This simple hazelnut liqueur recipe only takes minutes to prepare but results in a deliciously rich and smooth nut flavoured liqueur.
What is a hazelnut?
The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree (Corylus). These nuts are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to species. The hazel tree is native to the Northern Hemisphere and is common across North America, Europe and Asia.
Hazel trees are often coppiced in managed woodland, with regenerating shoots allowing for harvests every few years. Due to its flexible nature, hazel wood traditional uses include fencing, baskets, and coracle boats’ frames.
All hazelnuts are edible, and archaeological evidence shows that they have been eaten here in the UK for thousands of years. They even play a part in our mythology, with the Celts believing that eating hazelnuts gave one wisdom and inspiration.
Like other nuts, hazelnuts are rich in nutrients and have a high content of protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. Hazelnuts have a sweet flavour and can be eaten raw, roasted or ground into a paste.
Hazelnuts are a popular ingredient in baking, chocolate making and a famous chocolate spread. This delicious hazelnut liqueur recipe really allows their beautiful, rich flavour to shine.
When should you harvest hazelnuts?
Hazelnuts begin to ripen when the leaves on the trees change colour.
Once the papery outer covering starts pulling back from the nut, they are edible. Hazelnuts can either be picked and eaten green or left to ripen in a warm, dry place.
If you can’t find hazelnuts in the wild, or the squirrels beat you to the harvest, store nuts will work equally well for this hazelnut liqueur recipe.
A note on foraging.
- Only collect and eat wild foods that you are 100% sure you have identified correctly.
- Common sense says that if you entirely strip an area of wild food, you will damage that habitat, so only collect where food is bountiful and take reasonable amounts.
- Be aware of what happens in the area you are harvesting in. Plants near busy roads may be absorbing emissions from vehicles. If nearby fields are sprayed with pesticides, chances are some will also make their way onto wild plants. And if watercourses are polluted, your native plants will drink that water.
What you need to make 1 litre of hazelnut flavoured liqueur
400g Hazelnuts
600mls Vodka
150mls Brandy
Large glass preserving jar (Amazon Affiliate link)
Glass Bottles (Amazon Affiliate link)
Once your nuts have infused in the alcohol for a month, you will need the following to make a simple syrup to sweeten the hazelnut liqueur.
150mls sugar
200mls Water
How to make Hazelnut Liqueur
Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and lightly toast them in an oven for 10-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to ensure they don’t burn.
Once toasted, pour the nuts straight onto a clean tea towel and wrap them up. Leave to steam for 1 minute before rubbing the nuts in the towel to remove the loose skins. Generally, I find that about half the skins come off the nuts.
Pop the toasted nuts into a glass preserving jar and add both the vodka and brandy. You can make any quantity of this hazelnut liqueur recipe, but keep the proportions of 4/5ths vodka to 1/5th brandy.
Leave to infuse for at least one month in a cool, dark place, giving the jar a shake when you remember.
After a month, strain the hazelnut flavoured liqueur and sweeten it with sugar syrup to taste.
How to make a simple sugar syrup.
Make a sugar syrup by gently heating 150g sugar in about 200ml of water until it dissolves. Leave to cool, then add to the liqueur in increments until you are happy with the taste.
Hazelnut liqueur will benefit from being left to mature for another couple of months after bottling. The residual nuts are delicious added to cakes and brownies.
This recipe first appeared on Craft Invaders.
