Perfect Homemade Hazelnut Butter

Delicious Homemade Spread

If you've scrolled down for a few of our sweet recipes you'll notice that we like using hazelnut butter. Just as oats are our favorite grain, hazelnut butter is probably our favorite nut butter (well it's at least in competition with peanut butter).

We actually have the benefit of getting local organic hazelnuts from Croatia, so that might be one of the reasons we use as much as we do, but it also comes with great nutritional benefits.

We've tried a lot of store-bought hazelnut butters, and those that don't have anything added (salt, palm oil) are good for both kids and adults, but nothing beats making your own at home. Especially when it's so easy. The only thing you really need for this is a really good food processor.

Homemade Hazelnut Butter Nutritional Stuff

Like other nuts, hazelnuts are a great source of fat and therefore calories. We tend to classify fats as good or bad (although we shouldn't since all are essential) but the fact is that hazelnuts are packed with the "good" kind. The kind that we need to eat more of and the kind that helps our body minimize the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

Since they are a great source of fat, hazelnuts also have a lot of fat-soluble vitamins – especially vitamin E, which is also an antioxidant.

They also have a good amount of certain minerals like manganese and copper.

Hazelnuts are also a pretty good source of protein as well. So add some hazelnut butter as a spread to toast and you have yourself a balanced snack.

Homemade Hazelnut Butter Preparation Tips

One of the most important things you can do to get the best possible taste out of your hazelnuts is to roast them. This will make your butter so much better in the end so it's worth the effort. Just be careful not to roast them for too long – about 20 minutes at 360°F / 180° C does the trick but this may depend on the strength of your oven. You'll know that they're done when the skin has browned and begun to peel, but hasn't turned black.

Peeling the skins off will also make a big difference as they can otherwise add some unwanted bitterness to the mix. The fastest way to peel them is to put the hazelnuts between 2 cloths and rub them between your palms (the cloths will be full of hazelnut skin). If you prefer, you can do this with just your hands and no cloth.

Next just put them in a food processor and let it do its magic. It will take 7-10 mins before the oils release and you get a nice smooth consistency. You'll also want to stop occasionally to scrape the sides of the processor. Otherwise just sit back and watch!

Recommended Appliances

Food processors

• Top choice: KitchenAid
• Lower cost: Cuisinart
• Top of the range: Magimix

Measuring cups

• Top choice: Simple measuring cups and spoons

Check out our top 5 must-have kitchen appliances here for more!

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Have you tried making your own nut butter? Which one is your favorite?