I remember being introduced to Nutella by a friend in middle school. It was the cool snack to dip your pretzels and strawberries in, and I loved lathering it on my Eggo waffles. Who would've thought that years later my trip to Europe would get me hooked on Nutella again?This time, a bit more educated about nutrition (thanks St. Ben's), I felt a tug at my heartstrings to try to create my own Nutella-like hazelnut spread with less sugar, no palm oil, and ingredients I know.
My mom (sidekick in the kitchen and recipe developing expert) and I did a little bit of research, and headed to check out the new Aldi near our house and stock up on some ingredients to test out recipe #1.
After making my first batch of hazelnut spread, I have decided to turn this into a recipe development project with the goal of creating the best hazelnut spread! Below are all of the recipes I tried along with what I liked and disliked about each of the batches.
Recipe #1: Sticky but delish
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted hazelnuts
- 1.5 cups roasted cashews
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup milk
How to make it
- on the stove, melt together sweetened condensed milk and cocoa powder until a cocoa is dispersed into milk
- blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until the consistency is smooth
- store in the refrigerator
What I liked about #1
This batch tasted great! I topped my oats and yogurt bowl with it and loved it. It was also the sweetest out of the three batches due to the sweetened condensed milk for those of you with a sweet tooth.
Room for improvement #1
The sweetened condensed milk added great flavor, but made this batch so sticky. The taste was great, but the consistency just wasn't right with this recipe.
Recipe #2: So smooth & not too sweet
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted hazelnuts
- 1 cup unsalted raw cashews
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
How to make it
- blend together hazelnuts and cashews until a smooth nut butter consistency (will take a a few minutes)
- add cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt to nut mixture
- enjoy! can store in the fridge, but not necessary to
What I liked about #2
This recipe turned out so smooth and I was pumped! Much closer to the consistency of Nutella. My brother tried it and said "tastes like Nutella", so I'd call that a success. My mom said it tastes like Nutella for adults (lol) and is very hazelnut forward.
Room for improvement #2
I enjoyed the fact that this recipe wasn't super sweet, but some people may not like the lack of sweetness. That being said, I didn't add any more agave to this recipe because the sugar led the spread to thicken, and I wanted to keep the smooth consistency.
Recipe #3: The one with dark chocolate chunks
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted hazelnuts
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. agave nectar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate
How to make it
- make the nut butter base by blending together roasted hazelnuts and cashews
- while the nut butter is blending, melt chocolate in the microwave or using the double boiler method (I used the microwave cuz that's how we roll at mi casa)
- once the nuts are well blended into a smooth consistency, add in melted chocolate, vanilla, salt, and agave nectar and blend until well combined
- enjoy!!
What I liked about #3
Lovin' the dark chocolate flavor. A bit more rich than recipe #2 due to the use of dark chocolate rather than cocoa powder, but a very similar consistency. Anytime I can use less sweetener in a recipe, I'm a happy gal, so I loved cutting down from 1 tbsp. to 1 tsp. of agave nectar in this recipe. That being said, the dark chocolate does contain some sugar.
Room for improvement #3
Oh boy, I'm not really sure what I'd change for next time. That might mean the homemade hazelnut spread project is complete!
I have really enjoyed trying out different recipes for nut butters, and I might try out some new flavors and nut butters. What do you want to see next?
Let me know if you try out any of these recipes! Happy almost-August.
Love, Kelso