In Always the Young Strangers, Carl Sandburg's autobiography, he describes picking hazelnuts and walnuts in the woods in the fall. During the winter Carl and his brother Martin would crack the nuts. They used their mother's flat iron and a hammer to break the shells. The nuts could be eaten directly or used in baking and candymaking.

The American hazelnut is a native shrub of the eastern United States. In parts of Illinois hazelnut bushes covered the landscape when the pioneers arrived. They can grow fifteen to eighteen feet in height. The plants prefer full sun and grow in many types of soil. They are drought resistant.

In Europe, the nuts are called filberts rather than hazelnuts. The legend is that the nuts began to ripen on August 20^th, St. Filbert's feast day. The nuts were a symbol of wisdom. Ancient civilizations in Scot.and used the nuts for food as long ago as seven thousand years. Filberts are highly nutritious. Today, Turkey is the world's largest producer of the nuts. They are grown on rocky hillsides and are hand picked.

Today, Nutella is a popular snack food made of hazelnuts, chocolate and sugar. The Ferraro company has produced the spread for the past fifty years in Alba, Italy. The combination of ingredients is almost irresistible to lovers of chocolate. The company consumes about a quarter of the world's production of hazelnuts for its product.

Oregon is the largest producer of hazelnuts in the United States. After the nuts ripen and fall to the ground, machinery is used to vacuum them up. The ground debris is separated out and the nuts are dried before packaging. An elongated hazelnut variety is grown in Washington. It is named DuChilly and can be ordered on the Internet from the growers. These nuts are also pressed for the oil which has a very distinctive flavor. It can be used on salads.

One of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes is made with hazelnuts. When we were children, my sister and I took turns grinding the nuts in a hand-chopper. The recipe is easy to make and the cookies keep well for several weeks.

Hazelnut Christmas Cookies

              ½ cup butter, softened                                  ¼ teaspoon salt

               ½ cup sugar                                                 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

               1 egg                                                           ½ cup ground hazelnuts

               1 ½ cups all purpose flour

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix thoroughly. In another mixing bowl stir together salt, baking powder and flour. Add to butter mixture and combine thoroughly. Stir in hazelnuts. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a log 2 ½ inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic film and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unwrap log and slice with a sharp knife in ¼ inch thick slices. Place on parchment lined baking sheets 1 inch apart. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.