Dinner Diva: NOTtella recipe

I don’t know if there is a more perfect snack than nut butters. Highly portable, easy to make, very versatile, everyone loves a great nut butter—in a sandwich, with an apple, sometimes just plain off the spoon!

And then there’s chocolate and nuts together. Yes, you’ve seen in in the store next to the peanut butter. Maybe you’ve even bought it.

But the ingredients are less than stellar—you can do better! And when you consider how easy it is to make, why wouldn’t you make your own?

Even better, this is something the kids can make themselves! Here’s the recipe:

NOTtella
Makes 2 cups

• 1 cup toasted hazelnuts
• 12 ounces dark chocolate (60%)
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil (no flavor, great for you)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spread out the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until the skins bubble a little. In a clean dishcloth, rub the skins off the hazelnuts, then let them cool. You may still have some skins on the nuts, but that’s fine.

Meanwhile, in a double boiler, melt your chocolate till nice and smooth and let it cool.

Into a blender, add the hazelnuts and grind them to a nut butter consistency. Then add everything else except the chocolate and blend well.

Now add the cooled, melted chocolate and blend well. You’ve got your homemade NOTtella. ;-) Will thicken up as it sits. Can refrigerate (but it will harden) or keep in a sealed container in your pantry for up to 2 weeks.

Top 10 ways to use your NOTtella:

1. sandwiches (love it with sliced bananas)
2. nuke it and top your ice cream with it
3. spread on crackers
4. dip apples into it
5. s’mores: marshmellow cream & NOTella on a graham cracker
6. spread on a poundcake slice, top with raspberries for dessert
7. frost a cake with it
8. frost some brownies with it
9. add to your smoothie
10. add a spoonful to your coffee or hot chocolate

So go get your nuts and make your delicious NOTtella!

Leanne Ely is a NYT bestselling author and the creator of SavingDinner.com, the original menu planning website, bringing families back to the dinner table for over 15 years.