Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut ("Nutella") Spread

I have been wanting to make this for quite a while. To be honest, I have never tried the store bought hazelnut spreads so I really had no idea what the fuss all about. I decided that since my bulk wholefoods order was due to arrive around Christmas, that I would make some to give out as gifts.

My friend Jo, over at Quirky Cooking had this great recipe for a Dairy Free Hazelnut Spread on her blog. The problem is that I am an American and as such, do not own a food scale. I operate in cups and ounces not in grams. The second problem is that I do not own the handy dandy Thermomix. So I took her recipe and winged it. Wonderful. That is the only word I could think of worthy enough to be used as a description for the yummy chocolatey nutty spread that I created. I literally was licking the counter tops (OK so not literally, but I did catch myself using my fingers to scoop up drips of the chocolate gold). I am pretty sure there is no real way to get chocolate hazelnut spread wrong as long as you have powdered sugar, chocolate and hazelnuts in it, but here is what I did for those of you who need something a little more exact.

In a food processor mix/chop adding one ingredient at a time:

1 Cup of Powdered Organic Sugar or Powdered Rapadura (I don't have anything that will grind rapadura)
1 Cup Raw (or roasted with skins removed) Hazelnuts
1/2 Cup Raw Chocolate Cut Up
1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
Mix all of these until the nuts and chocolate are well chopped and the machine is running smooth.

Move to a pan and on LOW heat add in 1/3 Cup Organic Coconut Oil and 2/3 Cup of Raw Milk. Heat on low for about 5-7 minutes. The mixture will become a chocolate syrup type consistency, maybe a bit thicker. If you need to add more milk a teaspoon at a time until it is smooth but not too liquidity. Remove from heat and transfer to jar. The spread will thicken as it cools, so don't worry if it looks a bit runny at first. Lick the spoon, pan, stove (be sure you have turned it off!) and any other surface that may have been dripped on. Store in fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads will go great with sweet breads or fruit. I used all raw and organic ingredients, but you don't have to. No matter what you use it is bound to be better than what is in the store bought brand!