paper, with White Chocolate & Cream Cheese Frosting. Press chopped hazelnuts into the frosting. Remove paper and chill until frosting is firm, about one hour. Spoon Raspberry Grand-Marnier Sauce into the center and garnish with fresh raspberries.

White Chocolate Frosting

Place whipping cream in a small bowl and gently heat. Add white chocolate to cream and stir until melted. Cool to room tempature. With electric mixer beat cream cheese and lemon zest together. Add white chocolate and cream; whip until smooth. If frosting is too soft, refrigerate until it is thick and creamy.

Raspberry-Grand Marnier Sauce

In a saucepan, heat berries until just warm, and juice is released. If using fresh berries, add 1/4 cup water. Force the mixture thru a sieve or juicer. Return juice to saucepan; discard solids. Add sugar to taste. If using fresh berries 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar shoud be adequate. If using pre-sweetened berries, little or no additional sugar may be needed. Cook over medium high heat until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat, add orange liqueur and cool.

NOTE: White confectionery products with cocoa butter as an ingredient are general referred to as white chocolate. The term "white chocolate" is a misnomer, however, as chocolate refers to the brown chocolate liquer found when processing the cocoa beans. Look for cocoa butter listed as the first ingredient on the package, as the higher the ratio of cocoa butter in the product, the finer the confection. If cocoa butter is not listed as an ingredient, the product is a white compound or confectioner's coating. White chocolate should be handled carefully. it should not be over heated. In this recipe, the cream should be just barely warm enough to gently melt the chocolate. If the chocolate gets too warm, it may "seize" and refuse to melt.

Recipe courtesy of the
Northwest Hazelnut Company