February 5 is World Nutella Day and I couldn’t let that pass without recognition! Nutella is so good! Chocolate and hazelnut in spreadable form, what could be better? Well, before I give up my seat on the Keto Bandwagon I thought perhaps a keto version of Nutella fat bombs is in order.
Now, if you read the nutrition label for Nutella the first ingredient is…sugar. Hmm… To state the obvious, if you’re on ANY kind of diet, this will be a problem. Lucky for us, there are now sugar-free alternatives.
I found the original recipe for “Keto Nutella Bars” at forgetsugarfriday.com, but that used Lakanto brand chocolate-hazelnut spread, which doesn’t appear to be available anywhere. Not even directly from the company! So I set out to find an alternative. Enter Amazon, my shopping answer for almost everything 😀.
I found this sugar-free cocoa-hazelnut spread, which is sweetened with Stevia and Maltitol. Perfect (FYI, it tastes pretty great straight out of the jar). Another product which I use and like is the Keto Dave brand, which is more like a dark chocolate version. Both are excellent, but there is a big difference in carb content. Keto Dave brand is significantly lower in carbs, so if you are truly trying for a keto diet, that brand might be a better choice. It does come with a higher price tag, so that is something to consider as well. Due to all the differences in the cocoa-hazelnut spreads, the calorie and nutrition calculations below do not include anything from that ingredient, so keep that in mind if you are counting macros.
These treats can be made different ways and I have tried them all: as bars or in bombs using silicone molds, or with or without chopped hazelnuts. My personal favorite is to use the molds and go without the extra nuts, but if you like nuts . . . by all means, go nuts!
To start, melt a half stick of butter in a saucepan. Once this is melted, add the powdered sweetener (Swerve) and cocoa powder. Mix to combine fully, then add cream cheese and the cocoa-hazelnut spread. Heat the mixture slowly on low and stir every 30 seconds until everything is melted and combined. If the cream cheese won’t cooperate, as in it looks lumpy, remove the mixture from the heat and use a hand mixer or immersion blender to fully incorporate.
Which brings me to a problem I ran into: After mixing, I would end up with a layer of butter fat that hadn’t been mixed in. You can see it on these bars.
It doesn’t affect the taste, just the appearance. As a fix, I discovered that using the mixer eliminates the butter fat. Entirely. So, even if you don’t have cream cheese lumps in the mixture, use the immersion blender or hand mixer to fully mix all the warm ingredients before transferring to a pan or molds.
If you opt for additional nuts, this is when they get added, just sprinkle them over the top. Then, cover the dish and freeze for at least 2 hours before cutting or unmolding.
The result? A sweet, creamy and delicious keto-friendly snack to satisfy those chocolate cravings.
These Nutella Fat Bombs are wonderfully creamy and fudgy straight out of the freezer!
“Nutella” Fat Bombs
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter 1/2 stick
- 6 TB confectioner’s Swerve
- 1 TB cocoa powder Dutch processed
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup cocoa-hazelnut spread sugar-free
- Optional
- ½ cup hazelnuts roasted and skinned
Instructions
- If making bars, line a small pan (8×8” works well) with parchment paper.
- Melt butter in small or medium saucepan over low heat.
- When butter is melted, add sweetener and cocoa and mix until combined.
- Add cream cheese and cocoa-hazelnut spread. Stir every 30 seconds or so until melted and combined.
- Transfer mixture to a deep bowl and blend it using an immersion blender or hand mixer.
- Pour mixture into dish or molds, as preferred.
- Optionally, add chopped hazelnuts to the top.
- Cover and place in freezer for at least 2 hours.
- Remove and cut into pieces.
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Like chocolate? Try these Chocolate Cheesecake bombs!
Mmm, these look great! The bars and the bombs!
I love them! My next batch will be for my 89-year-old diabetic mom. It’s hard to find sugar free stuff that actually tastes good!
You had me at hazelnut!!!! Can’t wait to try
So good!!