I almost never buy Nutella and here’s why: if we have some in our pantry, it’s gone within 2 or 3 days. I absolutely love the chocolatey, nutty flavors and enjoy it on everything from bagels to fruit. It’s a sure way to ruin any healthy eating kick I start. Lately, however, I’ve really been in the mood for some of the tasty treat - probably because of this recipe on Smitten Kitchen a few weeks back – and it got me thinking about how great other types of nuts would be in a similar chocolate spread. Why let peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts have all the fun with chocolate? I personally happened to have walnuts on hand, and so I decided to give making homemade chocolate walnut spread a try.
While I didn’t have quite all the things to make the recipe as stated in the link above, I did (surprisingly to me) have all of the ingredients for this version, courtesy of Martha Stewart. It was a breeze to make, although it most definitely requires a food processor. I also hate using a double boiler (it just seems very labor intensive and every time I use one it makes a mess) so I cheated and used the microwave to melt the chocolate. It was a little liquidy at first, but we put it in the fridge and it set into the perfect texture in short order. It turned out great – and was much, much easier I imagine. The walnuts give a fantastic flavor but I imagine this recipe would work great with any manner of nut.
…and in case you’re wondering, so far we’ve had this in the house for 2 days, and it is literally 50% gone.
Chocolate Walnut Spread
adapted from Martha Stewart
- 2/3 cup walnut pieces
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons honey
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread walnut pieces onto a cookie sheet. Toast walnuts for 5-6 minutes, or until light brown. Place toasted walnuts into the bowl of a food processor. Process until the nuts are liquified (a step beyond paste – it was pretty obvious when this happened, the mixture appeared quite liquidy and was splashing around in the bowl for me.) Place chocolate chips into a medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 15 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate chips appear smooth and melted. Add honey, sweetened condensed milk, and liquified walnuts. Stir until well combined. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until the mixture appears firm. Enjoy!
