Nutella Banana Bread

I had a bunch of very ripe bananas on my counter the other day. Normally, I would unravel the skin and store them in my freezer for smoothie days. But, I already had about 4 or 5 bananas in the freezer, so I didn't need to add anymore. Of course, the easy option is to make banana bread, and that's precisely what I did. However, this isn't your basic/boring banana bread. This is banana bread swirled with nutella via A Cup of Jo. Mmmm. Nutella. The best! This recipe calls for 2 loaves of bread, so I brought one to volleyball. They loved it. I also gave one to my little ol' neighbor, because she gave me a bunch of peonies from her yard. Well, I was walking my dogs the other day, and she ran out (as fast as she could) to let me know know how much she looooved the banana bread. She actually wants this recipe, too. So, you have several reviews right there letting you know how good is this bread! Please give it a try, and you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:
3 large or 4 medium (2 cups mashed) bananas, yellow with brown speckles
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. rum, optional
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Nutella

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
 Next, take out two loaf pans and prep it by inserting parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray. Or, flour and oil it very well. Set aside.

Take a medium bowl and mash the bananas with a potato masher, and set aside. Take out another medium bowl, and combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together, and set aside.
Next, take out your standing mixer and mix the butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, rum (if using), and eggs. Gradually, add in the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir until just smooth, and then add in the bananas and stir until just combined.

Now, go ahead and microwave the nutella for about 20 seconds to soften. Drizzle about 2/3 of the nutella into the batter. Use a spatula to gently fold in the nutella, but don't overmix. You want to see the swirls when you cut into the banana bread once it's baked. Pour half the batter into one loaf pan, and pour the remaining batter into another loaf pan. Add the rest of the nutella on top of the batter, and swirl with a knife. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan, remove, and enjoy!

Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars

"If this fell on the ground; I would pick it up and eat it and never regret it." This was told to me by a fellow co-worker after he inhaled one of these scrumptious cheesecake bars. There's your answer whether or not these little devils are good or not. This was the second recipe I used from Sallys Baking Addiction to include in my cookie bag. They have a velvety, nutellay (made up word), and cheesy taste. The graham cracker crust gives it a nice little crunch and help hold everything together. This recipe was quite simple to make, and as you can see from the above quote very much loved. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Crust
12 full-sheet graham crackers (or 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs)
6 Tablespoons (90 grams) melted unsalted butter
1/3 cup (67 grams) granulated sugar

 Filling
16 ounces cream cheese (2 standard packages or 450g), softened to room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup (100g) Nutella, slightly warmed*

First, pre-heat your oven to 350 and get out an 8x8 baking dish. Place parchment paper in the baking dish so enough hangs over the edge. Set aside.

If you're using graham crackers then you will need to take out your food processor and place the crackers in the processor and pulse until it's a fine crumb. Get out a medium bowl and pour in the graham cracker crumbs, add in the melted butter, and sugar. Stir well, and pour into the baking dish and press down gently. Bake for 5 minutes, and then take out and set aside.

Now, in your standing mixer add in your cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy; about 3 minutes. Pour the mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. Gently spread evenly. Take the warmed nutella and dump in batches onto the cream cheese mixture. Take a knife and make swirls. Then, bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cheesecake has set and the edges are a golden brown. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes, and then place in the fridge to further cool for about 3 hours. Enjoy!

Nutella Swirl Bundt Cake

Our friends hosted a Fourth of July cookout. We were asked to bring a side dish for those who wanted to bring something. I, on the other hand, wanted to bring a dessert. I know whenever I go to a cookout I always want something sweet after the main course. However, I wasn't sure what I wanted to bake. I contemplated bringing this lime pie, see's fudge, or finding something on the Internet that I've never made before. Ultimately, I opted to bring something I've never made. I found this recipe from My Catholic Kitchen , and I thought it sounded pretty good. You know how much I love nutella (at least you do if you've been reading this blog long enough) and a bundt cake is a fairly easy cake to make. Unfortunately, it didn't come out of the bundt pan too well. This is probably because I left to go to the pool and it sat too long in the pan. Oh well. It still tasted great. I thought it had the right amount of sweetness. Overall, it was a big hit as I had no leftovers to take home with me. And, the cook out was a smashing success. Lots of good food, great company, and we even got to see some fireworks.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella spread

First take out your bundt pan and grease well with cooking oil spray. Set aside. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Now, take out your mixing bowl and add your softened butter and the sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, add your eggs one at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Add in the vanilla. Then, add in the flour alternating with the buttermilk and finishing with the flour. Pour half the batter into the bundt pan. Then, microwave for 30 seconds the nutella. Pour as evenly as you can the nutella spread onto the batter. Then, add the remaining batter. Take a bamboo stick or chopsticks and swirl it in the batter. Bake for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes in the oven. Rotate the pan half way thru to ensure even baking. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Sprinkle with powder sugar if you desire.

