In a pan, add the water and sugar, and heat until you reach ~115C ( about 1 minute after it starts boiling), At this point add the nuts in, cook until they caramelize. They will turn “sugary” after a few minutes but will return liquid afterward. Stir the whole time else you will end up with burned nuts. The whole process will take about 15 minutes. Spread the nuts on parchment paper and let cool entirely.

Break it into a few pieces and put it in a food processor. I recommend you blend for 1 minute and stop for another minute or 2 then repeat. This will ensure you don’t burn your food processor as it is a pretty intense task unless you have a Vitamix or something high-end. It will go into 3 stages, chopped nut, clumps of nut paste, and finally a spread. The whole process will take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.

At this point, you have hazelnut praline! On its own, you can’t really use this but it’s a base for multiple other end products like this spread. If you will use it for other needs, pour it in an airtight container and store it at room temperature.