Homemade Hazelnut and Cacao Spread- Nutella

So, if you know me or have checked out the blog you know that I am a mom on a mission to green our lives and make healthy choices for my family. I am also gaining momentum on trying to make everything from scratch. If you know me, you also know that I have had a lifelong love affair with Nutella.
My early years were spent in Canada and Nutella was a norm in my house just like peanut butter is here in the U.S. When we moved across the border Nutella was not available here and so we used to buy the largest containers we could find to try and sustain us until our next trip north. Of course it never lasted longer than a week.
Well, I still adore Nutella and I was upset to hear that someone sued and won a settlement from my beloved chocolate hazelnut spread maker because it is not a "health food", well duh! Obviously that brainiac isn't a label reader or they would know that the number one ingredient is sugar. As much as I think that person was an idiot, it did get me thinking that maybe I could make my own version and health-it-up a bit. So here goes my homemade Nutella recipe.

*I don't "measure" and think everything is better if done by feeling or taste- so use this as a baseline and adjust to suit your taste!

Hazelnut and Cacao Spread

1 bag of hazelnuts
about 3 tablespoons of cacao powder
honey to taste
1 tablespoon of oil- I had canola so that's what I used
vanilla soymilk- or any milk or water

• Shell your hazelnuts- I wrapped mine in a kitchen towel and beat them with my rolling pin

• Once you have them all shelled lay them on a cookie sheet and roast at 350 for about ten minutes- you will know they are ready because it will smell so gooooood in your kitchen!

• Once roasted, rub the hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel and try to remove as much of the skins as possible and transfer to your food processor.

• Process the hazelnuts until it is a nice paste- add a bit of oil while it is processing to desired consistency. This is also when I added the honey to taste.

If you stop now, you have just made hazelnut butter- yummy but it can be so much yummier.

• Add a couple of tablespoons of cacao powder- cacao is the pure 100% form of chocolate that has all of the health benefits. I order mine through Amazon, you can also find it in health food stores or if your lucky your local grocery store.

• Process some more and drizzle your chosen liquid (I used vanilla soymilk) until the whole thing is creamy and spreadable.

Transfer to a jar with a nice tight lid and keep refrigerated- it will keep for about two weeks in the fridge. I went eco friendly and reused a glass salsa jar- Yay- eco friendly! Plus, it looks pretty :)

That's it! Easy, right? You can change this recipe however you like- instead of honey you could use any sweetener you like and if you can't find cacao you could use traditional cocoa powder or melted chocolate. Of course this version is slightly healthier but hey, this is not a "health food" so please, don't sue me!