Hazelnut Crust

Hazelnut pie crust is a sweet shortcrust pastry prepared with ground hazelnuts. The dough comes together easily with just a few ingredients and has a subtle nutty flavour. Just perfect for any fruit tart, especially in the months of fall and winter.

Hazelnut Flour:
⅔ cup whole hazelnuts (90 g)

Hazelnut Crust:
¾ cup hazelnut flour (60 g)
1⅓ cup all-purpose flour (160 g)
½ cup confectioners' sugar (65 g)
1 pinch kosher salt
½ cup butter, softened at room temperature and diced (120 g)
2-3 Tbsp. water

Make the Hazelnut Flour:
Place ⅔ cup (about 90 g) whole hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse until you get a fine sandy texture. You should have about ¾ cup (60 g) of hazelnut flour. If needed, pulse more hazelnuts to match the ¾ cup (60 g) needed.

Make the Hazelnut Crust:
In a large bowl, mix together hazelnut flour, all-purpose flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt.

Add the softened butter, diced, and mix well until crumbly. Add a little bit of water, just enough to help the dough shape into a firm ball.

Wrap the dough in a plastic film, flatten a little with your hand to get a thick disk, and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Rub a little bit of butter on the bottom and sides of a tart tin, then lightly dust with flour.

When ready to use, remove the dough from the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, until soft enough to handle but not too warm. Place onto a large sheet of parchment paper and roll it out into a 11" (28 cm) disk, rotating regularly to ensure the pastry does not shrink in an uneven fashion.

Carefully transfer onto the prepared tart tin, prick the bottom and sides with a fork, and pre-bake for about 10-12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add filling and/or fruits of choice and bake following recipe instructions.

Cook's Notes:  If the dough is too warm after you rolled it out, chances are that it will collapse when transferring to the tart tin. In order to prevent that from happening, I like to place the rolled out dough onto its parchment paper in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Then, you should be able to transfer to the tart to the tart tin easily.