Chocolate Hazelnut Milk

I make this easy and delicious chocolate hazelnut milk often. Everyone in my family loves it, so it doesn’t last long. Make two batches if you have a house full of chocolate milk lovers. Leave out the cocoa powder if you prefer plain hazelnut milk.

You can either toast the raw hazelnuts or soak them in plain water for at least 4 hours or overnight to get rid of phytic acid, which can impair the absorption of minerals. I prefer to toast the hazelnuts, but vegetarians and vegans, who consume fewer minerals, may prefer to soak them. I leave the skins on, but for a smoother hazelnut flavor, remove the skins by rubbing the toasted or soaked nuts between two paper towels. (Don’t use cloth towels or you’ll never get the stains out.)

Unlike most chocolate milks, there’s no refined sugar in this recipe. I use stevia and maple syrup, but you can substitute other sweeteners, including vegetable glycerin, coconut nectar, xylitol or erythritol. Stevia, erythritol and xylitol are zero glycemic index sweeteners that have aftertastes not everyone enjoys.  I always mix them with healthy higher glycemic index sweeteners, such as maple syrup, date sugar, coconut sugar or honey.

If you have a high speed blender that essentially liquefies the nuts, it may not be necessary to filter the hazelnut milk if you don’t mind a thicker milk. Regular blenders pulverize the nuts, so you’ll need to filter out the nut meal with a nut milk bag or a fine mesh strainer. Save this nutritious nut meal to use in baking or add to smoothies. Unlike commercial nut milks, which contain binding ingredients, homemade nut milks will separate, so give the milk a stir before serving.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Milk

By Springhouse Turtle – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 15 minutes – Total Time: 45 minutes

This chocolate hazelnut milk is delicious hot or cold, or leave out the cocoa and use it for drinking, baking and cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw hazelnuts
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon liquid stevia
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2

Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, and toast for 12-15 minutes.

3

Remove hazelnuts from oven and let cool.

4

Blend hazelnuts with remaining ingredients until very smooth.

5

Strain through a nut milk bag or a fine strainer (such as a mesh coffee filter).

6

Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. It may settle, so stir before using.

Start with one cup of raw hazelnuts.

Either soak the nuts overnight or for at least 4 hours in filtered water…

…or spread them out onto a pan and roast them for 12-15 minutes.

The roasted hazelnuts have a heavenly scent and a nice light brown color. Rub off loose skins with a paper towel.

Put the roasted or soaked nuts into a blender with water, cocoa powder, vanilla and sweeteners.

Whoosh! Chocolate hazelnut milk!

Filter the chocolate hazelnut milk through a nut milk bag or a fine mesh strainer to remove the nut meal (save it for use in baking or smoothies), and then the nut milk is ready to drink. It’s delicious either hot or cold.

Springhouse Turtle Eats