I had mentioned regarding my tryst with my one and only pack of hazelnuts in this biscotti post. I also did mention that I used up the rest of the hazelnuts in trying to make one of the most loved spreads in the world. Of course there is no point for guessing, it has to be Nutella, right? 🙂
I must confess I am no Nutella fan. I belong to the category who can’t stand eating Nutella, condensed milk or Biscoff from the spoon. I may eat Horlicks or Boost but not these. I really have no reason why. Sometimes, our aversion has no explanation, isn’t it? But I love using them to cook or bake. Here are a few Nutella recipes on the blog, among which my personal favorite are these super easy puffs with banana – so delicious that you must try them for your children. 🙂 I hardly get to cook as much as I would like to because my bottle doesn’t last forever. I have an adult called B who likes to indulge in heaped tablespoons of Nutella once in a while. So before I know, the bottle is already ready to be updated. Hehe…
Now, of late, Nutella has been in bad news for obvious reasons. The claim of having maximum hazelnut in it is totally bogus as per its label. Everybody raised such a hue and cry on how much sugar and palm oil this spread had. But I don’t think that has hampered its sale in anyway. People still love Nutella over its competitor brands for the matter of taste. Even in my home, the girls prefer Nutella over any other brand. I try not to give it too much, just to make myself feel good and thankfully, I have never treated them to spoonfuls of it, till date. Don’t know how it is going to be in the future…
I really wanted to try and make it at home with the correct base ingredient to get to know the taste. And believe me, I was totally blown! The actual taste of hazelnut butter with the chocolate can surely beat a bottle of Nutella at any given point in time! I really wish hazelnuts weren’t so expensive that I could make this as frequently as I could. Sure, many people are using peanuts and almonds to make their version of Nutella, but hazelnut can’t have a substitute that way taste wise. My spread was quite thick, so next time I would add more butter, maybe equal to the quantity of chocolate to make it a little runnier. Off to the recipe…
Chocolate Hazelnut Spread | Easy Homemade "Nutella"
Ingredients
- 125 gm hazelnuts
- 50 gm cooking chocolate I used 72%
- 20 gm butter refer notes
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts on a tray and roast them for 25 minutes.
- Take out, empty the hot hazelnuts onto a towel and rub them roughly to take away the skin.
- Allow the hazelnuts to cool.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter together and allow it to come to room temperature.
- Place them in a food processor and start pulsing them. First you will start seeing it powdering and then slowly it will release its oils and start sticking together.
- Add the remaining ingredients and continue pulsing till the mixture is smooth. Empty into a neat glass jar and store in the fridge. Use within two week, that is if it stays!
homemade are best
Thanks Babitha…
The store bought nutella is loaded with sugar and unhealthy fat. Homemade is the BEST!
Thank you so much Angie…
If you have nailed it, then it is quite a feat dear 🙂 I would love to make these at home anyday instead of buying Nutella. But have to admit that they taste just awesome with toast bread. Still homemade is yum & way healthier too !
Thank you so much Chitra…
Best of best Sweets
Thanks Tuma…