Nutella Brownies

Happy World Nutella day!

It is so cold and snowy in St. Louis these days, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to warm up the oven for these ultimate comfort brownies.

I am always looking for any excuse to bake and celebrate!

These Nutella brownies are a fantastic way to celebrate the merging of two cultures!  Combining chewy chocolaty American brownies, with creamy delicious hazelnut Italian Nutella, is a fantastic tribute to our culinary and cultural histories.  The Nutella flavor is somewhat subtle in these brownies, so don’t forget the chopped hazelnuts to really amplify the chocolate hazelnut goodness!

Bake, eat, share, love!

Nutella Brownies
adapted from from Buns in My Oven

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 cup Nutella
4 large eggs
1 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 cups chopped dry roasted (unsalted) hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 13x9x2 inch glass pan.

Melt butter in a medium/large saucepan, over medium low heat.  Add the sugar and stir constantly for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the Nutella.

Stir in the eggs, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and hazelnut and vanilla extracts to the butter-sugar mixture.  Stir vigorously until thoroughly combined.

Slowly add the flour and stir until just combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts.

Spread the batter into the greased 13x9x2 glass pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Confession of a *wannabe* foodie… How long can I justify celebrating World Nutella Day… a day… a week… a month?!?

Brown Butter Brownies

I owe my discovery of these amazing, chewy, fudgy, nutty, crispy and delicious brownies to vegetable stew!   The February Issue of Bon Appetit included an intriguing recipe for Lentil and Vegetable Stew with Kale.  With only two of us in the house, however, I was hesitant to test the recipe for fear of endless leftovers.  As I perused the rest of the magazine, the recipe for these Brown Butter Brownies screamed MAKE ME TOO!!  What a perfect dinner, a healthy vegetable stew, followed by brown butter brownies and ice cream!  I knew my mother would be proud (she taught me the beauty of salad for dinner and ice cream for dessert), so I invited her over for the recipe taste testing.  Sure, the vegetable stew was tasty, but the brownies, oh… the brownies!!   

I refuse to admit how often I have made these brownies since my original discovery.  Today, I took a batch to the Saint Louis Share our Strength Bakesale at the Sappington Farmer’s Market.

Confession of a *wannabe* foodie… No confession needed, you will never make boxed brownies again!!

Brown Butter Brownies adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
11/2  cup walnut pieces

PREP
Preheat to 325°F.

Line an 8x8x2-inch square metal baking pan with foil.  Make sure the foil covers all four sides, and overhangs by a few inches on at least two (provides leverage for removing the brownies once they are baked). Coat foil with nonstick spray.

MIX
Melt the butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted, continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan.  Stir frequently!

Remove the browned butter from heat and add the sugar, cocoa, water, vanilla, and salt. Stir to vigorously until the mixture is thick (the batter may look a little funky at this point, but will become smooth and glossy once you add the eggs).

Cool for 5 minutes, and then add the eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition until the mixture is smooth and shiny.  Stir in the flour and mix until just combined, and then add in the nuts (I use the large halved walnuts for this recipe).

BAKE
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for around 25 minutes.

Cool the brownies on a drying rack, and then lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil overhang.  Gently peel the foil from the brownies and cut into perfect squares.

Simply Amazing.