Make creamy, smooth hazelnut butter at home. You only need raw hazelnuts and a couple of optional ingredients to make this flavorful and versatile roasted nut butter.
Roast the hazelnuts: Preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F). Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until toasted. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the hazelnuts to cool for 30 minutes.
Remove the skins: Rub the hazelnuts between your hands to remove the skins, they should come off relatively easily.
Blend: Add the roasted hazelnuts to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend for 3-4 minutes. First, they will turn into a coarse hazelnut meal, and then the mixture will start to form a nut butter consistency.
Add flavors: Add the salt and vanilla powder, or if you're using a vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add them.
Blend again: Blend for another 4-5 minutes until you have a very runny nut butter consistency. Scrape down the edges using a spatula in between blending if needed.
Storage: Transfer the hazelnut butter to a storage jar with an airtight lid. It will keep at room temperature in a dark place for up to a week, or refrigerated for up to a month.
Notes
I do not recommend using vanilla paste or extract as this will affect the consistency.
To avoid wasting any leftover nut butter from the sides of the blender jug, simply add 2-3 cups of filtered water and blend to make a quick homemade nut milk!
Remove the skins. While it isn't essential to remove *every bit* of skin from the hazelnuts, I advise getting as much as possible off, as hazelnut skins tend to be on the bitter side.
Coffee lovers. Add half a teaspoon of good-quality espresso powder for a little hazelnut coffee kick of flavor!