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Tags: Dairy Free Gluten-Free Low-Glycemic Vegan nuts vegetarian

  • Hard
  • Medium
  • Easy

Prep
Difficulty
Easy

45 mins

Time
Estimate
45 mins

Icon Heart Healthy

Gluten
Free?
Yes

Winter

Typical
Season
Winter

Nutrition Info

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Protein

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Carbs

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Fats

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Vegetables

Recipe Detail

Winter

"Nutella" Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

 

My original intention for making my own homemade nutella was to simply make nuts & dark chocolate the main attraction rather than the typical first ingredients of the brand version: sugar & palm oil. But, upon further thought I realized a simple kiss of dates & honey with dark cocoa powder and a ton of roasted hazelnuts were all I needed to make this insanely addictive. This spread is pretty much… dare I say it… healthy. It does require a food processor or I imagine a powerful vitamix style blender. It can be also made quickly if you buy your hazelnuts roasted and peeled. For those wishing it was vegan, up the number of dates or use your favorite sweetener instead such as agave or even stevia. Just do it to taste as I have yet to try anything other than raw, local honey.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup hazelnut
  • 1 tablespoon honey, or agave nectar
  • 2 dates, we used medjool dates
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa, more to taste, if desired
  • ⅓ cup water

Serving Size: 4 People

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Preparation Instructions

If you purchased roasted and peeled hazelnuts you can skip this first step entirely:

Roasting the hazelnuts
Turn the oven on to 375. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 15-25 minutes until the skin is crackling off and several of the nuts are turning golden. Remove from the oven and cover with a clean dish towel for about 5 minutes until the nuts are cool enough to handle. Place a small amount of nuts in the towel and rub around quickly. The skins should fall off. Not all of them will. It is okay. The skin is slightly bitter, but it is still edible. You may decide to sweeten up your nutella a bit more to compensate, but don’t sweat it. Also, you could roast and peel these nuts well in advance, such as a day or two prior if you don’t want to do it all at once.

Make the spread
Place the roasted & peeled hazelnuts in the food processor or blender. Blend for about 5 minutes until the oils release and it looks like a nut butter. Add the honey, pitted dates, coconut oil, cocoa powder and pinch of salt. Whirl around for another couple of minutes until it is smooth.

Now it will appear to be a thick, nut butter concoction that is not quite nutella. This is where the magic occurs. While blending slowly pour in just half of the water. Scrape the sides and test for its ‘spreadability’. Keep it in mind it will firm up just slightly in the fridge. Add a bit more water if desired until it is exactly the way you like it. You may not use all of the water or you may want a splash more.