Part 2: Nutella Brownies

Along with the Nutella ice cream, Lindsey and I made BROWNIES. Not just any brownies, though. Nutella ones. Many of you know that I have a sorted history with brownie creation. Usually they explode in my oven. (Don't know why that sounds incredibly dirty -- but, hey, it's early.) Or turn into a weird, oily goo.

The only other kind I've made that have actually turned out were these peanut butter frosted ones. However, between the two . . . the Nutella is far, far superior.


This photo is a bit too sun-drenched, unfortunately. But you can make out the fudgey-ness and chunks of walnuts (again, we wanted hazelnuts, but Target doesn't carry them -- and, yes, I do food shopping at Target on occasion). If you like brownies . . . or, really, even if you don't like them . . . this recipe is worth trying. The Nutella taste isn't overpowering, it just adds this delicious undertone to the whole experience. And I think it improves the texture.

What you'll need . . .

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance
• 3 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (you can try a substitute, please let me know how it turns out)
• 1/2 cup flour (I used all-purpose, but will try wheat pastry next time)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Two handfuls walnuts (or hazelnuts), chopped

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (if you're using a glass pan) or 350 degrees F (if you're using a metal pan). Lightly grease your pan with some butter or Earth Balance. By the way, the "pan" is a square one.
2. Roughly chop chocolate (or use chocolate chips) and cut butter into small pieces. Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Bring out to stir. Return to microwave for another 30 seconds, and stir again until well combined.
3. Whisk in the Nutella, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla until just combined. (DO NOT OVER MIX!)
4. Mix in the flour until just incorporated. (DO NOT OVER MIX!)
5. Stir in hazelnuts or walnuts.
6. Spread mixture into your baking pan.
7. Bake for approx. 30 minutes (if you're using a glass pan at 325 degrees F) . . . or 20-25 minutes (if you're using a metal pan at 350 degrees F).
8. Check brownies at 20 minutes. At toothpick inserted in the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs. With brownies, it's better to underbake than to overbake . . . so if your toothpick is dry -- take 'em out ASAP.

Enjoy alone or with some Nutella ice cream (as pictured above). Try not to make a batch a day -- because that's where I'm at right now.


Oh, boy. The holidays! I think because I ran a marathon, I feel it's OK for me to eat basically anything I want now. OK. I don't THINK that, I know that's my approach to life and sweets right now. The problem? I've been running only half my "usual" weekly mileage. Gotta watch that. How about the rest of you? Twitter and elsewhere indicates that many of you spent your weekends baking. I'd love to hear about it!

And a special thanks to Lindsey for baking up a storm with me this past Saturday. <3

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