Homemade Nutella with activated hazelnuts

A few weeks ago, I got a bag of raw hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s. The first recipe that comes to mind is homemade Nutella. Interestingly, I have never bought Nutella from the store, but I do love Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Most people say that the flavor of the nuts is so much better in the homemade version of Nutella, and it can be made healthy! When Frankie’s feast posted her beautiful Nutella recipe, it motivated me to take out my hazelnuts from the fridge and work on it.

Ever since I learned about the benefits of soaking nuts, I have been doing it religiously, with all nuts that I have in my pantry. These are the reasons:

1. Soaking makes nuts and seeds more easily digestible (removes enzyme inhibitors and phytates) and hence makes nutrients more available.

2. I’m able to weed out rancid nuts very easily after they are soaked. In the picture below, see the difference between the good ones and the rancid ones. It is easy to break open a soaked hazelnut to ascertain this.

Recipe adapted from chocolate covered katie 

Method to activate and roast the nuts: Soak 6-8 hours or overnight in water, drain and let it dry in a colander for a few hours. During this time, discard bad hazelnuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 8-9 minutes, stirring a couple of times in between (I used a Pyrex glass dish). Cool on a dry cloth towel and rub to remove any remaining skin.

Ingredients:

roasted hazelnuts- 1 3/4 cup

unsweetened cocoa powder- 1/4 cup

pure maple syrup- 1/2 cup

almond milk- 3/4 cup (regular milk can be used)

vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tbsp.

salt- 1/4 tsp.

Method:

* Blend hazelnuts till it turns into nut meal.

* Add the other ingredients and blend as smooth as possible.

* Store in the fridge! (Store-bought Nutella is so processed and loaded with sugar that it can be stored outside, but this will go bad in 3 days if stored outside).