The skin of the hazelnut is often removed after cooking.
To remove the skin just rub them together in your hands or in a towel.
Some or most of the skin will come off.
Chopping Toasted Nuts:
To chop the nuts simply place them into a plastic bag and gently pound them with the flat side of a heavy knife or cleaver.
You can also put them into a food processor and pulse the machine on and off until they are chopped to you liking.
Note: The nuts in this photo are almonds.
New Taste Thinking:
Toasting brings out the great flavor of a nut. Nuts that are usually toasted are: pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts and pecans. They all take a different amount of time to cook because of their various sizes.
It is much easier to burn a batch of nuts than it is to toast them correctly. Ask any chef and they will tell you about burnt ten dollar a pound pine nuts. Yes I have heard of a timer but there are many distractions in a kitchen.
At home it is easy not to burn the nuts because all you need to do is put the nuts in the oven and then turn the oven off. I recommend doing this after you have finished baking or roasting something. As the oven cools you buy yourself a few minutes just in case you forget about them. And don't forget to set a timer!
One last thing, if you are still following, nuts are high in oil and the oil gets very hot as they are toasting. If you pull the nuts out of the oven when they are golden brown they will continue to cook and often burn. If this happens to you try quickly removing the nuts from the pan and placing them on a cool surface.
