Hazelnut Spread, the sugar-free edition

When I posted my nutella-dupe recipe yesterday, one of the comment I got on Facebook was that refined sugars are bad for you. In my mind I thought that if you were going to eat nutella in the first place, sugar is probably not one of your concerns, or you are at least willing to take the risk once. Anyways, it got me thinking, and so I came up with this second version of a chocolate-hazelnut spread without sugar.

Here is what you need:

• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 8 medjool dates
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• dash of vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Here is what you do:

1. Put your dates in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for at least 30 minutes. Once they are soaked, remove their skins and pits. The skin removal helps having a very smooth texture.
2. On a cookie sheet, spread the hazelnuts and roast at 350F for 10 minutes. Be careful not to let them burn: you are looking for a golden color.
3. Take out the nuts and let them cool a little. Remove the skins by rubbing a handful together with your hands, or in a clean tea towel.
4. In your food processor, grind the nuts until you have a fine powder. Add the dates and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients, but not the milk, and mix well until you have a dough consistency.
5. Add the milk little by little and mix until everything is smooth.
6. Keep in the fridge, and try not to eat it by the spoonful.

Here you go! This recipe is even simpler than the previous one, and does not contain refined sugar, while still being yummy and decadent.

Please don’t tell me that hazelnut and cocoa powder are bad for you, because there is a limit to what you can do to make a nutella dupe. Joking, if you have any concerns or questions let me know, and I’ll try to make something up! Also let me know if you try this out or which version you prefer!