Some years back, we used to frequent a great Hungarian restaurant in our neighborhood. It was there that at the end of the meal, we were presented with two crepes, one apricot, and one, with what we were told, was a hazelnut filling. Like many of my food adventures, it started out with me being curious. But one taste of the creamy, rich filling dessert and I never looked back. From then on, I always ordered the two crepes with the hazelnut filling. I tell this story because as good as hazelnut filling is by itself, blend in chocolate and it approaches a whole new level. So you can imagine my enthusiasm at being able to sample the latest product to arrive at the Fancy Food office — Justin’s Natural Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (www.justinsnutbutter.com).
I packed up the jar and decided to reserve the tasting for a weekend treat. As I read the label, I noticed that it contains no dairy and is gluten-free. After I opened it, I gave it a couple of stirs, just like just-peanuts peanut butter. Then spooned it on to some raisin toast. And there it was, the great smooth rich taste of hazelnuts and chocolate. It made a delicious blend with the raisins. I can also see it with waffles, crackers, with cookies dipped into it, with fruit or maybe even topping vanilla ice cream.
It doesn’t need refrigeration, so it can sit in the cabinet for the next taste treat. By the way, it comes in a 16-oz. jar for those of you who have to share.
-Barbara
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