Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Dear Mr. Pietro Ferrero, 

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for inventing "Pasta Gianduja" or as we have come to know it, Nutella, in 1946. Because of your incredible creation you have brought me hours at the gym joy in eating, and just as much happiness baking with this wonderful chocolaty goodness. It is rare that something that is quite simple in ingredients would sweep nations and cause almost "mass hysteria" when showcased in a dessert. You have done an outstanding public service, and for that I'm eternally grateful!

Sincerely,

Susi's Kochen und Backen Adventures

Oh yeah, my love for Nutella is like no other. I'm hardcore and prefer it straight up, with a spoon, but also can't pass up a great dessert made with this stuff. So it was only logical when I came across today's recipe and saw it was utilizing one whole cup of the brown gold, that I had to make it. Another good reason (or justification), all three of my kids are on spring break and we all know that kids and cookies go together hand in hand, right? This recipe makes for pretty thin, crispy cookies, but the center stays semi-soft. Most of my family prefers big thick chewy cookies, but I haven't heard any complaints so far and the batch is almost gone. 

This cookie doesn't look fancy, but don't let that deceive you. The batter is kicked up with the addition of Nutella, chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Both of the latter ingredients mimicking Nutella and with that, the cookie is full of flavor and depth. 

The batch makes quite a lot of cookies, but after sending some to work with my husband and countless neighbor-kids "passing by", there are only a handful left. I had a couple of 9 year old boys tell me that I make the best homemade cookies. That made my day and earned this recipe a permanent spot in my recipe files. So, if you are like me and harbor a quite unnatural love for Nutella and cookies, don't wait to make these little guys. There is never a wrong time to bake cookies and these chocolaty gems taste great with a big tall glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

Nutella Chocolate Cookies

 ~makes 6 dozen~

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup Nutella

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix for 10 seconds.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda (do not skip this step as sifting eliminates clumps of cocoa). Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides at least once to ensure even mixing. Fold in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes.

Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Adapted from: Simply Recipes

Nutella Espresso Mousse

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! I know a lot of people think this is a Hallmark holiday, but it is nonetheless a great day to show that special person in your life how much you love them. And what better way to show that, than in the form of food, by making a dinner at home from scratch rather than going out. We always stay home, but that is because Valentine's Day is also my husbands birthday. I always cook him a special by request meal and tomorrow will be no different. He picked a wonderful authentic German meal for his birthday dinner and he could not be more excited about it. If you are a fan of my facebook page you know I have already spilled the beans of what I'm cooking. The recipes will certainly be featured soon. Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you already have your dinner plans for tomorrow firmed up as well, but if you are still looking for that final touch without a lot of fuss, then look no further.

Sometimes we tend to "over-think" desserts when in reality, simple can just be as effective and tasty. I had it in my head that I wanted to feature a chocolate mousse. After looking through some of my cookbooks I knew I didn't want to mess with raw eggs in my recipe that many versions suggested. I was looking for something simpler. I also wanted to kick up the flavors so instead of chocolate I decided I was going to use Nutella. Trying to think of ways to enhance the hazelnut flavor, Frangelico liqueur was my logical choice and to take it just a step further I figured espresso powder would harmonize with the mousse as well. For the espresso powder I have come to love the Starbucks Via packets. They pack a lot of flavor and incorporate beautifully into wet or dry ingredients.

This recipe literally does not get much easier and with only a handful of ingredients it won't break the bank either. Heavy Cream, a Starbucks Via packet, Frangelico liqueur and of course the star of this concoction; Nutella. The ingredients get mixed with a handmixer until everything comes together and the mixture forms soft peaks. Fill into your favorite dessert glasses and chill for a few hours in the refrigerator. Before serving, you can top the mousse with additional whipped cream or simply place some fruit on top. Easy, yet elegant, and the flavor is amazing! It tastes rich, full of chocolate with a hint of coffee. Even my non-chocolate loving husband gave this one the thumbs up. Think of this one as a chocolate pudding for grown-ups and spoil your special someone with this recipe tomorrow, he or she might thank you later ;o)

Nutella Espresso Mousse
(A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original) 
~makes 4 servings~

(Printable Version)

Ingredients:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1 Starbucks Via Italian Roast Packet (1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder will work also)
 2 tablespoons Frangelico liqueur (Kahlua would be wonderful as well)
3/4 cup Nutella
Whipped Cream and Berries for topping (optional)

Preparation:
Combine heavy cream and espresso powder in a medium mixing bowl. Stir together. Add Frangelico and Nutella. Beat with an electric mixer 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and continue beating until soft peaks form. At this point the mousse is very soft/loose, but will firm up once chilled. Divide the mixture into the serving dishes of your choice and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
If desired, top with additional whipped cream or berries just before serving.

