Sunday, March 15, 2015

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread



Nutella is tasty and a really nice treat, but we all know that it probably isn't the healthiest thing for us! I love Nutella and don't buy it, because if it is in my house I will eat it.

After some experimentation and looking at different homemade recipes online I came up with one for a "Chocolate" Hazelnut Spread on my own.  The ingredients are simple and it isn't time consuming to make.

"Chocolate" Hazelnut Spread

You will need:
2/3 cup Hazelnuts
3 oz Carob Chips (or you can use Cocoa Powder, instead)
Raw Honey (to taste)
Splash of milk (whatever type you fancy)
1 tsp of coconut oil


Now hazelnuts have a skin so you need to roast them A) to make it easy to remove the skin and B) to make them more flavorful.

You can roast them too much, so make sure you watch them. I did about 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

The hardest part of making this was taking the skin off.  I did it with my fingers, but I did read you can skin them with a towel as well.

Once their skin was removed I put them into my crappy food processor.

NOTE: this was my downfall.  If you have a good food processor you will get a smoother hazelnut spread.  My processor is cheap and I didn't get a fine powder (which is what you really want if you want it smooth).

Once the Hazelnuts were ground as much as I could get them I added in about 3 oz of Carob chips.

Now many of the recipes for chocolate hazelnut spread on the internet say to use Cocoa Powder, but I didn't have any on hand...just carob chips and my 5 year old gets crazy when I give him chocolate so this was a better thing for us.

I blended the carob chips and the Hazelnuts together and then added a splash of whole milk and a teaspoon of coconut oil to give it a creamier spreadable texture.

Finally once it was completely blended I added in some raw honey. 

NOTE: Honey has a very distinct flavor that might be too much for some people.  If you are someone who doesn't like honey, raw cane sugar or regular sugar would be just fine.

After it was all blended I ended up with this: 



The truth is that it tastes really good, chocolatey and hazel-nutty, but it isn't Nutella.  If you want something that tastes EXACTLY like Nutella you are better off going to buy some at the store.

Mine had a texture like a crunchy peanut butter because I couldn't get the Hazelnuts ground fine enough, but I imagine that if you had a good processor it will be smoother.  There are many variations of this recipe on the internet that seem pretty easy.  I think next time I will use dark chocolate to see how it tastes.  My kids loved this as a dip for graham crackers and on toast.






18 comments:

  1. My dad roasts hazelnuts every thanksgiving, the easiest way we've found is to roast them, then put them on a towel on the floor, fold the towel over them, and then just knead and roll the heck out of them to get the skins off.

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  2. That still looks yummy, though!

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  3. I may have to try this.mlooks yummo

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  4. Hey you tried right? Plus some things look really good and tasty nasty, this looks 'interesting' and sounds like it tastes great :)
    thanks for linking up with the #bestoftheblogosphere link party.

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  5. Yep! This sounds amazing! Thanks for linking up at Found & Foraged!

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  6. Looks delicious AND healthy! Thank you for sharing this recipe on the Art of Home-Making Mondays! :)

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  7. Thanks for sharing in the Shine link up! This looks yummy and I will be trying it out. Anything chocolate! I am now following you on twitter and facebook.

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  8. What a great idea to make your own Chocolate Hazelnut spread. Certainly sounds so much healthier than the store bought brand. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & twitted.

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  9. Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing on the (mis)Adventures Mondays Blog Hop!

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  10. Thank you for linking up with Waiting on...Wednesday at While I'm Waiting! I hope you'll link up again this week!

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  11. Oh my goodness - a "healthier" crunchy Nutella?! I have got to give this a try!

    Thanks for sharing and for linking up with the #SHINEbloghop.

    Wishing you a lovely week.
    xoxo

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  12. This looks incredible! I'm drooling right now. Pinned and tweeted. We are so thrilled to have you at our party. Please stop by tonight at 7, so we can see your amazing projects. Lou Lou Girls

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  13. What a lovely chocolate spread - love that you've included a bit of crunch. Thank you for sharing this wholesome recipe with us at the Hearth and Soul hop. Pinned :-)

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  14. I'm sure it is yummy. I'm just not a huge chocolate fan. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  15. This sounds so good! Pinning! Thanks for sharing this at Totally Terrific Tuesday last week!

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  16. Hazelnuts are wonderful! This looks fabulous. Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday. Hope to see you again this week.

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  17. I've always wondered about making a hazelnut spread! Not a fan of honey tho, I'd have to use cane sugar....

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  18. I love DIY recipes and this is one to try, esp as it is healthier! And very kid friendly obviously!!!

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