3 Ingredient Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Anyone else love Nutella as a kid? Discovering that you could have chocolate for breakfast was a game changer for me. But now as an adult, I am not sure about the ingredients in one of my favorite nut butters. It is pretty high in sugar and contains added palm oil with very little protein. I have tried to make my own versions at home multiple times. Sometimes it turns out and sometimes it is greasy or grainy. This recipe is so easy and full proof. As long as you have the patience to just let the mixture process or blend. The natural oils in the hazelnuts will warm up and form a smooth emulsion.
Ingredients:
16 oz raw hazelnuts
5 tbsp powdered sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
optional pinch of sea salt
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the raw hazelnuts out onto a sheet tray. Roast the nuts for about 3 minutes until fragrant. Do not walk away. You do not want to burn the nuts.
Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and allow them to cool. Then wrap the nuts in a clean dish towel and rub them to peel off the loose skins. Not all of the skin will come off and that is ok. You just want to remove any loose papery bits.
Pour the hazelnuts in a food processor or blender. Blend or process on high, scraping down the sides as needed until you reach a creamy consistency. Think natural peanut butter consistency.
At this point add the cocoa powder and powdered sugar as well as the optional pinch of salt if adding. Continue to blend for around 10 minutes. Keep scraping down the sides as needed. Heat will form from the blades of the food processor or blender and the spread will become warm. This is good, the warm oils will help the emulsion. You want to keep going until is is a creamy, easy to spread consistency. Taste for sweetness or salt. If you are used to Nutella, you may want to add more sugar. This is rich, nutty and cocoa flavored spread but not overly sweet. Nutella is quite sweet so add as much cocoa and sugar as you need to your own taste.
This recipe is easy but one thing to keep in mind is that you need to make hazelnut butter first before adding the cocoa and sugar so don’t just add all the ingredients in at the same time. Also use powdered sugar so you do not get a grainy consistency. Because this does not contain any milk, you can keep it at room temperature. It may separate if it sits for a long time. If that happens, just mix it back together before enjoying.
