Nutella Nirvana {Recipes}

If you're on a diet, this is your warning to stop reading now.

As some of you may know, I've been on a serious Nutella kick lately. Perhaps it's because World Nutella Day just passed on February 5th (am I the only one who thinks Feb. 5th should be a national holiday?) or because I discovered that Costco sells giant size jars (in a Costco style two pack of course). Regardless, the Nutella has been flowing in my kitchen lately and it's been heavenly. Try these and report back. 

Nutella Brownies:

• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 cup  sugar
• 1 cup  brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 4 large  eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup  all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4cup cocoa
• 1⁄2teaspoon  baking powder
• 1 cup nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Grease a 13x9" glass baking dish.
2. Using an electric mixer, combine sugars & vanilla with melted butter. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each egg.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and baking powder.
4. Add flour mixture slowly to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture. Mix well.
5. In the microwave, heat Nutella until it thins out a bit (approximately 1 minute). Stir it well. Stir the softened, melted Nutella into the batter. then pour it into a prepared baking dish.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

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Grilled Nutella & Marshmallow Sandwiches:

This dessert has appropriately been referred to as the love child of s’mores and a grilled cheese.

Makes 2 sandwiches

INGREDIENTS:
4 slices soft white bread
2 tablespoons Nutella (or more, or less — depending on your taste!)
40 mini marshmallows*
2 tablespoons butter, divided

*You can also sub in 2 tablespoons (or more!) of marshmallow fluff.

PREPARATION:
1. Spread Nutella on two slices of bread, 1 tablespoon on each slice. Spread marshmallows out evenly on the other two slices, 20 on each each slice. Pair them together to make two sandwiches.

2. Heat a small skillet or grill pan over medium-low heat, then melt half a tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Put one sandwich in the skillet and cook until the underside is golden brown, about a minute and a half. Add another half a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, flip the sandwich and cook until both sides are golden brown and the marshmallows are melted, about a minute and a half. 

Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter & Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies :

adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Makes approx. 2 1/2 dozen cookies

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until blended. Beat in the egg and egg yolk, one at a time. Then add in the vanilla and yogurt and mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill your dough and Nutella for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350°. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball. Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. If necessary, use small bits of dough to plug the gaps.  Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten, just slightly, with your hand VERY gently.

Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Sprinkle with sea salt right after they come out of the oven, and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

I suggest making a batch and keeping them in the freezer for whenever someone pisses you off, breaks your heart or you just have a bad day. You know what I'm talking about. Remember, Nutella makes everything better!


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