Tag Archives: Nutella

September 11, 2012 · 10:39 am

Triple Chocolate Nutella Zucchini Muffins

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We are still working on getting through the numerous monster zucchini that came out of our zucchini forest this summer.

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After a fall at a church young women camp, I spent most of the summer in this:

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I had spent a good portion of spring digging out old dirt and hauling in new topsoil to help rejuvenate our garden. The new soil made a huge difference and we ended up with zucchini plants that were almost as tall as me. I realize that at 5’2”, that is not a huge accomplishment, but for zucchini, I thought that was pretty impressive. Our garden is planted on a tiered hill, which was impossible for me to navigate in my new fashionable summer footwear. The plants were so tall that I had a really hard time getting my kids to wade through the jungle looking for squash. For some reason ratatouille and zucchini fritters (some of my favorites) were not a huge motivation for them to risk life and limb in the outback. However, when I switched to making zucchini brownies, pumpkin zucchini muffins and these chocolate zucchini muffins, I found I had ample volunteers!

And when they came across this little guy hiding out in the cucumber plants, they spent a good portion of the rest of the summer searching for living, crawling things in the garden.

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If you still have zucchini that you are working your way through, these muffins, spiked with Nutella and chocolate chips, make for a great breakfast (especially for a couple dozen awesome teenagers at 6am!) or a much appreciated lunchbox addition.

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RECIPE:

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Triple Chocolate Nutella Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Nutella
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk or kefir (or sour milk**)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom or nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line regular muffin pans with paper or foil cups. Or use large Reynolds Foil 3 1/2” baking cups (these are self-standing-just arrange on a baking sheet).

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, Nutella, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in zucchini.

In a separate bowl, use a whisk to mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cardamom or nutmeg. Add mixed dry ingredients to wet ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into muffin cups (fill about 3/4 full).

For regular muffins: Bake 15-18 minutes.
For large muffins: Bake 20-25 minutes.

Yield: About 36 regular muffins or 20 large muffins (made with 3 1/2” baking cups)

**To make sour milk: place 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar in a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Add milk to 1/2 cup line. Let sit 5 minutes

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September 21, 2011 · 3:10 pm

Nutella (or Cinnamon) Swirled Buttermilk Coffee Cake

091711 023-1Nutella Swirled Coffee Cake

Last week we were swimming in coffee cake around here. Unfortunately, it was not the kind of swimming that helps trim inches off of my waistline. Good thing there were lots of hungry skinny children lurking around!

I was bringing breakfast to our seminary class on Friday, and wanted to try a new recipe, so I had to give it a test run at home earlier in the week. I ended up making quite a few changes to the original recipe, including swapping out the traditional cinnamon topping on one batch with one made from ooey, gooey chocolaty Nutella.

The first batches I made for home (shown in the pictures) used pecans, but I used walnuts the second time around for our class. I preferred the walnuts, but I almost always prefer walnuts over pecans, so choose whichever nut you prefer. Both the cinnamon and Nutella topped varieties were really good. The cake part was moist and light, and just slightly tangy from using buttermilk.

091711 021-1Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

To distribute the chocolaty/cinnamony goodness throughout the cake, I layered half of the batter in the pan, added half of the topping, then repeated the layers.  The Nutella topping was very sticky; it was easiest to just use my fingers to drop small amounts onto the batter. It melts nicely into the cake while cooking.091711 002-1For an extra dose of chocolate, sprinkle some chocolate chips (not shown in this picture) on top of the Nutella layers.

091711 003-1The cinnamon topping is crumbly and can be sprinkled easily.

I split the batter and made one of each variety in two 8×8” square pans, instead of one large 9×13” pan. Just an FYI: the full batch that I made later in a standard 9×13” pan rose right to the top edge of the pan when baked, so be sure to use a pan that doesn’t have low sides!

The only down-side of this recipe is that it uses a lot of mixing bowls (four!), but the end result is definitely worth an extra run of the dishwasher.

Recipe:

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Buttermilk Coffee Cake
————–(adapted from Pioneer Woman)

3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

3 egg whites, beaten until stiff

1 1/2  cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup butter (1-½ sticks), softened
1 1/2 cups sugar

Nutella Swirl or Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare topping in a small bowl; set aside.(Choose your topping below for a 9×13” cake, or make one of each in two 8×8” pans, halving topping amounts)

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff; set aside. Stir vanilla into buttermilk. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until barely combined. Beat just until flour is incorporated; do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in beaten egg whites.

Spread half of the batter in a well-greased 9 x 13” baking pan (I used baking spray with flour). Sprinkle with half of the topping. Spread remaining batter into pan; sprinkle with remaining topping.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until center is set.
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NUTELLA SWIRL TOPPING:

3/4 cup butter (1-½ sticks), softened
3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 scant tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix together all ingredients, except chocolate chips. Mixture will be sticky. Using your fingers, drop small amounts of Nutella filling onto first layer of batter. Sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips. Repeat layers.

CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING:

1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbs cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix together all ingredients, except nuts, using a pastry cutter or two knifes until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle half of topping onto first layer of batter. Repeat layers.

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June 7, 2011 · 9:48 am

Strawberry Nutella Muffins

051711 074-1After bringing these muffins to our early morning seminary class, I have had several requests for the recipe. So I am going to take a break from days full of never-ending weeding in my yard and nights full of endless softball games to share them with you. Strawberries are just beginning to arrive at the farmers markets and pick-your-own farms here in western PA, so it is a perfect time to make these muffins. And everything tastes better with a little Nutella swirled in!

