This is not a new recipe. I tried it first time two years ago around the holidays and it was a hit, but I never got a chance to post it here on my blog. Actually, I haven’t really posted anything on my blog for about two years until a few months ago. Oh, well…
Recently I went to Costco (yes, with all my love for tiny markets and organic shops, I really like Costco!) and they had a good deal on two giant Nutella jars. I contemplated it for some time, but decided against buying it. I don’t bake now as often as I used to and although eating spoonfuls of velvety chocolate-hazelnut spread right out of the jar is my idea of a mini-heaven, it’s not really that healthy. So, I passed on that deal, but it got me thinking about Nutella and I remembered those brownies.
That was one of the easiest recipes I’ve made and to be honest I was really skeptical in the beginning. I mean, it’s only three (3!!) ingredients. How could they make something yummy? But I was wrong to doubt, the result was quite good – dense little cakes with moist centre and a hint of hazelnut. Now, writing about these brownies makes me want to go into my kitchen and bake a batch of them. Perhaps, even experiment a little bit and add a teaspoon of hazelnut extract and some chopped nuts on top… But that will have to wait, there are too many other recipes in line.
recipe adapted from Fine Cooking magazine 2010
for 12 brownies baked in mini muffin tin
Nutella (room temperature) – 1/2 cup
Egg – 1 large
All-purpose flour – 5 tablespoons
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
- Line the muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a bowl, mix Nutella and egg really well until the mixture is smooth.
- Add flour and mix until no traces of flour remain. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into prepared muffin tins.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes until the brownies are baked through but a few moist crumbs remain in the centre. Check with a toothpick.
- Cool on a wire rack.
A couple of comments and notes:
- Pour a little bit of oil into a measuring cup and swish it around to cover. This way, when you measure nutella, it won’t stick to the cup.
- Original recipe called for only 12 minutes of baking, but my brownies were completely liquid after that time, so I baked for about 20 minutes. It all depends on your oven, so start checking after 10 minutes. Make sure to not overbake.
- Doubling the recipe doesn’t work that well. You may need to adjust your measurements, or just make two batches.
James says
OH yeah this is a great recipe, tried it a year ago or so myself. I doubled the recipe cause I didn’t want to waste time measuring nutella and just ended up dumping the whole canister in anyway. To give it that Italian zing I used whole wheat flour and I swear it was like I was at an Italian pastry shop. Also I heard you can top these guys with anything so try walnuts, m&ms, or white chocolate trips to give your taste buds a real surprise.
Imagelicious says
James – good idea about whole wheat flour, a little something to make these brownies a tad more healthy. I’ll definitely try it. I’m also glad that doubling the recipe worked. It did not for me. I don’t remember the specifics, but I think I had to mess around with the amount of flour once nutella and eggs were doubled. Either there was not enough, or too much. The recipe still worked since I made the adjustments 🙂