Guys, I’m not one to toot my own horn. But OH. MY GOD. I have officially hit the nut butter jack pot with this one. So far, I’ve brought you Walnut Butter and Pecan Butter. Today, I bring you HAZELNUT BUTTER. But not just any hazelnut butter. This recipe has also been jazzed up with a chocolate-y protein kick – I’ve added a scoop of chocolate protein powder on a total whim and the result? FOODIE HEAVEN. We have ourselves a nut butter that is clean, healthy, simple to make, and most importantly, tastes AMAZING. And when I say amazing, we’re talking Nutella good. We’re talking Ferrero Rocher good. Combined. Are you excited yet?!

I’ll put my hand up and say it – I’m NOT a Nutella fan. Truth. I stopped having a sweet tooth a long time ago (a story for another blog post). I am, however, a nut butter addict. Confessions of the day over. But Nutella fan or not, the flavour and scent of this hazelnut butter is one I am super excited to share with you! Now, just a couple of things to note before you read on – first, if possible, do NOT skip roasting the hazelnuts before blending. Roasting them not only makes it easier to process the nuts, it also gives a much richer flavour! Second, after roasting and cooling, rub and peel the skins off as many of the hazelnuts as you can – this gives a creamier texture after blending!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 200g raw hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1.5 tbsp Chocolate Protein Powder (I used That Protein Chirpy Choca Mocha Protein – you can use a vegan blend like I did or whey! I haven’t tried with whey myself)
• A pinch of ground cinnamon
• Optional: If you like a slightly sweeter taste, add 1 tbsp of sweetner of choice (e.g. honey/maple or stevia powder or drops).

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan oven), and empty the hazelnuts onto a baking tray.
2. When the oven is ready, roast the hazelnuts for approximately 10-15 minutes until golden brown and smelling delicious. The skin should peel off easily when handling them if they’re roasted for long enough!
3. Leave the hazelnuts to cool for about 5 minutes, then add them to your blender cup or food processor.
4. Add the remaining ingredients – protein powder, coconut oil, cinnamon and sweetener if you’re including it!
5. You’re good to go – blend it like Beckham people! I used my Nutribullet to make this, and I was so surprised at how easily it blended everything! It took me about 5-7 minutes of continuous blending to get to a creamy consistency. You may need to pause during blending to scrape down the sides of your container.

Enjoy guys! I was SO HAPPY with this one – it is definitely the best of the nut butters I’ve made so far! I hope you love it just as much. Tag me if you try it out – you know the drill, @theirishbalance on Instagram or Twitter!

Ciara 🙂 x