Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Nutella is a lifestyle – make sure you never run out of this brown liquid gold by making your own chocolate hazelnut butter at home to enjoy morning, noon, and night! 

Natural version of nutella

I still remember trying Nutella for the first time when studying abroad in Paris. One spoonful and I was addicted… I would spread that heavenly combination of roasted hazelnuts, skim milk, and cocoa on anything and everything. Now, Nutella is a staple ingredient in America as well – you can often find Nutella next to the jam and nut butter in the grocery store.

In less than half an hour start to finish you can make a natural version with ingredients in your own home. All you need is raw hazelnuts, dark chocolate, sea salt and a touch of vanilla extract.

Roasting Hazelnuts

By toasting hazelnuts, you naturally draw out its oils to the surface which intensifies the flavor, the color, and allows the skin of the hazelnuts to start separating from the nut.

Removing the Skins

The skin of hazelnuts is quite bitter – before starting the process of processing hazelnut butter, remove the skins using a clean towel. Place the toasted nuts onto a clean towel and rub them until skins are removed. If you’re having trouble removing the skins relatively easily, this may mean that you need to toast the skins for a few more minutes in the oven.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter – The Method

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 

• Toast raw hazelnuts for ten minutes until they have  slightly browned and you can smell their nutty aroma throughout the kitchen

• Take a few moments to peel off the hazelnut skins. Using a clean towel, rub hazelnuts with the towel gently working off the skins  

• Place hazelnuts into food processor and process until creamy smooth making sure to scrape down the sides every couple minutes.

• After 10-15 minutes, add the remaining ingredients and process again until smooth. This may take a couple of extra minutes to fully combine.

• Store in airtight glass container for about a week or longer in the fridge. Enjoy!

Storing Hazelnuts

One of two ways to prolong the life of your hazelnuts is to store them in the refrigerator. As nuts are very smell absorbent, you’ll want to keep them away from strong-smelling foods in an air-tight container.

Another option is to store them in the freezer so that they will be fresh for a long time. Hazelnuts are usually good for one year in the freezer – make sure to place them in the freezer right after purchasing! You can freeze chocolate hazelnut butter as well to prolong its life.

How to Use

Here are some ideas for using your Hazelnut Chocolate Butter!