Nutella Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

I could go on all day with these mouth-watering pictures.......
                                            ....but I won't.  Because I know you guys just wanna get to the recipe already.  Let me start off by saying that these are the most magnificent muffins I have ever tasted in my entire life.  (My second favorite is tied with my lemon raspberry muffins and my chocolate chip muffins.) They are like CRACK.  You will be wanting one of these EVERY SINGLE DAY once you bake them.  In fact, my family has already decided to have these for Christmas day breakfast!  Yep yep --- they are that good.

Let me tell you a little bit about them.  The muffin cake itself has the perfect amount of spice; wonderfully cinnamon-y, with just the right amount of nutmeg. It is also super moist and tender, everything you would dream the perfect muffin should be.  You know what a snickerdoodle tastes like right? (I'm working on the perfect snickerdoodle recipe by the way)  Hopefully you do.  Well...these muffins tastes just like snickerdoodles...just in muffin form of course (which makes them way cooler).   Plus they are fluffy.  Which makes them way better than snickerdoodle cookies(:  Anyways, on the outside of these heavenly clouds of pure deliciousness is a decadent cinnamon-sugar-butter topping which causes every single bite to melt in your mouth.  Seriously...it may sound like I'm exaggerating but I swear I'm really not.  And I haven't even gotten to the absolute BEST part of these muffins: the NUTELLA center.  Mmmmm...once you take the first bite into these treats, you'll discover a chocolate surprise in the middle, filled with warm, fudgey, sinful nutella.  The chocolate in the nutella pairs amazingly with the vanilla-cinnamon-y-buttery muffin.  They make fantastic left overs too, but are best eaten warm from the oven (of course, these only lasted up until the day after I made them, but they were still awesome). 

Ohmygosh just make these muffins.  I promise they will be a new favorite of yours!

Nutella Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

yield:  8 medium-large muffins

• 1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 heaping teaspoons Nutella (about 4 tablespoons)

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

• 6 tablespoons white sugar (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4.5 Tbsp unsalted butter (1/4 cup + 1.5 teaspoons)

Preheat oven to 425F.  Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed.  Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Gently stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  DO NOT overmix – stir until *just* combined.

Spoon 1 heaping Tablespoon of batter into muffin cavity.  Layer with 1 heaping tsp Nutella in the center and spoon another heaping Tablespoon of batter on top.  If the muffin tins are completely full, that is ok.  They will not overflow.  Repeat layering batter + Nutella into each muffin tin.  I got exactly 8 muffins.

Bake at 425F for 5 minutes.  Reduce oven to 350F and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes until batter is set. Allow muffins to cool for about 5 minutes.

While the muffins are cooling, make the cinnamon-sugar topping.  Melt the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave.  Stir and stick back in microwave if not fully melted.  In a separate small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.  Dip the top of each muffin generously into the melted butter and dip into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Swirl them around in the cinnamon-sugar a bit to make sure you get a thick coating. Set upright on cooling rack.  Enjoy!

***photo-creds to Sally's Baking Addiction, and this recipe was adapted/altered from her as well.

Rich Chocolate Filled Golden Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Oh my goodness.  These just made their way to the very top of my list of favorite cupcakes.  I am extremely proud to say that I created the recipe...but I came up with the filling by mistake.  Did you know that popsicles, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, coffee, sourdough bread, cheese, chocolate, ice cream cones, and even sandwiches were all created by mistake??  That's crazy.  But it proves that the absolute best foods were created by mistake...like these cupcakes.  The reason I started baking these cupcakes is because it was International World Nutella Day, and - of course - I just had to celebrate by eating (what else?) NUTELLA.  I started with a classic, yellow cake for the cupcake base flavor.  Then I searched my Crazy About Cupcakes cook-book for a cream filling, and as I started preparing it, I realized way too late that I had been doing the wrong recipe.  At this point I had done the first step of the chocolate filling, soooo I decided to just continue what I had started and attempted to finish my filling by tasting and altering...and tasting and altering...and tasting and altering some more...until it was just perfect.  I brought these to my friends at school to celebrate International World Nutella Day, and they couldn't stop telling me how amazing they were.  They all begged me for the recipe...so they'll probably be super duper excited that I'm finally posting it.  First, you lick off the fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth, Nutella flavored frosting.  Then you bite into that buttery, golden, soft cupcake, and lastly - your taste buds hit the extremely rich, fudgey, smooth, chocolate filling.  And you just can't help but to drool....and then grab another one.


