Productive things to do in a snowstorm or Homemade Nutella 101 !

Someone needs to make a Nutellics Anonymous group (I'm sure it exists, too lazy to google it up). A few months ago I would have gladly joined it as would a bunch of other loyal Nutellics I know (by now you should know that Nutellics = Nutella addicts). I'm pretty sure they put banned addictive substances in that stuff...that's the only thing that can explain how its SO DAMN GOOD. Anyway, after a few jars of Nutella, here's what happened -
1) I finally started feeling guilty for eating the bad stuff

Organic Hazelnut butter

2) I figured it has too much processed ingredients in it (we're trying to eat healthier = cutting down on processed stuff if it can be helped)
3) I stumbled upon a jar of Hazelnut chocolate butter in a hippie store

Now the hippie store hazelnut butter was grrreat, but it was so much more expensive than branded Nutella! Sadly, it got over in no time :(

And then...

The great Atlantan snowstorm of 2011 happened...we get 10 inches of snow and the whole city shut down...for 4 DAYS!!! Hotlanta no more, say hello to Icelanta. However, global warming (or cooling) has it's benefits and that's the moral of this story...I finally made Nutella at home!!

Thanks to this fabulous grocery store in town and and Jessica Su's recipe, I discovered I had all the ingredients and more to make homemade Nutella. And yes, it turned out FABULOUS...way cheaper than store bought organic Nutella and way healthier (or so I think :))

Homemade Nutella
2 cups whole raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup agave nectar (or alternatives like sugar, brown sugar, honey...I actually put in a combo of dates and agave nectar)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or alternatives like cocoa nibs of unsweetened chocolate chips)
2 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Procedure (30 mins)
1) Toast hazelnuts in a single layer in an oven at 350F or on the stovetop in a skillet on medium heat, until the skins are almost black and the meat is dark brown, about 15 minutes. Stir the nuts halfway through baking to ensure an even color.
2) Since the skin is bitter, you’ll want to discard them. Wrap the cooled hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and rub until most of the skins have come off. Don’t fret if you can’t get off all the skins.
3) Throw the nuts into a food processor and liquefy them. This takes about 5-7 minutes. First, you will get coarsely chopped nuts, then a fine meal. After a little while, the heat and friction will extract the natural oils, and you will get hazelnut butter! (Steps 1-3 taken verbatim from here..it worked well for me :)
4) When the nuts are liquified, add in the sweetening agent, cocoa/chocolate and vanilla essence and blend well in the mixer.
5) Transfer the yumminess into an airtight container at room temp or in the fridge.

Now one thing I should mention is that when I added the dates into this mixture, the consistency immediately became more solid. So dates may not work too well if you want a more smooth spread. However, I don't mind the gritty texture, in fact I like it, so dates will definitely go in my Nutella again :) Another thing you can do (and I'm going to play around with this when I make my next batch of Nutella) is to add milk for a smoother consistency. The reason I didn't add milk this time is because I wanted something more long lasting that doesn't necessarily have to go in the fridge.

Here's a really terrible pic of my first experiment with Nutella...we immediately dug into it with a box of strawberries...mmm..sooo good! Gosh I need a better camera :(

 And here you it - Organic homemade Nutella with partially natural ingredients! (Not too sure Agave nectar is completely natural, hence the reservation :D)