chocolate-hazelnut spread

Every night, my husband and I take turns telling our kids bedtime stories. While hubby comes up with supercreative, elaborate, entertaining tales that feature a lesson or moral woven in, my stories are generally straightforward travelogues along the lines of “Mommy and Kenya Go to Paris” (think I’ve been reading too much Madeleine?). In my story, Kenya and I roam around looking at the Eiffel Tower, touring Notre Dame, and eating everything from croissants to crepes. Kenya usually asks if we can make the food I talk about so fondly and one story resulted in us preparing crepes three mornings in a row!

Crepes are easy to make, and my kids love being surprised by different fillings. In one of my stories, I talked about eating bananafilled crepes with Nutella, but instead of buying a jar of the famous hazelnut-chocolate spread they use in France, we decided to make our own homemade version.

Whether you decide to slather this insanely delicious and addictive treat on graham crackers, strawberries, crepes, or eat it right off the spoon, this version of Homemade Nutella will make you feel like you’re on your own Paris vacation.

Makes 1¼ cups

1 cup hazelnuts

¼ cup agave nectar or honey

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons hot water

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes.

3. Remove the hazelnuts to a kitchen towel (not one of your nice ones) and rub to remove the skins.

4. Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and chop for 30 seconds.

5. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.

6. Serve with Whole-Wheat Crepes, as a sandwich spread, or as a dip for fruit.

NICOLE: With my family coming from Germany, I was raised on Nutella–but Nutella has got nothing on this delicious recipe!