Healthy Nutella Spread
A friend of mine asked me to create a healthy Nutella recipe, so of course I accepted the challenge. As much as I love nut butter and eat it daily, I have actually never even tried Nutella spread! I know this spread is not the healthiest of spreads, but had to taste test it before I embarked on a healthy copycat recipe. The only thing I would say about this homemade recipe is that the hazelnut “skin peeling” part of the process is a bit of a pain. If you can find hazelnuts that have already been shelled and skinned, that would be the way to go for sure! Leaving the majority of the skin on will not change the taste, but will simply change the texture from creamy to gritty. I actually prefer a more gritty texture, similar to my natural peanut butter, so I didn’t mind leaving some of the hazelnut skin on.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup hazelnuts shelled and skinned
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/3 cup Stevia in the raw powder
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Gather all ingredients, a cookie sheet, a nut cracker, and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the hazelnuts from their shells (by cracking them).
Throw away the shells and place the hazelnuts on the cookie sheet and roast for 6-8 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees. Remove the roasted hazelnuts from the oven and roll the hazelnuts in paper towels in order to remove the skins. This was the step that I failed miserably at, but I assure you, it doesn't make much of a difference in the taste department. If you are a sucker for the creamy texture of the Nutella Spread, try to remove as much skin as possible. I also suggest adding 1 tbsp of coconut oil to the recipe if you want that extra creaminess that the actual Nutella Spread has. I obviously went the healthiest route, and passed on the additional oil.
Add the "skinned" hazelnuts to a food processor and blend the nuts until they become a creamy texture. Add all other ingredients after about 1 minute of grinding up the hazelnuts. Make sure to scrape the sides of the food processor to ensure you are thoroughly blending all ingredients.
Scrape out the healthy Nutella Spread from the Blender/Food Processor and place in a sealed container. If you plan on eating this within a few days, you do not have to refrigerate. If you want to keep this for a few weeks, you may want to refrigerate for best results. I suggest this spread on a slice of toasted 100% Sprouted Whole Grain Ezekiel Bread. You can also add a few other ingredients and make my yummy Nutella Protein Spread that is TO DIE FOR!!!! Recipe to follow soon...