Nutella Cream Tart

What better way to start out the new year than with a Nutella tart? Yep. That's precisely what we did on New Year's Eve. I was tasked to bring a dessert to the New Year's Eve party, and how could I resist making a Nutella dessert? Well, to break up the Nutella-monotony; I brought this Brown Butter Ice Cream, which was also a big hit. Thanks to Megan's Cookin for posting this recipe. It is so, so, so good. It isn't a heavy dessert, but smooth and silky. You can definitely taste the Nutella, but I think the flavor of this hazelnut spread is taken down just a tad by the addition of cream cheese, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk. Yeah, this isn't a pie you want to eat if you've made New Year's resolution to eat healthier or get in shape, but once you do meet your resolutions this is the perfect tart to celebrate with! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Pie Crust:

• 25-30 chocolate wafers, crushed
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Pinch of salt

Filling:

• 1 3/4 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 cup nutella
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces)cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• dark chocolate shavings, for garnish

To make the pie crust; add the chocolate wafers to your food processor and process until the cookies are fine crumbles. Melt your butter and add a pinch of salt. Then combine the cookie mixture with the butter. Press into your 9 inch tart pan. Place the tart in the freezer and start your filling.

To make the filling; combine the nutella, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk in your standing mixture.  Mix until combined but don't over-mix. Take out a medium bowl, and add in 3/4 cup of the heavy cream. Then using an electric hand mixer beat until the heavy cream forms soft peaks. Gently, fold in the whipped cream into the nutella mixture until it's well combined. Take out your tart from the freezer, and gently spoon the nutella mixture over the crust. Whip the remaining cup of heavy cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently, spread this on top of the nutella mixture. Refrigerate for a couple hours, or overnight.

Nutella Buns

Sigh. I really need to stop with the whole Nutella situation. I think I have a problem, and it's probably time I seek help from Nutella Anonymous. I'm sure such a program exists. I mean; I know I'm addicted to this stuff, and I am pretty positive others are, too. Sigh. Well, here you go. Another delicious Nutella recipe. I found this particular recipe from Saveur and decided to try it the other night. OMG. Straight out of the oven it was simply divine. I inhaled one right before I was to eat my dinner. The next day was good, but definitely not as tasty as straight out of the oven. I would suggest warming them in the oven if you eat it the following day. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me for posting another heavenly Nutella recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 (¼-oz.) package active dry yeast
¼ cup, plus 1 tsp. sugar
½ cup milk
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
¾ cup brown sugar
⅔ cup coarsely chopped pecans
1½ cups Nutella
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Take out a small bowl and add the yeast, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees). Stir and let sit for 10 minutes or until the yeast mixture is nice and foamy. Meanwhile, take out a small saucepan and pour in the milk and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, add 4 tbsp softened butter, remaining sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and 2 eggs. Stir in the milk and add the flour a little at a time. I actually ended up using all 4 cups. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for about 3 minutes. Place in a lightly-greased large bowl and then set it in a warm oven (85 degrees) so it can rise for a couple hours or until doubled in size.

Once the dough is about ready to be pulled from the warm oven, take out a small sauce pan and add the brown sugar and the remaining 4 tablespoon of butter. If you are using the pecans add them to the saucepan. Once the brown sugar and butter is melted; pour this into a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.

Once the dough has doubled in size; remove from the oven. Now, set the oven temperature to pre-heat at 375. Then, punch down the down and let rest for a minute or two. Roll out the dough into a 15x20 rectangle. Carefully, spread the Nutella around the dough while leaving an inch border around the edges. Take your remaining egg and lightly whip. Then using a brush, dip into the egg wash and spread along the 1 inch border. Carefully, roll the dough into a log and cut using a sharp knife into 12 rounds. I think I got about 8 or 9 rolls out of the dough. Transfer rounds cut side up to the baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you are using and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the rolls are a nice golden color. Once ready, remove from the oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Serve inverted on a plate and drizzle with the syrup from the baking dish.

