homemade nutella

Day five brought a little bit of yoga and a little bit of trying a Pinterest pin from my master list. I’m starting to notice a trend towards yoga and food-oriented choices. It’s time to start branching out, and soon.

Said Pinterest pin happened to be taking a crack at homemade Nutella—aka chocolate hazelnut spread—from The Spunky Coconut blog. There are hundreds of versions floating around out there, but I liked the simplicity of this one and lack of excess oil.

I honed my love for chocolate hazelnut spread in Europe, where peanut butter is as scarce as overweight people and mega churches. It’s since become one of my favorite things to put on toast, sharing the spotlight with peanut butter, raspberry jam, and marmite (if I’m in the mood). This homemade version was a revelation, much like my first stab homemade ketchup, and will fill your kitchen with the aromas of toasted hazelnuts. I can’t wait to try it warmed and poured over vanilla ice cream (tonight perhaps), but in the meantime, I’ll keep it in my fridge for dipping strawberries or spreading on hearty pieces of whole grain bread.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Makes 3 small mason jars

Ingredients

1.5 cup hazelnuts
1 & 1/2 cups coconut milk (I use canned)
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp sea salt
3 bars (3.2 oz each) of dark chocolate

Preparation

1. Toast hazelnuts at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
2. While they’re toasting, heat the coconut milk, sugar, and sea salt in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar is melted. Begin melting the chocolate over a double boiler.
3. Remove the toasted hazelnuts from the oven and transfer to a clean dry kitchen towel. Rub the hazelnuts in the towel to remove as much of the skin as possible. In a food processor, puree the hazelnuts until they are very fine.
4. Add the melted chocolate, and puree until creamy and smooth (about two minutes). Stop periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure no clumps have formed.
5. While still running the food processor, gently pour in the milk mixture and puree until smooth.
6. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or freeze for longer storage.