Healthier Chocolate Spread

After the first time I made my own peanut butter I could never buy from the store again. That goes the same for Nutella. Store bought is full of palm oil and tons of sugar and salt.

* Make sure to read the notes at the end 

INGREDIENTS

• 250 gms plain peanuts (not groundnuts) 
• 1 tsp sweetener of choice ( white or brown sugar taste the best) check notes
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/3 cup cooking coverture chocolate 

METHOD

• Dry roast the peanuts on a pan till slightly brown or some sections are brown 
• Once it cools take small handfuls and rub in your hands to remove the skin. Do this for the entire lot. (You can remove it before too but it's much harder to do) 
• Add the peanuts to a mixer grinder along with half the sweetener and half the salt. 
• Using the chutney jar - Grind on high for about 30 seconds. Open the lid push down whatever is on the sides.
• Add the cocoa powder and the cut coverture chocolate 
• Grind till you get a creamy paste like consistency. 
• Taste the paste to see if it's smooth or grainy and check if you'd like to add the remaining sugar and salt (I do) 
• If you add the sugar and salt, grind again to mix well 
• If you feel the peanut butter is too thick and dry for you, you can add a teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil and grind to mix. ( I don't)
• Continue to grind till you get a nice creamy shiny thick liquid of pouring consistency with no grains or granular feel. 
• Store in a dry glass airtight container in the fridge. 

NOTES:

• Sugar : here if you use jaggery or dates it changes the taste. This is a personal choice. If you think you might add this in bakes like cookies or muffins then I do not recommend using honey either as it should not be heated. 
• Ensure your container is completely dry. Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Use a fresh spoon everytime you take out some. 
• Should last for months in the fridge 
• Max 1 level tsp per serving as it is very calorie dense. 
• Peanuts replacement - here I have used peanuts as they are the most easily available and cheapest. Traditionally this is made with hazelnuts. If budget is not a constraint you can use hazelnuts for this recipe. 
• Coverture Chocolate : this is a kind go cooking chocolate of the purest form of chocolate adding a lot of nutrients to this chocolate butter. Compound. cooking chocolate is mostly oil sugar and cocoa mass which is lower in calories. Do not use regular eating chocolate as its not as stable or nutritious. Cooking chocolate will also melt when heated so is best of this type of recipe. You can buy small amounts on Amazon

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out.