Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Arrange your hazelnuts in a single layer on the sheet pan and roast for about 10-15 minutes. The goal is to warm the hazelnuts and bring out their natural oils. When they're ready, you should start to notice their aroma wafting from the oven.

Remove from the oven and pour the roasted hazelnuts onto a clean dish towel. Rub as many of the skins off the nuts as you can, but don't worry about achieving perfection. Just do what you can and move on.

Pour the hazelnuts into your food processor or high speed blender. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Blend for 2-3 minutes until the hazelnuts start to break into pieces. Stop occasionally to stir down the paste until it turns into a creamy nut butter. Take breaks every few minutes to avoid overheating your food processor. Continue blending until smooth and creamy.

Once blended smooth, taste the hazelnut butter and add more salt if desired. This is also a good time to add any sweetener you'd like. If adding the sweetener causes the nut butter to thicken and become clumpy, just keep blending until it reaches your desired smoothness. If you struggle to get it to smooth out, add a drizzle of oil (completely optional).

Transfer the hazelnut butter to a glass jar and store in an airtight container at room temperature if you use honey or sugar or in the fridge if you use maple syrup.