Let's Bake Together: Chocolate Hazelnut Bread & Cookies

For our second installment of Let’s Bake Together, we’re giving chocolate all the love. This month, I tried out two recipes featuring Nutiva’s Chocolate Hazelnut spread and Red Palm Oil.

During the winter season, I always go full force in the kitchen, baking cookies and desert. Several years ago I came across a chocolate rugelach cookie from Bake From Scratch. It reminded me of the traditional rugelach, usually filled with dried fruit and nuts, that I used to make at a bakery I worked at. I tried out the chocolate recipe and it instantly became a hit around the holidays.

This year, I’ve been trying to eat healthier, so there is no more Nutella in my pantry. Nutiva sent me their hazelnut spread and I knew it would be the perfect substitution. The results were delicious! Nutiva’s spread has more pieces of hazelnut that aren’t fully ground up, which provides a nice texture. With 40% less sugar than the leading brand, the chocolate flavor was a little milder but I still got those perfect layers of swirled chocolate. I love the simplicity of this recipe—the entire dough can be made in the food processor. When I roll out the dough, I use a ruler to get the right size. If you’re not exact, don’t worry. You can trim the edges off, to make them more even.

The chocolate tasting doesn’t stop there. I also tried out Palm Done Right’s Chocolate Hazelnut-Marbled Banana Bread, which utilizes both Nutiva’s Chocolate Hazelnut spread and Red Palm Oil. I’ll admit it, I was a little nervous using the palm oil as it was a product I wasn’t familiar with. But wait till you see the beautiful, vibrant color it brings to the bread! This recipe yields one large loaf. However, my kitchen is a mess post-holidays and I couldn’t find my standard loaf pan. No worries though, I improvised using a mini 4-loaf pan like this one. I was able to yield 3 mini loaves. This recipe is something any baker can try regardless of your skill level. You don’t need any special equipment. No hauling out the bulky stand-mixer for this one. Do make sure though you have a few things on hand before baking. I’ve listed them below:

You need 3 ripe bananas. The recipe suggests if your bananas aren’t ripe enough, stick them in the over for 10-20 mins at 325 F. Great tip!
Be sure to have sour cream or yogurt (I used sour cream)
Make sure you know where your loaf pan is (so you don’t panic like I did :))

The one change I did make to the recipe is on the last step. When it comes time to add the hazelnut spread, warm it up in the microwave to make it easier to drizzle. It doesn’t tell you to do that, but I found this to be helpful when creating the layers. Also if you use a multi-loaf pan like I did, don’t overflow the pan with batter. Fill it ¾ of the way. You can always add more if you have enough. When I filled my first pan, I put too much in it and I noticed the others cooked faster. Since the pans are connected, I couldn’t take one out at a time. If this happens to you, just put some tin foil on top of the cooked ones, so they don’t get too brown on the top.

To purchase these or any of Nutiva's Product, visit their website

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did. If you make them, share them with us on any of our socials and if you have products you would like me to review or try, you can email me at beccaviscomi@wfcinc.com. Stay tuned next month for a savory bake. Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful New Year and happy baking!