Toasting Nuts
Using the oven to toast nuts is best. You get more uniformly toasted nuts than in a skillet on the stove, and there’s less chance of burning them (if you set a timer, that is). Let toasted nuts cool completely before using them in a recipe or storing in an airtight container.
Ingredients
Preparation
Almonds, Walnuts, and Pecans
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Step 2
Place the nuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, being careful not to burn the nuts. As the nuts toast, they will become fragrant and turn light brown.
Hazelnuts
Step 3
Blanched hazelnuts are ideal, but they can be hard to find. The skin on whole hazelnuts can be a little bitter, so try to remove as much of it as possible. This is easier to do when the nuts are warm, because the skin blisters and cracks in the oven.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Step 5
Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
Step 6
As the hazelnuts toast, they will become fragrant and the skins will crack and flake off. Pour the toasted nuts into the center of a clean kitchen towel, bring up the sides of the towel, and twist it closed to seal in the nuts. Rub the nuts together in the towel to remove as much of the brown skin as possible. (Don’t bother trying to remove the skin from each individual hazelnut; it’s virtually impossible.) Open the towel on a flat surface and gently roll the nuts away from the skins. Discard the skins.
