When my daughter was tiny, I looked for any excuse to get out of the house, so my days wouldn’t be an endless cycle of yesterday’s pajamas and sour milk. She was happiest in the morning (anyone with a small child knows that peace and quiet doesn’t come between 4 and 6 pm), so once my husband left for work, I’d get us dressed and head out to my favorite café.

It was a serene space with pale, unfinished wood, communal tables, and the aroma of baking bread. I’d order a huge bowlful of café au lait, and a softboiled egg (served with some of that wonderful French country bread), and I’d eat and read the paper while my daughter napped in her carseat and I got to pretend to be a civilized human being for a few minutes.

The real treat wasn’t on the menu. There were jars on each table of a brown spread resembling peanut butter, but the taste was something at once sweeter and more complex, the texture creamy but with a delightful sandy crunch. I always saved at least one slice of my soft boiled egg bread for the pâte praline, or praline paste – a hazelnut spread that I would take over Nutella any day.

Of course, now my daughter no longer takes a morning nap, and the chance of getting any peace and quiet in a café with her is pretty slim. The café does sell the praline paste, but at nine dollars a jar it’s not a regular on my shopping list. So I set out to make it at home, armed with the empty jar, the ingredients list and the internet.

It’s helpful to know that the French word praline doesn’t refer to the pecan studded candies we in America refer to as New Orleans-style prawleens. It’s caramelized hazelnuts, which form the basis for the dish. This is really just hazelnuts mixed with a hard caramel and ground in the food processor. A little salt for flavor, and some nut oil to smooth it out, and you too can experience the wonder of what I like to call praline butter.

Toasting and skinning the hazelnuts is really the hardest part. Believe me, I’ve searched high and low for an easier and more foolproof method to do this, but I don’t think one exists. Toast two cups of hazelnuts at 325 degrees until the skins have darkened and the hazelnuts are giving off a wonderful toasty smell. Then wrap them in a dishtowel and let them steam for about 10 minutes (don’t skip this step!)

After steaming, start rubbing the hazelnuts together in the dishtowel. Move them between your hands, rub them against the towel and each other. Imagine you’re polishing a bag of marbles. Really get going. They’re not fragile. When you open up the dishtowel, they should look like this. See the bits of skinned that are rubbed off?

It’s OK if not all the skins are removed. This is a giant pain and perfectionism takes the joy out of it.

When the hazelnuts are skinned, mix 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a heavy saucepan. I like to use one with a pale interior, because it’s essential that you can see the color of the contents of the saucepan. It’s worth noting here that you should always try to use cane sugar in cooking and baking. Most recipes were developed using cane sugar, and beet sugar doesn’t act exactly the same way. I always buy branded sugar that’s specifically labeled “cane sugar” to make sure I’m getting the real thing. (If you want to sweeten your coffee with beet sugar, that’s fine).

After you’ve stirred the sugar and water, leave on medium high heat, and DON’T TOUCH. That will promote crystallization, which you don’t want. If you’re like me, or even more so, my husband, you will want to stir anything on the stove, but don’t do it. I busied myself with setting out a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (you could also try a greased marble slab, if you have such a thing, which is what all the best French candy sites recommend. I, sadly, am lacking in things such as greased marble slabs, and a cookie sheet lined with parchment works just fine), getting all the hazelnuts into the measuring cup (you don’t want to transfer all the skins you just went to the trouble to remove, and the skins can be messy if you dump out the dishtowel), and frequently checking on the sugar mixture JUST TO MAKE SURE IT WAS OK.

It takes longer than you think for the sugar to caramelize. First the sugar will dissolve in the water, then the mixture will start to boil. When you start wondering, “What if it boils away?” you’ll notice that the bubbles are changing, the mixture is more viscous. Then you’ll start to notice a slight coloring around the edges, which looks like just a trick of the light. When you see this, watch carefully, because it moves quickly at this point. The color starts to get more pronounced, still around the edges. At this point, you will want to stir to uniformly distribute the caramel, but DO NOT STIR. The caramel does not need to be uniformly distributed. Finally it will reach a lovely golden brown in its darkest part, and that’s when you add the hazelnuts. This is when I added the hazelnuts:

But there is a margin of error here. Don’t let it get too dark or the caramel will be bitter and taste burnt (and you’ll have to start all over), and too light and the flavor won’t be there (though you can continue to cook it a bit after you’ve added the nuts), but a little darker or a little lighter are fine. When it reaches the color you want, dump in the hazelnuts, and, working quickly, because this stuff hardens instantaneously, pour it out onto your waiting parchment paper. Be careful, because nothing is as hot as hot sugar, and that stuff sticks. I think it’s an underutilized tool for our military. Spray the enemy with caramel! The point is, be careful, and it’s not a bad idea to be around a copious supply of cold water.

Don’t worry about your pan or your (heat-proof) spatula. The nice thing about working with sugar as opposed to fat or protein is that it soaks right off with no problems.

When the caramel is cool enough to handle, you can play with it. (You know you want to! It’s so pretty! And fun to play with!)

Peel it off the parchment and watch the magic of stretchy caramel that instantly hardens. This is the secret of many a fancy pastry chef. This is praline.

To make the praline butter, break the caramel into pieces that will fit into your food processor. Start running your food processor, and add the pieces of broken caramel one or two at a time, and process until they’re ground. The ground mixture will look like graham cracker crumbs, but keep processing. It will start to get smooth, like thick peanut butter. At this point add a teaspoon of kosher salt, and keep processing. Start adding oil – hazelnut oil is best, but walnut oil will work too. Any neutral oil will also work in a pinch (but I’d avoid canola – I think it has a nasty aftertaste). Add a tablespoon at a time, and process until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. (I used two tablespoons of walnut oil for mine).

What to do with it?

Eat as the French do, on bread, or mix it into oatmeal. Use it as an ice cream topping or ice cream flavoring or add to buttercream for cake icing. Use it in place of peanut butter in a cookie recipe, or in place of Nutella or peanut butter (or Nutella AND peanut butter) in Scotcheroos.

Or you could just eat it with a spoon

Recipe: Hazelnut Praline Paste