
This is not salted caramel sauce, which is what I had planned to put in these swell jars. (They came from the Meadow, here in Portland, and are super heavy and very pleasing to hold.) I opted for this chocolate hazelnut spread instead because 1. Grammie made some and it was delicious. 2. My kitchen mojo isn't good right now and couldn't face using a candy thermometer 3. I had all the ingredients already *sort of.
I realize looking at this photo now that it looks a bit—turdy. Like turd in a jar. Well, nothing like homemade gifts. Moving on—

I found 3 different recipes for this homemade nutella type stuff. All pretty different. Here's the lowdown:
1. This recipe is what Grammie used. It's basically a chocolate ganache with hazelnut paste in it. The flavor is excellent. You actually use melted chocolate, not cocoa powder, and heavy cream, not oil, so the mouth feel is really nice and smooth. (Mouth feel? Sorry, that sounds pretentious.) It's from a New Seasons flier, which I can't find online so here it is:
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts (use the toasting directions from the next recipe)
3 oz chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp or less salt (kosher)
Pulse hazelnuts in a Cuisinart forever. Like a long time, about 5 minutes, until it makes a butter. Then add the chopped chocolate and pulse again. Meanwhile, heat up the cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan until just boiling. Add this to the pureed nut and chocolate mixture and pulse again until it's super smooth. It will firm up as it sits and then you can store it in the refrigerator.
2. This recipe is what I have photographed here. This version is the easiest to find and seems the most common. It uses cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and a little oil, blended with hazelnut paste. It's fine—but really, doesn't compare at all to the recipe above. The chocolate flavor just isn't there and the powdered sugar taste is too sweet. It is vegan and because there is no dairy it might be a better candidate for shipping. It is good, it's not like I wouldn't eat it, it's just not as smooth and powerful as recipe #1.
3. This version uses melted chocolate and sweetened condensed milk, much the same way my favorite fudge recipe does. I think it's my favorite because I do always have a can of sweetened condensed milk on hand, but not always heavy cream, and it uses honey, which tastes really good, I think. I really like using melted chocolate in recipes rather than cocoa powder. I always think the taste is much better.
A few tips:
-Don't overcook your hazelnuts when you toast them. It will make a burnt tasting spread.
-Don't try to substitute half-and-half* for heavy cream in recipe #1, it won't ever set up.
-Don't try to use hazelnut flour (like what they have at Trader Joe's) instead of grinding your own. The flour is too dry and won't make a paste when you pulse it, so it will always stay a bit grainy.
-You might try a little less salt if you use recipe #1.
Yum. Thanks for your help, grammie!