There’s a certain Italian hazelnut spread that has the brand recognition — and the refined sugar and harmful palm oil to go along with it. Making your own version with maple syrup is so much healthier and, in my opinion, even tastier.

This recipe yields 8 ounces.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups raw hazelnuts
2 ounces baking chocolate
3 tablespoons cacao
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup water
½ teaspoon of salt

260 g raw hazelnuts
2 ounces baking chocolate
3 tablespoons cacao
240 ml maple syrup
60 ml water
½ teaspoon of salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit / 190 degree Celsius. Roast hazelnuts on parchment paper for 5-8 minutes.
Melt baking chocolate in a double broiler on the stove and let cool.
Remove hazelnuts from oven and rub between your palms or between a flour sack towel to remove the skins.
Place hazelnuts in a food processor and blend for approximately 1 minute or until a nut butter consistency forms.
Add cacao and maple syrup to the food processor, blend well.
Slowly add the melted baking chocolate to the mixture.
Slowly add water and salt.
Blend for an additional minute.
Serve on pancakes, macadamia nut bread, or eat it right out of the jar.

Tips

**The purpose of roasting the hazelnuts is to bring out the flavor and also loosen the skins for easy removal. Many recipes call for 20 minutes of roasting but I find this is far too much time. If they are black and smell burnt, that means the oil in the nut is rancid and it also creates an unsavory flavor that will overpower your spread.
**Both the water and the melted chocolate can be added incrementally to desired thickness and flavor.