the story of me and nutella + nutella brownies

before i say anything, watch this short video and you'll understand.

do you see how duncan keeps eyeballing hanna's treat?  he's yearning, aching...can't keep his eyes off it!  well, this was me and nutella yesterday (and in case, you haven't figured it out, i was darty eyes and nutella was the treat).

i brought the entire 26 oz. jar of nutella with me to work yesterday.  and my mistake was leaving it out on my desk, instead of putting it away.  needless to say, i was mad with gluttony and my eyes were shifting from my computer monitor to nutella...monitor...nutella...monitor...nutella...

i may or may not have taken a few spoonfuls straight from the jar.

so what did i learn?  it's a very bad idea to leave nutella in direct sight.  very very bad idea.

now, onto business.  initially, i wanted to give nutella whoopie pies a go, but they seemed so much more complicated than nutella brownies.  and in the end, easy will always win over difficult.  and anyway, how can you turn down brownies?  you just can't!

nutella brownies (recipe adapted from my food blog)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup nutella

preheat oven to 350°F. 

in a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together. set aside. 
on low heat, melt the butter in a pot. add the vanilla and sugar while stirring the mixture until combined. remove from the heat and cool.  
add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each time before adding the next.  
add the sifted dry ingredients to the egg mixture gradually.
heat the nutella container in the microwave until it has a runny consistency (about 30-40 seconds). add the nutella to the batter and mix.  
pour the batter into a buttered  pan. bake for about 30 minutes.  
remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.


*you may have noticed i made a few adjustments to the original recipe.  i used about half the sugar it originally called for (and i'd dare to cut it down to about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup next time i make these).  also, i only used 3 eggs, instead of 4.  i like my brownies fudgier and more dense. and i found that the chocolate chips aren't necessary.  these are already super chocolatey without!

don't be fooled by his seemingly reluctant look.  mase loved them!

i'm going to make a bold statement and say these are the best brownies i've made to date (this has been confirmed by a reliable source).  delightfully fudgy pieces of nutella brownie happiness.  there's just nothing else to say about it.

oh! except that if you make these, be sure to not to eat all in one sitting.  i believe these are best the next day.

-jillian m.