Note: This article was written by our editor-in-chief, Sarah Rizkalla. If you would like more of these recipes as she journeys into this new way of eating, please subscribe to our newsletter to catch these articles as she writes them!
I have to tell you that I abhor reading recipes that go on and on about the cook’s life story when all I want are the ingredients and instructions. However, I’m about to do that to you right now.
You see, there’s a reason why I have to tell you this story. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who is as obsessed with Nutella as I am. There’s no one! About a couple of months ago, I sat in the doctor’s office listening to her tell me I would have to give up many of my favorite foods, chief among them is sugar.
Let me pause right here while you commiserate with me.
While I was 50 percent depressed over finding out that I have yet another autoimmune disease, the other 50 percent of my disappointment was over the foods that I would have to give up. I decided to allow myself one day to feel sorry for myself. (That one day turned into two weeks.) Then, once I had decided this disease will not win, I proceeded to find ways to make my favorite foods in alternative, sugar-less, wheat-less, dairy-less ways. Obviously, I started with Nutella.
My first run was OK, but not great. Now, I bring you my second attempt. Normally I wouldn’t write a recipe column – I leave that to our resident foodie – but as I shared with friends my adventures, they encouraged me to use NYMM to encourage and empower others who may be dealing with autoimmune diseases or simply wanting to eat healthier. Our mission is to empower women, and I think that making your own healthy Nutella while fighting a disease is pretty empowering.
For my second attempt, I made a massive batch because I am taking it home for the holidays, where my mom is going to make me my yearly birthday Nutella cake. (Yes, I’m a 39-year-old woman whose mom makes her a birthday cake. And for the record, I am not turning forty; I am turning thirty-ten. I don’t object to the number forty, but I will leave my thirties when I’m ready – not when a calendar tells me to.)
So now, on with the recipe…
First, I roasted one cup of hazelnuts at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes in the oven. I let them cool for about an hour.
Next, I dropped them in my food processor. For the first few minutes, I kept stopping it to scrape the sides down with a spatula. Then I let it whirl for about ten minutes while I went downstairs to get the mail. I have no patience, so it’s best I’m not therewatching it. By the time I came back, it was liquidy.
I then melted four ounces of dark bakers’ (sugarless) chocolate on a makeshift double boiler. Once melted, I added it to the hazelnut butter and let the mixture whirl in the food processor again. I kept adding honey till I felt it tasted sweet enough. I finally realized that though I love dark chocolate, I would have to add milk, so I added a half cup of homemade cashew milk.
The result: I’m happy with it!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of skinless hazelnuts
- ¾ cup of honey
- 4 ounce bar of bakers’ sugarless chocolate
- 1/2 cup of homemade cashew milk
Instructions:
- Roast hazelnuts at 350 degrees for 15 mins, then let cool for an hour.
- Make hazelnuts into hazelnut butter in food processor. This will take some time, be patient. I like mine liquidy.
- Scrape off sides as you go.
- Melt chocolate in double boiler, then add to hazelnut butter.
- Add milk and honey.
- Voila! You have a healthy hazelnut chocolate spread! (P.S. I don’t count calories).
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!
Images by Sarah Rizkalla
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