BitterSweet

Over two months ago now (My, how time flies!) I finally caved in to the temptation of the recipe for Mocha Chip Muffins beckoning from within the pages of Vegan With a Vengence. Although I’m not so big on chocolate, and especially not for something I might try to pass off as “breakfast,” I figured that since it included instant espresso powder, it certainly couldn’t be such a dive.

To take the chocolate down atleast a notch or two, I opted to replace the chocolate chips in favor of toasted hazelnuts. (Can you tell I bough one huge bag, or what?) Since it was my first time trying these muffins, I figured it would be a better idea if I halved the recipe. I can only eat so many muffins in a short stretch of time, too. I would hate to waste wonderful muffins if they happen to go stale while waiting patiently for their time at the table.

So I whipped up the batter and cheerfully shoved them into a screaming hot oven and watched as they rose beautifully in their little metal orifices. A few happy minutes passed where all was well and thoughts of happy muffins danced through my head… And then I realized – Like a grade A space cadet, I had dutifully halved the whole recipe… Except for the nuts. Okay… not an immense tragedy, they were just much nuttier than I had intended.

With a half cup instead of quarter, the hazelnuts actually seemed to be relatively consistantly dispersed. I suppose that if I were to make them again, I would probably double my add-ins of choice once more.

I can’t say I wasn’t fully expecting it, but they really were much too rich to become a regular breakfast staple. In fact, they could have truly passed as cupcakes, even without frosting. Maybe next time I should do a bit less cocoa but more espresso, as that was the flavor I was really hoping to experience in the first place.

But hey, if you do want a true dessert-for-breakfast indulgence, why don’t you grab your homemade Nutella and slather it on thick? Of course, I just happened to have enough left over to test this innovation…

…Just looking at that picture, I don’t think I really need to describe the taste.

Half of the recipe yeiled about six and a half muffins… Well, to be more precise, six medium muffins and one little midget muffin. Although I left them in the oven for an extra five minutes or so, no damage was done, and if anything the slightly crisper edges made for a nice overall texture. Definitely not one to miss, even if you Mocha Chip Muffins don’t actually have any chips in them.

Creamy, nutty, and sinfully chocolatey, I don’t believe I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like nuttella. Sadly, upon becoming vegan, many people (My self included) are suprised to take a closer look and discover that this decadent spread actually contains whey. I really don’t understand the purpose of it – Shouldn’t it just be a pure hazelnut spread, uncontaminated by unneccissary additives?

Well, I had been thinking this for quite some time now, unwilling to give up on such a wonderful product, when I came across a fairly lenthy post on Su Good Eats extolling the virtues of this Italian invention and testing out various recipes that utillize it. Right there, she posted a recipe to make your own homemade Nutella, and lo and behold, it was a simple hazelnut spread, prefectly vegan without needed any extra adaptations.

No way could I resist giving it a shot. It seemed like just the perfect thing to include in the vegan / veggie swap since I wanted to send some food-type item, but I wasn’t sure what would hold up long enough, seeing as it might take longer to ship to Canada. Sealed in an airtight jar, this sweet treat should keep for about a month or so, refrigerated.

Now, I’m not even going to mention how it took me over two hours to skin the toasted hazelnuts. Nor will I agonize over how painful it was to scrape burning nuts with my finger nails after the towel – trick didn’t work. I have no clue what went wrong, but these were some subborn nuts! If I were to make it again, (Which I see being very probable) I would definitely buy pre-skinned hazelnuts.

As the food processor hummed away busily, I was facinated to watch the hazelnuts change into a spread. I’d never made any sort of nut butter before, so I was enchanted with the idea that without the added chocolate or sugar, I had essentially produced hazelnut butter. Without the torture of skinning the nuts, it was very easy to get to this step, so in the future I might be a bit braver and experiment with making my own almond butter, or cashew butter, or… The possiblities are endless!

The mere two cups of hazelnuts grind down to a relatively small jar of Nutella, but I’m sure the recipe could be doubled or tripled almost effortlessly. With such an addictive spread, wonderfully suited to be incorporated into any meal, snack, or dessert imaginable, I’m sure you’ll want to whip up extra, as I’m sure you’ll be hitting the bottom of an empty jar before you know it!