"Farm Cafe" Rosemary Roasted Hazelnuts

nibble.Recently I was talking about how much I wanted to recreate the roasted hazelnuts from The Farm Cafe at home and I have! And I didn't have to do any of the work, either!

Julie Hasson pointed me in the direction of the recipe, that was featured in Bon Appetit Magazine. Because it's so easy, and makes sense with this post, I have reposted it below.

Please note that I made a half batch, and husked most of the hazelnuts ahead of time. I used fresh rosemary and a rich organic dark brown sugar I buy in bulk from People’s Coop.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Hazelnuts (The Farm Cafe/Epicurious.com)

Servings: Makes 4 cups.

Vegetable oil (I used canola)
4 cups hazelnuts, toasted, husked
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh rosemary (I used organic, local)
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt (I used sea salt)
5 dashes of hot pepper sauce*

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch baking pan and large rimmed baking sheet generously with oil (I used my oil mister). Mix hazelnuts, brown sugar, rosemary, salt, and hot pepper sauce in large bowl to blend. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Bake until sugar melts and coats nuts, stirring every 5 minutes, about 20 minutes. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cool completely. Break hazelnuts apart and store in airtight container at room temperature. (Can be made 5 days ahead.)

Test-kitchen tip: It's important to keep the hazelnuts hot during the entire baking time so the glaze doesn't clump. To prevent the hazelnuts from cooling off, don't remove them from the oven when stirring — just pull the oven rack out slightly.

*I used Frank's Red Hot the first time I made this, and Chihlua the second - definitely use a spicy one and don't be afraid to use more than 5 dashes. It wasn't quite as spicy as the restaurant's version both times I made this - they use Tabasco brand sauce on theirs. The nuts may smell hot and sour before roasting, but don't let that scare ya off.