Nutella is one of those magical foods that makes everything amazing. Waffles, cookies, icing, peanut butter sandwiches, spoons…it’s all up to your imagination really.

I was dreading removing the skins from the hazelnuts because it seemed like kind of a tedious task, but once you roast them, they come off very easily. This process takes no more than 5 minutes and you will notice a major difference in texture.

I asked readers on my Facebook page to vote on which recipe I should make next. It was between Pistachio Eggplant or Nutella. As you can see, Nutella was the unanimous winner (no surprise there) so off I went.

Since this was my first time attempting to make my own Nutella, I stuck to the original milk chocolate flavour. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment though. I bet a dark chocolate hazelnut spread would taste amazing.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw hazelnuts
• 12 oz. high quality milk chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread hazelnuts out evenly on an ungreased cookie sheet and place in centre of oven for 9-10 minutes. Do not roast them for longer. They continue to cook after you remove them from the oven and burnt nutella is the last thing you want.

Carefully pour all the hazelnuts onto a clean, dry hand towel. Wrap the towel around them and rub vigorously until most of the skins have been removed. You can remove any excess skins by applying a small amount of pressure, using a pinching motion. Place the hazelnuts into the bowl of a food processor. Process until a paste has formed—this will take roughly 60 seconds.

Using a double boiler, melt down the chocolate chips, stirring frequently.

Add oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt to the food processor and blend until well combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary. Once mixed, pour the melted chocolate into the hazelnut mixture and process until smooth and creamy. Strain the mixture once to rid of any remaining clumps.

Store in an airtight jar on the counter for up to 2 weeks (if it lasts that long). It will thicken as it cools. If you prefer a stiffer spread, I would recommend storing your nutella in the fridge.