Homemade Nutella: Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

This container of hazelnuts had been sitting on our counter since Thanksgiving – a leftover from the cooking frenzy. I did not know exactly what to do with them so I let them sit for a few days well over a month while I pondered my options.

My friend, Ben recommended toasting them and putting them in salads. It sounded tasty so I went ahead and toasted them all. The smell coming from our toaster oven was beyond heavenly… I ate a few of the toasted nuts and was hooked on their amazing flavor.

But when I saw this recipe for homemade Nutella pop up on David Leite’s (of Leite’s Culinaria) Facebook feed two days ago, I knew I’d found the right way to use my toasted hazelnuts.

I was kind of daunted by the idea of making chocolate hazelnut spread from scratch until I took a look at David’s simple recipe – it’s really not so tough after all! It’s a pretty basic mixture of ground hazelnuts and melted chocolate with a few other ingredients blended in.

I’d already toasted the nuts. The next step was to remove the skins – a little tedious (though those of you who are more evolved than I am might find it “meditative”) but not hard at all.

Then into the Cuisinart they went where I ground them into a paste.

Then added canola oil, a little confectioner’s sugar, some cocoa powder, a dash of salt and a little vanilla extract and blended again until smooth.Then I added the melted chocolate and blended it again.

The resulting spread is divine, very rich, with a stronger roasted hazelnut flavor than Nutella. It solidified overnight but you can always warm it in a bowl of warm water or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds if you’re having trouble spreading it. Below is a pic I took of it before it spent a few seconds in the microwave – still spreadable but a little more work than the stuff I heated up was.

I am storing mine in an old Bon Maman jam jar since it’s got a screw-on lid and I also love the look of ‘em. Use it just like you’d normally use Nutella and enjoy the fact that it is even tastier and does not have any of the additives and preservatives in the store-bought version.

Next: the recipe

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Read more: Desserts, Food, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian, chocolate, hazelnut, nutella

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Anna Magdalena S.

3:05AM PST on Feb 5, 2012

Can't wait to try it!

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Megan S.

9:08AM PST on Feb 4, 2012

Oohh, I bought a little containe of Rawtella (raw, vegan nutella) and it was pretty good. I might make this! I just need hazelnuts and chocolate..!

Melanie V.

3:18AM PST on Feb 3, 2012

Soooo love Nutella, but don't buy it that often because... well... it's a bit pricey. I will absolutely be trying this!

Udayana L.

1:31PM PST on Feb 2, 2012

The great thing about this recipe is that you can modify it, say, you can substitute mil chocolate for semi-sweet or bittersweet, maybe even try with white chocolate.

Anne G.

12:46PM PST on Feb 1, 2012

Have to try that "Nutella".

Sierra G.

7:00AM PST on Feb 1, 2012

OMG i love nutellea and a homemade version just sounds so rewarding.

Anna B.

6:46AM PST on Feb 1, 2012

Will have to give some of the recipes a try. Thank you for sharing.

Diane S.

3:33AM PST on Jan 31, 2012

It sounds so good !