Nutella-Pistachio Biscotti

 

I'm here to tell you about my absolute biggest weakness ever. Nutella! This delectable chocolate hazelnut cream might as well be my drug of choice. I adore any and everything containing the brown gold, but honestly in a pinch a spoon and the jar will suffice. I'm pretty sure you remember one of my favorite ice creams this year: Nutella Ice Cream. What a treat this was and since it is so easy I have made it several times more since it was featured on my blog. In fact, my sister who is visiting has been begging me to make it so she can try it as well and I might just have to oblige.

I'm sure you are wondering where I'm going with this declaration of addiction love but I do have a point for admitting my weakness in a public forum. See, I was craving something with Nutella a few days ago and knew I had to satisfy the monster or it would only get worse from there. My husband (bless his heart) knows about this obsession all to well and being the good man he is, he went on the internet to find me a recipe I could not only eat, but also blog about. Now, that is what I call love! This is how he came about this biscotti recipe and I was immediately sold, especially after I remembered that biscotti could very well be consumed with a cup of coffee for breakfast (lunch or dinner), just don't tell anyone I encourage this.

The recipe is again super easy (see a trend here), but since the cookies are baked twice (hence the name, which means "twice baked" in Italian) it is a little time consuming. I think this was truly the first time I made a biscotti recipe and it just "worked". In the past I didn't have problems with baking it the first time, but once I had to slice the cookies for the second round of baking, disaster struck and the biscotti always fell apart unless I cut them way thicker than they should have been and then you might as well keep your dentist on speed dial. Well, that all changed with this recipe. Eggs and sugar are whisked in a stand mixer (or you can do the whole recipe by hand with a little muscle power) Nutella is incorporated until the mix is emulsified. Flour, baking powder, and a little salt are added and finally shelled, rough chopped pistachios are thrown into the mix. The dough is pretty tough and sticky at this point but you turn it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat, grease your hands a little and form the dough into two equal logs. They are baked for about 25 minutes, then cooled for 10 before slicing and baking them again. The final step, once the cookies are cooled, is to make a glaze for the biscotti out of Nutella, powdered sugar and boiling water. As you can see by the pictures, I made some drizzled with the glaze, but also left about half of them plain and I almost like them better that way even though my kids are protesting right now as I'm typing this since they liked them glazed better.

This is my favorite new biscotti recipe and I might just have to have a tin filled with those around at all times. Even my chocolate hating husband snuck a few for breakfast and loved them. I also think they look really pretty with the green pistachios poking out here and there and I'm planning to make them around Christmas time again to add to my cookie plates, but with the addition of cranberries or cherries for an even more festive look. So, all my Nutella loving friends and readers out there, I hope you'll give this recipe a try and love it as much as we did!

Nutella-Pistachio Biscotti
(adapted from Christmas-Cookies.com)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Nutella, divided
1 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons boiling water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together 3 eggs, 1 egg yolk (reserve the extra egg white) and 1 cup granulated sugar until well mixed. Add 3/4 cup Nutella; mix well. Gently stir in flour, salt and baking powder along with the pistachios.

Divide dough in half and form into two 12 x 2-inch logs on prepared baking sheet. Brush logs with remaining egg white and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating baking sheet once after 15 minutes to ensure even baking.

Turn oven down to 300 degrees F. Remove logs from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. While warm, cut logs  width-wise on slight diagonal to form  1/2 inch-wide strips. Lay on sides on baking sheet. Bake cookies for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from baking sheet.

When cool, in a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup Nutella, powdered sugar and boiling water until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cookies with fork or dip one end of each cookie into glaze. Dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour to set the glaze.

Ice Cream Fridays: Nutella Ice Cream with Frangelico

Welcome to another edition of Ice Cream Fridays. Every Friday during the next few months (or until I get tired of it) you can look forward to a new ice cream recipe which will hopefully inspire you to break out your old dust covered ice cream maker that is hiding somewhere in a closet (yes, I'm talking about you). Since I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas, feel free to leave me a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page, and let me know what ice cream flavor you would like to see. Who knows, you might just get lucky and it will be featured the following week.

Since July is National Ice Cream month, which was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, lots and lots of ice cream recipes have been popping up all over the blog world. At least once a day, I will have one ice cream recipe made by one of the blogs I read pop up. Trying to come up with different flavors is actually becoming harder and harder. You can find any and everything from plain vanilla and chocolate to the very fancy ice creams, some even containing basil, lavender or other exotic flavorings, on all kinds of blogs.

So this week I decided to keep it easy and simple, and make a quick ice cream that did not require me to turn on my stove, which right now with temperatures well over 110 degrees, is a welcome relief. A blender is all you need for this ice cream. I was looking all over the place for a good recipe including one of my all-time favorites: Nutella. If you have never had it, you're missing out big time on this delectable chocolate hazelnut cream that originated in Italy. I couldn't settle on one single recipe, so I decided to combine a few that I found, and make it my own. One of the recipes called for vodka, but being the "rebel" that I am I decided to use a liqueur that I thought would complement this ice cream so much better, hence the Frangelico, a hazelnut liqueur.

