blissful eats with tina jeffers: Nutella with cocoa nibs

I hate to admit it but I’ve never loved Nutella.  Now, I’m usually all about eating chocolate for breakfast but I just don’t get the love that people have for it.  I’ve always found it a bit too sweet and I don’t think the hazelnut flavor really comes through.  If you’ve followed my posts at all you should know that I adore hazelnuts.  I love them on top of salads, baked into cookies and added to my favorite cinnamon roll recipe.  So I should be declaring my undying love to the obsession that is Nutella but I’ve never been that into it, until now.  I think that I could sit down with this jar and eat it by the spoonful.  If you’ve never tried making your own you have been missing out.

It comes together in a few minutes with a few simple ingredients, no artificial flavors or ingredients you can’t pronounce, just hazelnuts, cocoa, sugar blended into the most decadent delicious spread imaginable. Roasting the hazelnuts brings out the rich nutty flavor that is somewhat lacking in the store bought version.  Adding cocoa nibs gives the paste a slightly bitter note but if you can’t find them, substitute an equal amount of good quality cocoa powder.  

Don’t limit yourself to spreading it on your morning toast, it’s delicious on top of waffles or mixed into oatmeal.  For a great healthy dessert top a few slices of pear with a tablespoon or two or Nutella, guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth without all the guilt.  You can find me the rest of the week at my blog www.scalingbackblog.com, I hope you drop by for a visit!

Nutella with cocoa nibs 

Adapted from the Los Angeles Times

Ingredients:

1 cup hazelnuts

½ cup cocoa nibs

½ cup powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons hazelnut oil or canola oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

 

Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 8-10 minutes until they are fragrant and the skins start to blister.  Wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and rub to remove as much of the skin as possible.  Let cool completely.

In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until they start to form a paste.  Add the cocoa nibs, sugar, vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoon of the oil and continue processing until the mixture is smooth and creamy adding additional oil to loosen the mixture as needed.  Put the mixture into a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.