Nutella Cupcakes

There's a little less than 2 hours left of my birthday, so why not post a blog about my incredible birthday cupcakes. :) Unfortunately, this year my mother did not bake me a cake, but I wasn't going to let a birthday go by without one. So, I decided to bake my very own birthday cake. I opened a couple cookbooks and perused several recipes before deciding to open up my Pinterest account. As soon as I saw one of the pictures I pinned; I knew I wanted to make these nutella cupcakes. If you know me then you know I love nutella. And, why wouldn't I make this for my birthday? So, I did. Sigh. The cupcake is simply heaven. I loooove them. I have to thank My Baking Addiction for her chocolate cake and nutella frosting recipes. Soooo good!!! I'm so happy I came across her blog. Both of these recipes are deeeelicious. I'm sorry if I posted too many pictures, but that's how much I loved these cupcakes. Enjoy and here's to many more birthdays!

Chocolate Cup Cake Ingredients (Makes 24):
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Take the bowl from your standing mixture and add in the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together to combine. Take a medium sized bowl and add in your buttermilk, vegetable oil (I used canola oil), eggs, and vanilla. Stir. Slowly add the liquids to the dry ingredients while the speed of the mixture is on low. Once combined; slowly add in the coffee. Now, I was pretty concerned because the mixture was very liquidy (sorry, just made up a new word). Have no fear; just pour the mixture directly into your prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of a couple cupcakes. Remove from oven and cool completely.  The fun part; either use an apple core to hollow out a circle into the cupcake and add in about 1/2 tsp to a teaspoon of nutella. Put the cake that you scooped out back on top. I ended up using a sharp paring knife to cut a circle in the cupcake instead of the apple core. I guess you can use a piping bag to pipe in the nutella directly into the cupcake, but I didn't care to try this since I can barely pipe frosting onto a cupcake.

Nutella Frosting Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 13-ounce jar of Nutella
pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6-8 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

 Add the nutella and butter into the bowl of your standing mixture. Stir to combine. Add in confectioner's sugar. I ended up using about 3/4 of the 2 lb bag. Add in the salt. I used regular vanilla extract and used about 1/2 tbsp of it. Pour that in. Pour in your heavy cream. Stir well.You may need to add a couple more drops of the heavy cream to get it to the right consistency. Either spread the frosting onto your cupcakes using a butter knife or use a piping bag. As you can tell from my pictures I attempted the piping bag and wasn't all that successful at it. My dad thought they looked like fettuccine noodles. Ha! Store cupcakes in an airtight container and enjoy!

Nutella Brownies

The second Christmas dessert post is yet another brownie recipe. But, this isn’t just any brownie recipe; this is a Nutella brownie!! And, this brownie is very, very good! It’s a moist brownie, and comes out perfectly every time I bake them. Yes, I’ve made them twice in a week. Can you blame a girl?! I’m always looking for new nutella recipes, and I found this one at this blogger’s website . It’s really good. I made these treats for my fellow co-worker's Christmas goody bags. I know they will like them. And, I know you will, too! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup All-purpose flour
1/4 Teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 Cup Nutella
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 Cup melted unsalted butter

First, you need to set your oven to 325 degrees. Next, take a small bowl and add in your flour and salt. Set aside. Melt your butter, and when cooled; pour into a mixing bowl. Add the nutella, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla into the same mixing bowl as the butter. Mix until combined. Gradually add in your flour mixture. Stir until combined. Take an 8x8 pan and place enough foil in it so that you can easily lift the brownie out of the pan. Lightly spray the foil. Pour in your brownie mixture. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out fairly clean.