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I found this recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod, and just couldn’t resist making them. The only changes that I made to the recipe were to add more strawberries than called for, and probably more Nutella. I didn’t actually measure the Nutella; I just scooped it out of the jar to put in the center of the muffins.

As with most muffin batters, to keep them from being dry and dense, you do not want to overstir the batter. There should still be some streaks of flour in the batter.

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Fill the muffin cups halfway with batter. Place a dollop (about a tablespoon: I just used a soup spoon straight from the jar) of Nutella on the batter. You do not need to spread it around. Nutella can be kind of thick at room temperature. I warmed the Nutella first in the microwave for about 30 seconds. This made it really easy to drizzle the Nutella from a spoon onto the batter. My jar was almost empty, so I just heated the Nutella in the jar. If you are only using part of your jar, you might want to spoon some into a small bowl before heating it.

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Top with another scoop of batter, until the muffin cups are about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. This is a coarse raw sugar. You could use regular sugar if you don’t have it, but turbinado sugar does make a nice crystally (I’m sure that’s not a real word, but it should be) crust.

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These are best served warm while the Nutella is soft and gooey.

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Here is the original recipe from Maria, with my notes at the end on the slight changes that I made.

RECIPE:

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Strawberry Nutella Muffins
————(from Two Peas & Their Pod)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/3 cup Nutella
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of muffins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

3. In a small bowl, combine canola oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Use a fork or whisk and mix until well combined.

5. Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture.  Add slowly and gently stir, you don’t want to over mix.  The batter will be thick. Carefully fold in the strawberries.

6. Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Next, add a small spoonful of Nutella to each muffin cup. Cover the Nutella filling with the remaining batter. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar.

7. Bake muffins for 17-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Makes 9 muffins

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Kelly’s notes: I used coconut oil instead of canola oil. I didn’t measure the Nutella, I just used a spoon and scooped straight from the jar, but I probably used a little more than 1/3 cup. I heated the Nutella for about 30 seconds in the microwave before using (to make for easier drizzling). I also used more strawberries than called for (about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups). I ended up with 12 muffins, and I needed to bake mine for 23 minutes before they were cooked through.

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May 5, 2011 · 10:44 am

Quick & Easy Nutella Crescent Rolls

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A quick and easy idea today that isn’t really a recipe, as it only contains three ingredients: a tube of packaged crescent rolls, a jar of Nutella and some chopped nuts. I used walnuts, but chopped hazelnuts, pecans or almonds would also be good. These are the jumbo-sized rolls, but you can make them with any of the varieties.

Great for kids to make for a Mother’s Day breakfast (or dessert). And always popular with hungry teenagers after early-morning seminary.

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Open tube of crescent rolls; separate dough into triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

3711 129-1Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown. Serve warm.

RECIPE:

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Nutella Crescent Rolls
———-(adapted from Deep Dish South)

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (regular or jumbo)
Nutella
Finely chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pecans)

Unroll and separate raw crescent roll triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown (about 15-18 minutes at 350°F for the jumbo size).

Cool slightly. Serve warm.

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November 27, 2010 · 4:11 pm

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Nutella Cookies

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DAY 3: Chewy, chocolaty, nutty goodness. I didn’t have hazelnuts, so I substituted chopped almonds. They were really good, but next time I will use hazelnuts so that the Nutella flavor comes through stronger.

101510 036-3 Love Nutella? Try this Pumpkin Nutella Bread Recipe!

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RECIPE:

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Chocolate Nutella Cookies
————(from Simply Recipes)

¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of Nutella
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 – 1 cup of chopped hazelnuts or almonds

Preheat oven to 350°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 nuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes.

Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F for 9-12 minutes (do not over bake; cookies will look slightly underdone). Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 5-6 dozen

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES (2010) RECAP:
DAY 1: Raspberry Crumb Bars
DAY 2: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

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October 22, 2010 · 12:41 pm

Pumpkin Nutella Bread

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Don’t you love it that you can mix together the same basic ingredients, but bake it in a loaf pan instead of a round pan, and you suddenly have bread for “breakfast”, instead of cake for “dessert” ?!

Add a couple of ingredients like Pumpkin and Nutella, and you’ve just added vegetables and nuts (ie protein!), and now you can really fool yourself into thinking that you are eating a balanced meal.

If you have never eaten Nutella, you are definitely missing out. It is a creamy, spreadable combination of ground hazelnuts and chocolate. Cooking with it leaves you with a great excuse to lick that spatula clean-just don’t do it when your kids are around, or there will be lots of tears when you don’t share.

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I brought this Pumpkin Nutella Bread, along with some banana and zucchini breads, to our Seminary class for breakfast this morning, and it was the first to go! Although at six in the morning, a class full of teenagers will eat just about anything sweet.

The batter is a basic pumpkin bread batter, with Nutella beat into part of it, and then swirled together in a loaf pan.

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The Nutella swirls were especially moist and rich!

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This was the first time I’ve tried adding Nutella to my pumpkin bread, but I will definitely continue making it this way from now on!

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RECIPE:

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Pumpkin Nutella Bread

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1 16oz can of pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

Stir together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Stir into pumpkin mixture.  Remove 2 cups of batter and place in a small bowl. Using the mixer, beat the Nutella into the batter in the small bowl until smooth.

Grease and flour two medium loaf pans (or make one large loaf and several mini loaves or muffins). Spoon half of pumpkin batter, and then half of chocolate batter into the loaf pans. Swirl with a butter knife. Repeat layers with remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters. Swirl again.

Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, or until top of loaf springs back when touched gently (or toothpick comes out clean). Check bread after about 30 minutes: cover loosely with foil if it is beginning to brown too quickly.

Yield: 2 medium loaves

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