Dairy-Free Gingerbread Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

This holiday-inspired gingerbread chocolate hazelnut butter is nutty, chocolatey and creamy with a subtle layer of warm spices. Made with healthier ingredients and without refined sugars or dairy. It makes a delicious homemade holiday gift!

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Course: Dessert

Servings: 2 cups

Ingredients

2 heaping cups raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder
2 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1-2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (start with 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
2.5 tsp ground ginger
2.5 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast hazelnuts in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until fragrant and light golden brown. Give pan a shake halfway through roasting time. Once hazelnuts are cool enough to handle, remove some of the skins (doesn’t have to be perfect!). It’s up to you how much you want to remove, but less skin will result in a creamier consistency (the skins can also be bitter). You can also place the hazelnuts on a damp kitchen towel, fold it over, and rub the skins off inside the towel.
Next, add the hazelnuts (minus the skins) to the food processor. Blend for about 5-6 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed. Once creamy, add the cocoa or cacao powder, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, spices, sea salt and 1 Tbsp of the melted coconut oil. Blend a couple minutes or until smooth, scraping down the sides, as needed. Taste and adjust flavors as you like. Also, if mixture is too thick or dry, blend in remaining 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil. It also depends if you want a more drippy nut butter or not.
Store in a glass jar at room temperature and use within 2-3 weeks. Or, store in the fridge for up to a month.

Notes

Links to my favorites: organic cocoa powder, organic blackstrap molasses, organic pure maple syrup