RECIPE: Apartment-Friendly Nutella

It started with a jar of hazelnuts. I needed a handful for something, somewhere, sometime and the leftovers lingered on my shelf. What else to make with hazelnuts except homemade Nutella?

I thought it would be a long, involved process, but turns out, homemade Nutella is pretty quick and simple-- simple enough to make in my small apartment kitchen. All you really need is a food processor, which does the brunt of the work. Overall, very little effort for big, chocolate-y payoff. Even if you don't have any hazelnuts overstaying their welcome in your pantry, you might want to go out and get a bag just to make this delicious spread. Based on internet research, I adapted this recipe and this one to make my own yummy topping for fruit, graham crackers, and life in general.

Apartment-Friendly Nutella

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup chocolate
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread out your hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, turning halfway through. Allow to cool.

2. Microwave the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 15-second intervals until smooth and stir-able.

3. Gather the cooled hazelnuts in a kitchen towel and rub gently against each other to de-skin. Remove any remaining skins by hand.

4. Add de-skinned hazelnuts to food processor and blend until you have a paste.

5. Add the chocolate, sugar, oil, vanilla, and salt. Blend until combined. Serve on whatever you like. Enjoy!