How to make homemade chocolate hazelnut spread a.k.a "Nutella"

This post is for my friend Sebastian.  A few weeks back  I made the Banana Nutella Whoopie Pies for him.  This came about after our trip to Roatan where he brought his own Nutella and made banana Nutella waffle sandwiches.   Clearly he is a die hard fan and always has a jar on hand.    I thought it would be nice to surprise him with a homemade jar of his very own.    With only a few ingredients and a food processor: rich, smooth and creamy Nutella is at your fingertips.

INGREDIENTS:

• 200 grams hazelnuts
• 140 grams milk chocolate, melted and cooled
• 160 grams bittersweet/dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup milk powder
• 2 tbsp agava nectar
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 350F.  Roast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 10-15min until fragrant.  Watch carefully so they do not burn.    Remove from the oven and rub with a dish towel or cloth to remove as much of the skins as possible.

2) Combine the milk, milk powder, agave nectar and vanilla in a saucepan. Whisking constantly, bring to a boil and remove from heat.
3) Place the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor and blend until a smooth paste is formed, as if you were trying to make peanut butter

4) Add the remaining ingredients and continue to blend until combined and smooth. 

5) Store in an airtight jar and enjoy.    If you want the mixture to be very smooth and remove some of the nutty texture you can run the mixture through a sieve before jarring.   I did not, I wanted to leave some of the texture in. 

I will tell you one thing I was quite happy that the recipe yielded a jar and a half as Sebastian might have had to pry this from my hands.  I really enjoy knowing the idea of homemade spreads are not far out of reach.    This recipe has a stronger hazelnut flavour than actual Nutella and was not quite as sweet.  It was still however, smooth, spreadable and delicious.

MEG's RATING: D-EEEE-LICIOUS

I received this picture from Sebastian a few days later.