By Shelly Koon
We all have secret junk food, the beloved bag of this or fix of that we reserve for those down moments. I really like Nutella. For those of you who are somehow outside the loop Nutella is an addictively delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread made by Ferrero of Italy. They also make Ferrero Rocher, which in my opinion, doesn’t get enough love. Ferrero Rocher consists of a whole roasted hazelnut surrounded by hazelnut chocolate spread which is encased in a thin, chocolate-covered wafer shell covered with chopped hazelnuts.
Nutella was born in post-World War II Italy when a pastry maker named Pietro Ferrero combined ground hazelnuts with sugar and a little bit of cocoa to create a chocolate confection at a time when chocolate was scarce. Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, an Italian town known for the production of hazelnuts. The sweet paste of the first recipe was shaped into a loaf that could be sliced and spread on bread, named after a local carnival character, Giandujot. In 1951, the ‘Giandujot’ paste was transformed into a creamy new product that was easier to spread named SuperCrema. Pietro’s son revamped the recipe in 1963 and named it Nutella. It is now sold in over 160 countries. France and Germany are largest buyers of Nutella. It took the United States a long time to get on the Nutella train. We had to wait 23 years before the U.S. started importing this chocolate-y spread. It first arrived in 1983, but it took a long time for it to move from specialty grocery stores to being stocked in big chains. Americans tend to eat peanut butter while Europeans eat Nutella.
Nutella is produced in various facilities. The largest Nutella factory is in France. For the North American market, it is produced at a plant in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and more recently in San José Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico. So, yes, it is affected by tariffs.
Nutella once tried to market itself as a part of a nutritious breakfast. Ferrero was sued in a class action for false advertising. And at 12 grams of fat per serving along with 21 grams of sugar, Nutella is no longer going after the healthy breakfast market. The number one ingredient in Nutella is not chocolate. It’s not even hazelnuts. It’s sugar. Actually, 56 percent of a jar of Nutella is straight sugar. The second ingredient is palm oil. And after that comes the hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, whey, soy lecithin and vanillin. That’s why some doctors refer to it as “spreadable candy.”
Which brings me to my favorite Nutella recipe. Open jar. Insert spoon. Lick said spoon. Repeat. Hide empty jar until you can sneak it out in the recycling. I dissolve a spoonful in my coffee some mornings, and I’ve discovered that a nearly finished jar makes a perfect vessel for an ice cream sundae.
While I love the store-bought hazelnut spread, I also know I need to eat healthy most of the time. I found a recipe for homemade Nutella that is lower in calories and doesn’t have palm oil. It can take some time to make even with a food processor but it is worth every spoonful.
Keto homemade Nutella
Ingredients: 2 cups hazelnuts raw, 1/2 cup sweetener powdered, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1-2 tbsp coconut oil melted
Instructions: Roast the Hazelnuts – Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the hazelnuts in a single layer. Roast for 10-12 minutes until fragrant. Remove the Skins – Let the nuts cool slightly, then transfer them to a clean kitchen towel. Roll the nuts inside the towel to rub off most of the skins. Blend into Nut Butter – Place the hazelnuts in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend for 5-8 minutes until a smooth, creamy nut butter forms. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add Cocoa & Sweetener – Once the hazelnut butter is creamy, mix in the sweetener and cocoa powder. Blend again until fully incorporated. If the mixture is too thick, add a few tablespoons of melted coconut oil to help smooth it out. Store & Enjoy – Transfer your homemade keto Nutella to a clean jar or container and enjoy it on keto bread, pancakes, or straight from the spoon!
Nutella Bread
Ingredients: 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of salt, 4 tsp of baking powder, 1/3 cup of white granulated sugar, 1 1/3 cups of milk, 2/3 cup of Nutella
Instructions: Preheat oven to 325 F/162 C, with the main rack in the middle position. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Pour in all the milk and use a sturdy spoon to mix or mixer. It will be thick and sticky. Stir/mix in the Nutella until well combined. The Nutella bread batter/dough is ready. Spray a 9×5 or 8×4-inch bread loaf pan with cooking spray or grease with shortening. Then scoop all the batter into the pan. Cut a slit down the middle with a butter knife or regular knife. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until a toothpick or long wooden skewer comes out clean. Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve! Enjoy! Try it with butter and strawberry jam, so good.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread No-Bakes
No-bake cookies made without cocoa or milk. Made all in one pan, easy to double or cut in half. Warning! These are addicting.
Ingredients: 1 cup butter, 2 cups white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella®), 3 cups rolled oats
Instructions: Line an 8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir sugar, vanilla extract, and salt into the melted butter; bring to a boil and cook and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium; add the peanut butter and chocolate-hazelnut spread. Cook and stir until smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the oats; stir to coat evenly. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking dish; spread into an even layer using a spatula or spoon. Allow the mixture to cool completely, at least 30 minutes. Remove from baking dish.
