Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Butter

Who likes nutella?

I like nutella.  A lot.

Unfortunately, it's not exactly good for me.  At all.  Especially because I'm not a nutella on toast kind of girl.  Nope, I like my nutella pure... and on a spoon.

Because of it's far from healthful qualities I try to limit my nutella cumsumption to very rarely.  Sometimes, though, I crave a little bit of chocolate hazelnut action.  In comes homemade nut butter.

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while, and decided to finally make it a little while ago.  I was rather disappointed with the result though, because it did not taste like nutella.  Nor did it taste better in my opinion.  It wasn't that it was bad, it was just that it wasn't what I was looking for.

But, I did not give up.  Soon afterwards, I whipped up another batch of chocolate hazelnut butter, this time adding a twist of my own.  Banana.  I loved the sweetness it added, and although the resulting spread still didn't taste just like nutella, I loved how it did taste, and would not hesistate to make it again.

Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Butter

• 1 1/3 cup hazelnuts, roasted with skins removed (see notes on roasting here)
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 large banana
• 1/3 cup milk (I used almond)
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar (or more, taste to check)

Place hazelnuts in food processor (A vitamix should work too) and blend until they turn into a smooth butter.  This may take some time, and look like it will never happen, but just keep blending and you'll get there eventually.  Once smooth, add in add in banana and milk and process again until smooth.  Add in remainging ingredients and mix one more time until desired consistency is reached.  Transfer butter to a jar and store in fridge.  Your chocolate hazelnut butter may seem thin and drippy at first (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but it will firm up once it's been in the fridge for a while.

If you've ever looked at the nutirition label on a jat of nutella, you probably know that there isn't much good to be found.  In just 2 tbsp or 37 grams, of the famed chocoalte hazelnut spread there are 200 calories, 11 grams fat, 32 grams carbs, and 21 grams sugar.  Yuck.

Not in this recipe though.  Here's the nutrition label for this one:

A very similar serving size, and yet there's less sugar, less fat, fewer carbs, fewer calories and more protein.  Oh yeah, and it also tastes reeeeaaaalllllly good.  How's that for a great deal?

(By that way, those nutrition facts are for 7 servings)

Revisited Recipe of the Day: 

Nutella Pudding