Chocolate Hazelnut Panini

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups chopped hazelnuts
• 2 ounces chocolate, coarsely chopped (bittersweet or semi-sweet)
• 1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
• 8 slices whole-grain bread
• 1 pinch salt

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f spread hazelnuts on a pie plate. bake until golden brown (around 12 minutes). transfer hot hazelnuts to a mini-food processor and pulse until mixture forms a paste. add chocolate and pulse until melted.
• 2 cook half-and-half, brown sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, just until mixture comes to a boil and brown sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. pour into glass measure. with food processor running, add half-and-half mixture to chocolate-nut mixture through feed tube and puree. transfer to bowl and let cool until spreadable.
• 3 spray one side of bread slices with nonstick spray. put 4 slices, sprayed side down, on sheet of wax paper and spread each with 2 tbsp chocolate nut mixture. top with remaining slices, sprayed side up.
• 4 heat panini maker or waffle maker according to manufacturer's directions. add panini, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown, around 2 minutes. cut each panino into thirds.