The short answer: to make hazelnut extract, toast 1 cup (about 135 g) of hazelnuts at 175 °C (350 °F) for 8 to 10 minutes, rub off the skins, chop them roughly and cover them with 240 ml (1 cup) of vodka at 40% alcohol. Keep the jar dark, shake it once a week, and strain it after 4 to 8 weeks.
Hazelnut extract tastes of toasted hazelnuts, like the middle of a praline. A few drops turn a cup of coffee into a hazelnut coffee with no syrup and no sugar. A teaspoon makes brownies, buttercream and hot chocolate taste of hazelnut. The toasting does most of the work: raw hazelnuts give a pale, woody extract.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Work | 25 minutes, with toasting |
| Waiting | 4 to 8 weeks, taste from week 2 |
| Ratio | 1 cup (about 135 g) hazelnuts to 1 cup (240 ml) vodka |
| Keeps | Up to 1 year, closed, cool and dark |
Ingredients
- 1 cup (about 135 g) whole raw hazelnuts
- 240 ml (1 cup) vodka, 40% alcohol (80 proof)
- A clean glass jar with a tight lid
- A clean tea towel, a fine sieve and a coffee filter
The spirit: vodka gives the cleanest hazelnut taste. Brandy or dark rum add warmth, which suits coffee and chocolate. Use at least 35% alcohol. Weaker spirits pull out less flavour and keep less well.
Why you toast and skin the hazelnuts
Toasting browns the nuts and turns their flavour from mild and woody to deep and sweet. You know they are ready when the skins crack and the kitchen smells of praline. Take them out before they turn dark brown: burnt nuts make a bitter extract.
The papery skins are bitter too. Most of them come off when you rub the warm nuts in a tea towel. A few flakes left on do no harm.
How to make hazelnut extract
- Toast. Spread the hazelnuts on a tray. Toast them at 175 °C (350 °F) for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the tray halfway.
- Skin. Tip the warm nuts into a tea towel, fold it over and rub hard. Pick out the nuts and leave the skins.
- Chop. Let them cool, then chop them roughly or pulse them a few times in a food processor. Stop before they turn to powder: ground nuts make a muddy, oily extract.
- Cover. Put the nuts in the jar and pour in the vodka. Close the lid and shake.
- Wait. Keep the jar in a dark cupboard and shake it once a week.
- Taste and strain. From week 2, put a drop in a spoon of warm milk. Most batches are ready between 4 and 8 weeks. Pour it through a sieve lined with a coffee filter and let it drip.
Homemade hazelnut extract is not shop flavouring
Shop hazelnut flavouring and coffee syrups are often built on filbertone, the aroma compound that gives hazelnuts their scent. They taste loud and sweet. Homemade hazelnut extract is quieter and rounder, closer to a toasted nut than to a coffee shop syrup. Use a little more of it than a recipe asks for, then taste.
| Option | What it adds | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Hazelnut extract | Toasted hazelnut flavour, no sugar | Coffee, baking, cream |
| Hazelnut syrup | Flavour and sugar | Sweet coffee drinks |
| Ground toasted hazelnuts | Flavour, oil and texture | Cakes, cookies, crumbles |
A thicker hazelnut concentrate
Finished extract is mostly alcohol. Reduce part of it and you get more hazelnut in less liquid. The NOIDS Herb Lab has an Evaporation function for this. It reduces infused liquids with a boiling point no higher than 100 °C / 212 °F, and it stops by itself at 102 °C / 215.6 °F.
- Pour 200 ml of strained extract into the Glass. Stay under the MAX mark.
- Cover with the Dish Lid, place the Glass in the Main Body and turn the Rotary Control to Evaporation.
- It reduces about 50 ml per hour. Turn the Rotary Control to OFF when the volume is where you want it. About a third of the start is a good first try.
- Let the Glass cool, then bottle the concentrate. Use about a third of the amount of plain extract.
Safety: use only food-grade spirits. Run Evaporation in a room larger than 50 m³ with fresh air coming in. Keep the cooker at least 5 m from any open flame. To collect the alcohol instead of letting it into the room, fit the Condenser.
How to use hazelnut extract
- Coffee: 3 to 5 drops per cup. It works hot and in cold brew coffee.
- Hot chocolate: ½ teaspoon per mug, for a taste close to a chocolate hazelnut spread.
- Buttercream: 1 teaspoon per 250 g of butter, then taste.
- Brownies and cookies: 1 teaspoon per batch, next to the vanilla.
- Ice cream base: 1 to 2 teaspoons per 500 ml, added once the custard is cool.
Hazelnut and coffee belong together: a drop of each of hazelnut and coffee extract in a buttercream tastes of a café praline. For autumn cookies, add a few drops of maple extract. The method is the same as our almond extract, with a longer toast.
How to store hazelnut extract
- Keep it closed, in a cool, dark cupboard. Use it within a year.
- Nuts carry a little oil, and old oil goes stale. Smell it before you bake. If it smells of old nuts or paint, throw it away.
- A thin film or fine sediment is normal. Shake it, or strain it again through a coffee filter.
Start homemade vanilla extract the same day, and find more flavours in our homemade extracts guide.
Questions
How long does hazelnut extract take to make?
4 to 8 weeks. Start tasting at week 2 and strain it when the hazelnut taste is clear in a spoon of warm milk.
Do I have to remove the hazelnut skins?
Most of them. The skins taste bitter. Rub the warm nuts in a tea towel; a few flakes left on are fine.
Can I use roasted hazelnuts from a bag?
Yes, if they are unsalted and plain. Warm them in the oven for a few minutes to wake up the scent, then chop them.
What is the difference between hazelnut extract and hazelnut syrup?
Extract is flavour in alcohol, used by the drop or teaspoon, with no sugar. Syrup is sugar, water and flavour, used by the spoon to sweeten drinks.
How long does homemade hazelnut extract last?
Up to a year, closed, cool and dark. Smell it before you use it: nut oil can go stale.
