What to do with excess chopped almonds and hazelnuts

[Sebastian]

I've got a few kilos of finely chopped almonds and hazelnuts - looking for suggestions for great desserts that we can apply them against to wow our guests and make my wife happy once more that we've got room in the freezer (they occupy a lot of space...). I've been teaching my daughter to make chocolate as well, so we've got lots of custom made chocolate around the house (tanzania, brazil, dominican, ecuador, venezuela, etc). Of course, access to chocolate's never really been an issue for me 8-) Anyway, what are some nut based desserts that include chocolate that you've been particularly found of? Help me use up these nuts!

[gap]

Nuts as a topping for ice cream sundaes with caramel sauce

Almonds for marzipan for Christmas treats (Stollen?)

Nougat will readily use nuts

Make your own praline paste (should be easy if you've been making chocolate). Plenty to do with praline paste and chocolate

Edited to add: Try this http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/caramelized_nut_tart/ and substitute the nuts. Looks good and should use plenty of nuts.

Edited November 19, 2009 by gap (log)

[emmalish]

My brain isn't working and I can't think of the name for these, but how about chocolate medallions topped with chopped nuts and dried/candied fruit?

(what are those things called?)

Edited to add – oh, and you could also do almond bark, of course! And toffee with chocolate and nuts.

Edited November 19, 2009 by emmalish (log)

[heidih]

Nuts are at the center of the family holiday treats. We tend towards cookies rather than cakes or desserts because they are easier to portion for gifts and keep longer. The yearly constants are baklava, Ischler Krapfen, the ones sometimes called wedding cakes that are basically butter, sugar, nuts- then rolled in powdered vanilla sugar after baking, Linzer torte, and semi puff pastry done like a mini croissant shape and filled with a mix of nuts and jam. With almonds and hazel nuts I sometimes very carefully lightly toast them to bring out the flavor

[Darienne]

My brain isn't working and I can't think of the name for these, but how about chocolate medallions topped with chopped nuts and dried/candied fruit?

(what are those things called?)

Mendicants?

[emmalish]

That's them! Altho I've never heard them called that.

[gap]

I'd second baklavah

[mostlylana]

Third for Baklava...

I also suggest those hazelnut shortbread cookies -- can't remember the name. As soon as I get my computer back from the shop I'll post the recipe... so good... There's no chocolate in them but they would be superb dipped in chocolate.

[merstar]

These are delicious - I like them best with some orange zest added to the batter (they'd be great dipped in chocolate):

Hazelnut Crisps

http://www.recipezaar.com/Hazelnut-Crisps-27840

Another idea (recipe from Alice Medrich)

Italian Chocolate-Almond Torte

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/09/cook-the-book-italian-chocolatealmond-torte.html

[Kerry Beal]

My brain isn't working and I can't think of the name for these, but how about chocolate medallions topped with chopped nuts and dried/candied fruit?

(what are those things called?)

Edited to add – oh, and you could also do almond bark, of course! And toffee with chocolate and nuts.

Mendiants.

[John DePaula]

My brain isn't working and I can't think of the name for these, but how about chocolate medallions topped with chopped nuts and dried/candied fruit?

(what are those things called?)

.

Mendiants

[Darienne]

My brain isn't working and I can't think of the name for these, but how about chocolate medallions topped with chopped nuts and dried/candied fruit?

(what are those things called?)

Mendicants?

From Wordsmith Talk:

Mendicant (alternative Mendiant) is also the name of a small disk or bar of chocolate which has been sprinkled with dried fruit or nuts.

[David A. Goldfarb]

And desserts aside, almond and hazelnut butters aren't bad things to have around.

[rickster]

Linzertortes/cookies

Lots of tart crusts call for ground nuts

Edited November 20, 2009 by rickster (log)

[andiesenji]

I mix finely chopped nuts with finely chopped/ground dried fruits, coconut and possibly other things like sesame seeds - almonds combine beautifully with apricots - probably because they are related.

Hazelnuts and figs or dates are also a "classic" combination.

I can't find my photos but there are two 'varieties' pictured in post # 18 in this topic:

The top picture is apricot/almond/coconut and the bottom one includes apples, apricots, ginger and ground pistachios.

There are so many possible combinations with the huge variety of dried fruits now available.

I recently dried kiwi fruit slices that turned out to be very tasty combined with walnuts.

They can also be dipped in chocolate - lots of possibilities here.

You can also make savory ones with dried tomatoes and peppers. If they are too dry I steam them for a few minutes - same with the fruits.

[Sebastian]

Great ideas - thanks all - i'll have to try all of them 8-) last night we honey caramelized a bunch of them, and used that as the bottom layer for a chocolate torte topped with freshly roasted dominican nibs for a party today. we'll see how it goes!

[Lior]

nut butters for gifts?

[LizD518]

How finely chopped are they? Can the almonds be processed further (and sifted) to be used for macarons? It would probably be a lot of work, but if you are interested in making them and already have to almonds on hand, it may be your opportunity.

[Sebastian]

great idea - i've actually got a number of sizes, from coarse grind down to very, very fine.. perhaps i'll try that 8-)

[djyee100]

My brain isn't working and I can't think of the name for these, but how about chocolate medallions topped with chopped nuts and dried/candied fruit?

(what are those things called?)

Mendicants?

From Wordsmith Talk:

Mendicant (alternative Mendiant) is also the name of a small disk or bar of chocolate which has been sprinkled with dried fruit or nuts.

Mendiants or Mendicants, I've heard it either way. They are the beggar-monks of the Thirteen Desserts of Provence, yes? If you and your daughter make up that dessert table, your guests will talk about it for years.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/12/mendiants.php

Some of the other 13 desserts, like the nougats, will use up those chopped nuts, too. This is one version I learned from chef Charlene Reis:

Four Mendiants or Mendicants--The Monks

Raisins for Dominicans

Almonds for Carmelites

Dried figs for Franciscans

Hazelnuts for Augustines

Four Poors

Apples

Pears

Mandarins

Dates

Four Riches (choose 4)

Confit fruit, like candied orange peel

Nougat blanc

Nougat noir

Conig-Quince Paste

Panade-Apple tart (with frangipane)

Calisson

Candied walnuts

Fougasse or Pompe a Noel, to signify breaking bread at the Last Supper

You're supposed to take at least one bite of each of the 13 desserts for a prosperous New Year. I would have no problem doing that, myself.