A delicious, nutritious alternative spread or topping for sandwiches, toast or crackers, useful in baking and cooking.

Ingredients: 100% Hazelnuts, lightly roasted.

RECIPES:
HAZELNUT BUTTER SLICE
(Note:Melted carob can be substituted for dark chocolate)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup Four Leaf plain flour
1/4 cup Four Leaf self-raising flour
125g butter, melted
250g dark chocolate, melted
3/4 cup Melrose Hazelnut Spread
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
Grease 20cm x 30cm lamington pan, place strip of foil to cover base and extend over 2 opposite sides.
Beat eggs, essence and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer about 3 mins or until thick and pale in color.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Spread mixture into prepared pan.
Bake in moderately slow oven 30 minutes or until firm - cool in pan.

CHOC-ORANGE HAZELNUT CRESCENTS
125g butter
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
2 tablespoons castor sugar
1 cup Four Leaf light flour
1/2 cup Melrose Hazelnut Spread
60g dark chocolate, melted.
Cream butter, rind and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Stir in sifted flour & hazelnut spread.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead until smooth; cover, refrigerate 30 mins.
Roll 2 level teaspoons of mixture into sausage shapes about 7cm long, curve into crescent shape; place on to a greased oven tray.
Repeat with remaining mixture, allowing about 3cm between crescents.
Bake in moderate oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned, cool on trays.

Transfer crescents onto wire racks, pipe or drizzle with chocolate.

Hazelnut (Corylus maxima) (Filbert)

Native to the mediterranean region, but now grown all over Europe and North America, the Hazelnut bears sweet flavoured nuts on easily maintained, relatively small trees that are roughly 6 metres tall. The native American hazelnut C. americana is more resistant to winter cold than the European hazelnut C.avellana, but the European species produces the larger nuts.

The Black Sea coast of Turkey is one of the biggest producing areas of hazelnuts in the world. It is a coastal plant which likes to live 30 kilometres from the shore, at an altitude of 750-1800 metres above sea level. The climate is a significant reason why the hazelnut thrives in this region. Along the coast it rains 10 months a year and sees less than 2000 hours of sunshine per year. Although this is not great news for beach goers, it is for those of you who love hazelnuts. Hazelnuts are also being grown in New South Wales, Australia.

Hazelnuts are one of the best food-source of Vit E, supplying over 20mg per 100 gram portion. Hazelnuts are a source of the essential unsaturated fatty acid - Linoleic acid, and the best nut source of manganese which is the subject of research into nerve nourishment & the maintenance of sex-hormone production.

Information source: Melrose Health, www.melrosehealth.com.au