The ingredients are simply put in a blender, mixed up and then chilled for a while in the refrigerator before churning them in an ice cream maker. 

The result; a most wonderful creamy ice cream that reminded me a lot of gianduja gelato, which is one of my all-time favorites. This ice cream was so good, I could easily eat it every day. Even my chocolate hating husband was in love with this one, and that to me is the best compliment ever.

If you are as excited about Nutella as I am, then this ice cream is most definitely a requirement to make!

Nutella Ice Cream with Frangelico

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Nutella

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups milk (I used 1 %)

2-3 tablespoons Frangelico

Preparation:

In a blender add the Nutella, sugar, heavy cream, milk, and Frangelico. Mix until well blended. Refrigerate mixture for about 3 hours, or until well chilled.

Churn ice cream according to your ice cream manufacturer's directions.

Freeze for 4 hours before serving.

Molten Lava Cakes with Frangelico and Nutella Centers

A mix between a flour-less chocolate cake, a souffle and a pudding, molten lava cakes are the epitome of decadence for me. As an admitted chocoholic it doesn't get much better then this but I figured why not try and take this classic dessert, which appears to have been invented in France, and take it over the top.

What better way to do so, then adding Nutella and one of my favorite liqueurs, Frangelico into the mix.

Essentially all molten lava cakes are composed of 4 main ingredients: chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar. What flavorings or centers one may add is up to each persons creativity and the possibilities are endless. I hope you'll give my version a try and let me know how it turned out.

Molten Lava Cakes with Frangelico and Nutella Centers

~serves 4~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

11 tablespoons unsalted Butter

4 ounces Ghirardelli 60 % Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar

2 ounces Ghirardelli Semi-sweet Chocolate Baking Bar

2 tablespoons Frangelico (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

8 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons Nutella

1/4 cup Hazelnuts, chopped

Strawberry Sauce (optional), recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and center oven rack. Spray 4 small ramekins with cooking spray to coat evenly. 

Place butter and chocolate into a double boiler and allow to melt completely over the steaming water. Stir frequently. After the chocolate and butter are melted take them off the heat and add the Frangelico (if kids are eating, the liqueur can be replaced with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract), stir to combine.

Place eggs and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. With the whisk attachment, mix on medium-high speed until they become light in color and thick (about 8-9 minutes). After the eggs and sugar are at the right consistency, add the flour and mix together. Pour the chocolate-butter very slowly into the egg mixture, mixing on low until well combined and a sheen develops (about 5-6 minutes).

Place your prepared ramekins onto a cooking sheet. Ladle the chocolate batter halfway up the side of each dish. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Nutella on top of the batter in each bowl. Add the remainder of the batter on top of the Nutella in each ramekin, being careful not to overfill.

Bake ramekins for 12-14 minutes or until the outside is solid and the top appears to be soft and doesn't jiggle anymore.

After the cakes are baked, remove them from the oven,  and carefully place a plate on top of each one and quickly invert it. With a kitchen towel, remove the ramekin; the cake should fall right out.

Garnish the cakes with the chopped hazelnuts and the strawberry sauce (optional).

Serve immediately. 

They also taste great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Strawberry Sauce:

8 ounces (about 12 medium) Strawberries, fresh or frozen

1 - 2 tablespoons sugar

Place strawberries in food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Add as much or little sugar as needed based on sweetness of berries. Stir, and set aside.

Hazelnut Nutella Pound Cake

 

My daughter has been bugging me to come up with a recipe that incorporates Nutella into it. With this in mind I set out to create a cake that incorporated the sweet chocolate flavor but also played on the hazelnuts that are in the Nutella. Another requirement was to find the perfect balance to ensure the cake wasn't overly sweet and most of all that my husband would eat, since he prefers anything without chocolate. The cake turned out great and came together very quickly. The cake is perfect with a cup of coffee for breakfast or even for dessert, especially if you add a scoop of vanilla or coffee ice cream. If you love Nutella as much as we do in our house you'll need to give this pound cake a try. 

Hazelnut Nutella Pound Cake

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup hazelnuts, finely ground or chopped

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 oz. (about 1 cup) Nutella

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan and dust with flour, set aside.

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, ground hazelnuts, baking powder and salt.  

Combine the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

With the mixer on low speed add the flour-hazelnut mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don't over mix.

Spread about 1/3 of the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Add 1/2 of the Nutella over the batter and smooth as well. Add another 1/3 of the batter and the rest of the Nutella making sure to smooth each addition. Finish with the remaining batter and smooth the top. Run a knife through the cake to create a marbling effect.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown  and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then invert it onto a wire rack, making sure to turn it right side up on the rack to cool completely. 

You can store the uneaten cake wrapped well at room temperature for up to 3 days.