Holiday Hazelnut Spread Pinwheels

A recent trip to Turkey boasted markets overflowing with the most beautiful arrangements of fruits, spices and nuts. We couldn’t seem to eat enough of them. Ironically, most everything can be found in the states.   However, our favorites abroad were the insanely fresh Turkish delights in all colors and flavors as well as the variety of creamy spreads, from Hummus to Hazelnuts. While we continue to eat our Turkish delights sparingly, we love to incorporate our hazelnut spread on everything from sliced strawberries and apples to crepes and … [Read more...]

Hazelnut Financier

My Baking Skills class at the Institute for Culinary Education definitely widened my baking aperture. Before attending the class, cutting up a pre-made log of Tollhouse cookie dough and sticking it in the oven was my definition of baking. I never would’ve thought I’d be baking cakes I can’t even pronounce in English. One of my favorite items on our hit list is the Hazelnut Financier cake (pronounced fee-nahng-syehr). These are lovely French tea cakes, that also go by the name Friands, which aptly means "dainty" or "tasty." After becoming … [Read more...]