(click here for printable recipe)

Nutella Candy Bars

So, ever since I discovered the yumminess of Nutella; I bookmark every nutella recipe I come across. And, any chance I'm given an excuse to bring something to a party I jump at the chance to try a new recipe. Recently, a friend of mine hosted a Dance Party. This wasn't your typical dance party. You remember back in the 80s and 90s when we would dance to our favorite cassette tape or Compact Disc? Ah, those were the days. No, this dance party was danced to a game. A Wii game that is...as in weeeeeeeeee!!!! Okay, if you haven't heard of the wii then you must be living in outerspace. But, anyway, it was a lot of fun and even though the host did an awesome job of making healthy dishes for us. I had to go and ruin it by bringing these so very un-healthy nutella candy bars. Thanks to
Ginger Bread Cake for posting this recipe. They were super easy to make and super bad for you. But, it's okay to indulge when you're dancing your butt off to a Wii game!! At least that was my excuse for eating them. When you are ready to give into temptation; make these and you won't be disappointed. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 cup Nutella
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (finely ground)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp nutella

First thing take your cup of nutella and place in a large bowl. Take a food processor, and ground up about 1 1/2 packages of graham crackers. This should give you about 2 cups of finely ground crackers. Pour this in with the nutella. Stir together. Take your powdered sugar, and stir in with the nutella. Next, take your cup of melted butter and pour into the bowl with the nutella mixture. Stir to incorporate.

Now, take a 9x13 pan and spray with cooking spray. Take wax or parchment paper and place in the pan. This is such a lifesaver, and makes it easy to take the candy out of the pan. Pour the nutella mixture into the pan, and press down until evenly distributed in the pan.
For the topping, take 1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chips and 4 tbsp of nutella and melt in a microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir together, and pour over the candy. Spread evenly.
Refrigerate for an hour. Then, let it warm to room temperature before serving.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Giada's Nutella Cookies

Giada de Laurentis is the Queen of all things Nutella. I, on the other hand, have just started experimenting with recipes that involve Nutella. So, one evening I figured I should look for some Giada recipes to try. Afterall she loooooves Nutella so her recipes have to be good, right? Right. I am in serious heaven with this versatile ingredient. And, Giada's cookies are seriously yummy. If you are craving chocolate give this recipe a try. You will not be disappointed.

Ingredients
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c nutella
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven @ 375 degrees
The first thing I always do when making cookies, brownies, or cake is to combine all the dry ingredients (unless specified otherwise). So, go ahead and get a small bowl and combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a standing mixer, add the sugars, the nutella, and butter. Stir until the ingredients are fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until incorporated. Gradually add in the dry ingredients at low speed just so the flour doesn't spray all over. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated in the batter add in the chocolate chips and stir. Add the dough to the cookie sheets and bake from 6-10 minutes. The first time I made these cookies I had to throw away the majority of them because I overbaked them. This time I baked them for 8 minutes, and it was still a minute too long. But, I didn't have to throw these cookies away. They were just a tad crisp.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies

Oh. My. God. What did I do? I'll tell you what I did; it'll be our little secret. I bought Nutella. I can't believe in all of my 32 years I've never tried Nutella. Boy, have I been missing out. I could eat this all by its lonesome self. My diet is seriously in jeopardy. But, I had to make something with this stuff. And, I found it. This recipe is...to...die...for!!! If you like chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients
1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/3 cups Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
1 cup Sugar
1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter (room temp)
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 cups Nutella - Melted (more If Desired)
1/4 cups Caramel Sauce - Melted
1 bag (8 Oz.) Small Bag Of Hazelnuts, Or More If Desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
First step is to incorporate in a small bowl the following ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Next, in a standing mixer; mix the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla. Lastly, Gradually add the flour mixture. If you don't gradually add it cocoa powder will fly up in your face. Now, take an 8x8 baking pan and spray it with cooking spray. Add enough parchment paper so it creates little handles. Spread Half the brownie batter onto the paper. Add the caramel sauce (I just used caramel syrup that I had on hand) and spread over the batter. Add the remaining brownie batter and spread. At this point I added a little more caramel and a little of the Nutella. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the sides are firm and the middle is no longer jiggly. Take out of the oven and let cool. Press your finger tip gently on the brownie and add the melted Nutella and the hazelnuts (if desired). Feel free to add some caramel while you are at it. I didn't use hazelnuts because I didn't have any. I'm sure you could substitute walnuts or pecans and it would turn out just fine. Also, since I'm prepping for our big iron chef next Saturday, I incorporated a tsp of instant coffee granules into the flour mix. Not sure if it helped but I've heard coffee makes chocolate better!

(Click here for printable recipe)