I have to admit, I don't think I have ever had Nutella! It is full of ingredients that I wouldn't want in my body. I have definitely had Justin's Nut Butter Hazelnut Spread, but it's certainly not cheap...especially when you can finish off a jar in a couple days!!! So, I created my own version of it and used Swerve to keep the amount of sugar down.
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
- 1/2 cup granulated sweetener, powdered* (I used confectioner’sSwerve for low sugar option)
- 2 squares 100% cacao bar or unsweetened chocolate
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (I used expellor press from Tropical Traditions so it didn’t have coconut tones)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Directions
- Place the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer
- Roast the nuts at 350 for 15 minutes
- While nuts are roasting, using a double broiler, melt the chocolate chips, squares and oil
- When nuts are done, place them between paper towels or dish towels and rub to remove skins. This takes a little bit of work, but they do not need to be perfectly clean!
- Place the nuts, melted chocolate, sweetener, vanilla and sea salt in a food processor or blender and process until smooth
- Place the nut butter in an airtight container. Store in the frig for a harder spread or at room temperature for a runnier spread
Quick notes
*Run sweetener of choice thru a blender or coffee grinder to powder it. If you skip this step it will make the butter gritty. I think a liquid sweetener would work fine here, but add a different flavor profile and I would start with less than 1/2 a cup.
Variations
You can use any nut or combination of nuts, but I would roast the nuts to give it more flavor.
I stored this in the frig and ate it with a spoon...and it didn't last very long!!!
