Homemade Nutella - Even Better Than Store-Bought!

I first discovered Nutella 35 years ago when I lived in Italy for a couple of years.  I was intrigued by the colorful packaging showing hazelnuts (also known as filberts) and chocolate in a light spreadable form.  I had never seen anything like it in my life (it wasn't available in the US as I was growing up) so I bought some out of curiosity.   It was AMAZING!  I wrote home about it and promised to take some back for my family to experience upon my return to the US.

Nutella has a fascinating history.  It comes from the Piedmont (Piemonte) district in northwestern Italy on the border of France and Switzerland where they produce particularly good hazel nuts.  The principal city in the Piedmont is Turin (Torino) famous for producing trains and automobiles.  Nutella's ancestor was a confection called Gianduja.  Gianduja was a mixture containing approximately 71.5% hazelnut paste and 19.5% chocolate. It was developed in Turin during Napoléon's regency (1796–1814) after taxes on cocoa beans hindered the manufacture and distribution of conventional chocolate. It takes its name from a Carnival and marionette character who represents the archetypal Piedmontese with a certain inclination for wine, food, and beautiful girls.

Pietro Ferrero, who owned a bakery in Alba, in Piedmont sold an initial batch of 660 lbs of "Pasta Gianduja" in 1946. It was originally a solid block, but Ferrero started to sell a creamy version in 1951 as "Supercrema".  In 1963, Ferrero's son Michele Ferrero revamped Supercrema with the intention of marketing it across Europe. Its composition was modified and it was renamed "Nutella". The first jar of Nutella left the Ferrero factory in Alba on 20 April 1964. The product was an instant success and remains widely popular today.

I've been researching recipes for homemade Nutella and through modifications and experimentation I found one that is really delicious and replaces the fat with coconut oil which has no cholesterol.  I've also replaced about 25% of the hazelnuts with cashews for additional creaminess.  The recipe calls for roasted hazelnuts with the skin removed (they're a little bitter and affect the smoothness of the spread).  The skins on hazelnuts are actually pretty challenging to remove.  The most effective method I've found is the following.

How to peel hazelnuts:

• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 tablespoons baking soda
• 1.5 cup hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit Mix together the water and baking soda and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan (the water will foam up).  Add the nuts and boil for 3 minutes. It's normal for the water to turn black. While the hazelnuts are boiling, prepare a medium bowl of ice cold water. After three minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove one test nut, placing the nut into the prepared bowl of ice water. Use your fingers to remove the skin, if the skin doesn’t come off easily, boil the nuts 1-2 minutes longer and try another test nut.  When a test skin rubs off easily rinse the rest of the nuts in cold water and peel them by rubbing them together between your hands.  Dry the hazelnuts and then spread them on a cookie sheet along with 1/2 cup of raw cashews and toast them for about 15 minutes.

How to make your own delicious Nutella at home:

• 1 1/2 cups Hazelnuts - peeled and toasted
• 1/2 cup Coconut Oil
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Using a blender or a food processor blend the hazelnuts and cashews until they form a paste then add the remaining ingredients and continue blending, scraping down the sides as necessary, until it is as smooth as possible.

Transfer your amazing homemade deliciousness into a sealable jar and store it in your pantry for up to 2 weeks (if you can possibly make it last that long).  Our college-student daughter brought some friends over right after I'd completed the homemade Nutella and when I came back I heard one of her friends exclaim, "this is so much better than the store-bought kind", and I noticed that it was more than half gone!  There you have it--a ringing endorsement in both word and deed.