I wonder what it tastes like without the sugar? Or with only half the sugar?

I love nutella. I was wondering if anyone has tried a recipe that uses sweetened condensed milk and how that compares? It also looks very easy to prepare and gives you a creamy texture but I wonder if it would be too sweet?

Bitter, won't it? If your cocoa powder isn't already sweetened.

Also: Will be making this the moment I get home. Sorry, upstairs neighbors.

Hazelnuts that are both raw and toasted? :)

Why would this recipe need to be refrigerated?

I think they mean raw, then you toast (and peel) the hazelnuts yourself?

...I just have to say that my mouth started watering the second I read the title of this article.

@SARAH9876: I often do it with 3/4 cups sugar, actually. Experiment.

@Irenie I refrigerate it out of habit and because it remains firmer. However, none of the elements really need to be refrigerated so it'd be just fine room temperature.

I cannot wait to make this for my dairy allergic kids who, unfortunately, cannot eat Nutella or Nocilla, the Spanish brand I ate (by the spoonful) as a kid.

@Irenie, it wouldn't have to be refrigerated if you were me because it wouldn't last a day, however it should be refrigerated (as should a jar of the product after opening) because the nut oil will go rancid. Unfortunately hazelnut oil doesn't hold up well to temperature changes - it's not as stable as some other nuts.

I made "nutella" a few weeks ago for a cake filling and it was painfully simple.

- Toast and skin hazelnuts, then food process them until they turn into a nice smooth butter, adding a little salt if you are so inclined.
- Make your favorite plain chocolate ganache - mine is just chocolate and cream.
- While the ganache is still warm, mix a portion of it into the hazelnut butter. It will make the ganache seize and firm up a bit.
- I think all together I used 1 cup of hazelnuts for the butter, and then 1 1/2 to 2 cups ganache.
- Enjoy!

I make this a lot, because I make variations of it for filled chocolates, and another great pairing is with biscotti. I either pipe some on the top of hazelnut biscotti - or - thin the homemade nutella from a peanut butter consistency to a sauce and give it in a jar as a dip for biscotti (alternate indulgences: a dip for fresh or dried fruit, drizzled over ice cream or cheesecake, swirled into homemade or store-bought-and-softened vanilla ice cream, swirled into morning plain yogurt or oatmeal). So far I've got friends lined up who want biscotti & homemade nutella dip, instead of any other gift, for their birthdays and Christmas.

To respond to some commenters above from my own experience making it:

* Sugar: you need some sugar but you could substitute coconut palm sugar (for a lower glycemic index sweetener) or honey - I especially like it made with orange flower honey. I wouldn't skip the sugar and use sweetened cocoa mix - the cocoa isn't high enough quality for that unless you're going for a premium cocoa mix - and that's not worthwhile.

* Milk: sweetened condensed milk is a whole other ballgame, you'd have to experiment with that one, although I have mixed some of the homemade nutella with dulce de leche to make a swirl for homemade ice cream and that worked.

* Nuts: raw hazelnuts, that you toast yourself and rub the skins off, or if you have access to a commercial food supplier you can find roasted hazelnuts without skins (but those are quite expensive and you absolutely have to make certain their supply has big turnover so that you're constantly receiving fresh-batch nuts).

I don't think canola oil is a good idea. Maybe coconut oil, or something with not so much omega sixes going on.

@ NICKELPDX - I'd probably use sunflower oil - don't like canola. Is that better on the omega front?

Can't WAIT to make this btw! But it won't last beyond a few hours in my house...

I would imagine this would taste incredible made with olive oil. Think of all those fabulous olive oil cakes that use cocoa and/or nuts...

And here I thought I was the only one who couldn't be trusted with a jar of Nutella around the house! We made Davdi Lebovitz' version a couple of years ago, using Hazelnut oil, which we happened to have in our pantry at the time and it was fantastic. I'll have to give this one a go.

@ NICKELPDX - I think you're right; coconut oil would be the the way to go. Much healthier, plus it's somewhat sweet so maybe you could use a little less sugar.

For those of us who are a litttttle too lazy to make it, Justin's Nut Butter makes a natural, dairy-free, less-sweet-than-Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. I love it.

This sounds delicious. We stopped eating sugar a few years ago so I'm going to try it using agave nectar instead.

@NICKELPDX Not sure what you mean...canola oil has about the highest omega3:omega6 ratio of any cooking oil: http://math.ucsd.edu/~ebender/Health%20&%20Nutrition/Nutrition/oil_good.html
and I think a reasonably healthy choice of cooking oil.
Also, this is a sweet treat we're talking about; if consumed in bulk I think the sugar woudl be a bigger problem anyways.

I have been making nutella for about a month now - am in love with how easy and delicious it is. Why didn't I do it sooner! I am even playing on the flavors a bit - have added smoked sea salt as well as bitter blood orange zest. Pretty amazing!

Delicious! I sweetened with both sugar and Maple syrup and added milk for the creamy texture and it was perfect!! Thanks!!!

Bob's Red Mill sells ground hazelnuts that I've used to good effect in cakes and sauces. It might work here too.

And as far as commercially prepared hazelnut butters, Le Pain Quotidien sells several take-offs of Nutella at various chocolate intensities, including one with no chocolate that is really fantastic. Good for people who are avoiding chocolate for whatever reason but ant th Nutella experience.

We found a similar recipe online that calls for 5T of agave nectar to these proportions. I usually make a double batch. It goes fast in our house. I'm still trying to figure out how to make it creamier, though. It's hard to spread unless I put it in the microwave for about six seconds before putting it on regular bread.

I recentlly received a giant sized nutella jar with a ribbon around the lid and a spoon attached as my birthday present. It nearly made turing really really old into something positive! Next time I need nutella, Im definitely trying this recipe.

Mmmm I'm going make this but with almonds (my husband has an adverse reaction to hazelnuts). I would probably splurge and use peanut, almond or coconut oil for this recipe.

Okay, I'm late to the party on this--I don't know if anyone will even see this comment--but do you think I could use a Magic Bullet to blend the hazelnuts? I don't have a food processor...

@Rachel24 - I would not recommend using a Magic Bullet since I think you're only supposed to use it for about 15 seconds at a time, max. I have one and use it to grind coffee beans, but I'm afraid to leave it on too long since I start to smell the overheating after not too long.

If you give it a try, I suspect you'd end up with ground hazelnut "flour", if that, but who knows. Just be careful! Good luck!

I'm totally bummed... I followed this recipe to the letter, and produced only a spectacular Nutella-FAIL. :(

What should I be doing differently to make the magical hazelnut butter? I ended up with hazelnut "flour" despite using a food processor on the highest setting, for far longer than the 3 minutes called for in the recipe. Despite heroic efforts, my attempt didn't produce anything remotely close to the "smooth and creamy" texture described.

Help? What did I do wrong? Do I just have a crappy food processor?

@Alto2; try soaking the hazelnuts overnight before blending, after peeling. This is commonly done for raw food recipes to get a smoother, less granular consistency.

I wonder how well this would freeze? I'm making a bunch for gifts, but was hoping to make some extra for emergency gifts.