Homemade nutella = blissful goodness in a jar.

Having missed World Nutella Day, due to me not even knowing about it till yesterday, I decided to play catch up, by making my own 'tella, no less.

I went to rummaging through the vast tubes of the net until I found a recipe that sounded doable. The process isn't nearly as complicated as I had originally anticipated. Just a few simple ingredients, about an hour, and before you can say Tetaumatawhakatangihanga-
koauaotamateaurehaeaturipukapikimaungahoronu-
kupokaiwhenuaakitanatahu, you have nutella.

It's quite exceptional when warmed up and drizzled on a fresh bosc pear.

The texture of homemade nutella is to Nutella, what Adam's Natural Peanut Butter is to Jif. Being sans hydrogenated oil, it is a bit more fluid and the oil can separate, thus requiring you to give it a stir if it's been sitting for a few days. But why would it? ~_^

Homemade Nutella
Yields about 1¾ cups of goodness.

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. almond oil (any nut or vegetable oil will work)
pinch of salt

Heat you oven to 350°F. Place the hazelnuts onto a sheet pan and roast for 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Allow the nuts to cool before wrapping them in a dish towel to rubbing them to remove the skins. Don't fret if you can't get all the sinks off, we just want to get rid of most of it, lest out nutella be bitter.

Place the now cooled and skinned hazelnuts in a food processor and process on high until the nuts turn into a smooth butter. It took me about 3 mintues, but could take up to five. At this point, it should look like natural peanut butter. You now have some yummy hazelnut butter, but we're not done yet. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and process until again smooth. Add the vanilla and salt. Process some more. The mix will be pretty stiff by now, so we want to add our oil. I used three tablespoons, but you may need up to ¼ cup, depending on how thick or spreadable you want your nutella. Process until smooth.

Now all that's left to do is jar it up and refrigerate. Or you could take a big spoon to the 'tella and enjoy straight-up.

For some ideas for what to do with your new jar of bliss, check out Ms. Adventures collection of 50 Nutella Day recipes.