Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

Craving Nutella?  But your not interested in the processed part of it?  Or the sugar part of it.

Look no further.  This my friends, is Nutella at it’s healthiest.  And super customizable in terms of texture or even taste.  If you were to buy this in stores, a 1 cup bottle would easily cost you $15.  But I paid $10 for 2 cups of hazelnuts, roasted them myself, and threw everything together.  For the chocolate, hazelnuts, coconut milk, and extras, I probably spent $20 (I doubled this recipe), but I literally made 4 cups worth!!! I can’t even fit it all inside of my big mason jar, it’s crazy! I am thinking this is going to be a great idea for christmas, making your friends/family little jars of homemade chocolate hazelnut spread, yummy:)

This is the chocolate I have 100% fallen IN LOVE with, TAZA Chocolate, made in the USA right in Boston, MA.  A few months back my husband took me to a tour of their chocolate factory, and we had so many free samples of all kinds of flavored and different textured chocolate we were about to explode.  It really opened my taste buds to true quality chocolate, not hershey’s junk (no offense).  It is the closest thing I have ever tasted to REAL chocolate since I actually ate from a cocoa pod in Africa. Taza is vegan, gluten free, direct trade, all that good stuff.  Next time you see it in your local health food store, I suggest to pick up a disc and treat yourself to the best mexican hot chocolate right in your own home, or a bar for direct enjoyment:)

If you do not like the taste of hazelnuts or just can’t find any in your local health food store, this recipe should work for just about any nuts, definitely cashews (nice and creamy), and almonds, pine nuts (if you have the $$ because they are expensive), and peanuts! I am just not super sure about pecans or walnuts for this.

If you are going to use hazelnuts, know that you are getting a good source of vitamin E, B, magnesium, calcium and potassium, so although it is fattening comfort food, you are getting nutrients out of these little guys too.

Before

After.

[sp_recipe]