Monday, December 3, 2012

Cocoa-Hazelnut and Vanilla-Hazelnut Spreads

Earlier this year, I thought nothing could beat my old favorite stuff, but making my own convinced me otherwise. I absolutely love this gianduja (chocolate hazelnut spread) recipe and use it often; as a basis for the recipes, I used similar ratios and the same process, but the results are more to my taste. I have a few simple changes: powdered sugar instead of sometimes-hard-to-find demerara sugar, which is grainy in a good way, but a little crunchy in a spread. I use both a 3.5-ounce milk chocolate bar and a little cocoa powder. And why not also make a plainer hazelnut cream while you're at it? It tastes really pure and subtle, and we may just trot it out this week for a holiday cookie filling.

Cocoa-Hazelnut Spread


1 cup hazelnuts
1/3 cup powdered sugar (Whole Foods 365 brand)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 3.5-ounce milk chocolate bar (Whole Foods 365 Organic brand)
1/4 cup grapeseed or canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toast hazelnuts for about 7 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside to cool. Put powdered sugar, salt, cocoa, and chocolate into the food processor. Rub hazelnuts with a kitchen towel to remove some of the thin, dark skins. Add cooled hazelnuts to the mixture and run the food processor until mixture is a fine crumb. While it is still running, slowly drizzle in oil and let machine run until spread is fairly smooth. Store it on the counter in a jar or in the fridge if you want it to be less runny.

Vanilla-Hazelnut Spread

1 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup powdered sugar (Whole Foods 365 brand)
1/4 cup grapeseed or canola oil
1/8 teaspoon vanilla powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toast hazelnuts for about 7 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside to cool. Put powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla into the food processor. Rub hazelnuts with a kitchen towel to remove some of the thin, dark skins. Add cooled hazelnuts to the mixture and run the food processor until mixture is a fine crumb. While it is still running, slowly drizzle in oil and let machine run until spread is fairly smooth. Store it on the counter in a jar or in the fridge if you want it to be less runny. 


5 comments:

Anthony Hopper said...

Looks like a delicious spread!

Bianca said...

Awesome! I love Choco Nut (the vegan Nutella), but I have to order it. This is vegan and much cheaper than ordering. Also, love the design for the book's cover!

The Chubby Vegetarian said...

Thanks y'all!

tender b. said...

Definitely, ingredient wise, beats the other stuff.

Anonymous said...

Thanks - all the commercial spreads have chocolate. I can't tolerate that nor the sugar. But I'm making mine after soaking toasted ones for a few mins b'c my food processor is a wimp. and then adding a tablespoon of honey and some oil and vanilla and salt.
;)
Hopefully it will work.