Yield: About 12 medium-sized cupcakes


Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.  
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the egg yolks. Beat well. Add the vanilla. Mix.
3.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
4.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.  Mix well.
5.  With clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
6. Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three quarters full.  Bake for 18-22  minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean.  Cool cupcake in the pan.


For the Chocolate Filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup dark brown sugar 
1/2 cup milk
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder


Instructions
1.   Combine the brown sugar, milk, and egg yolks in a large saucepan. Heat the pan to medium heat. 
2.  Gradually add the chocolate to the pan, stirring constantly.  When the mixture is shiny and thick, after about 3 minutes, set aside to cool. When completely cool, cut a two-inch cake cone from the center of each cooled cupcake.  Spoon in chocolate filling and replace cake cone.  Frost with recipe below.


For the Nutella Frosting:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Nutella
3 cups of sifted confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
Little sprinkling of salt
3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:
In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter, nutella and vanilla until well mixed. In a small bowl, mix sugar, salt and cocoa powder until its thoroughly mixed. Gradually, add this dry mixture to the butter mixture, adding milk as needed to get a creamy frosting-like consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Microwave Nutella Muffin

Happy National Chocolate Cake Day!!!

I know there are many of you out there who have sudden chocolate cravings.  Yeah...that's me pretty much every hour(;  But sometimes they're not just chocolate cravings, they're Nutella cravings.  Even though I eat it by the spoonful, straight from the jar all the time, I wanted to have something a little more creative...but I was too lazy to make something that would have to bake for a while.  Then I remembered I saved a recipe from the blog of Go Bake Yourself called "Less Than Two Minute Nutella Muffin" (here).  So I decided to whip it up.  I didn't think it would taste very good...I mean really, a two minute muffin made in the microwave?  This recipe doesn't even have butter!  How could it possibly taste good?  But when I opened the microwave door after just 30 seconds, the first thing I saw was that it got HUGE!!!  I seriously freaked out when I saw it.  I don't understand how batter could blow up so much and bake into a perfectly fat muffin in just 30 seconds.  But it did.  And then I tasted it...and I was even more shocked, because it tasted sooo incredible!  It was a perfectly cooked, fluffy, cakey, chocolate muffin with an even layer of nutella through the middle.  The nutella made the muffin taste so fudgey and delicious!  It didn't really satisfy my chocolate-nutella craving though...all it did was make me want another one(:

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs + 1 tsp milk
• 1/2 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 tbs dark brown sugar
• 1 heaping tbs Nutella

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl except for Nutella
2. Line a small, glass, microwaveable bowl with a muffin/cupcake liner (if you don’t have a liner, it's okay - it will spread sideways like a cookie!)
3. Place half the batter into the liner
4. Place the tablespoon of Nutella in the center of the batter (this is where you can also add in some crushed nuts, chocolate chips, marshmallows, etc.)
5. Pour over the second half of the batter, making sure Nutella (and add-ins) is completely covered.
6. Microwave for approximately 30 seconds on high (or until a knife inserted comes out clean...not including the nutella).
7. Let cool for at least 3 minutes, and serve.

S'mores Toast/Sandwich

I think this is my best toast creation yet!!! It's even better than s'mores.  It's everything you love about s'mores, but on a piece of toast.  I guess you could say it's healthier - kind of...I did make mine on whole wheat bread...and nutella is all natural, so I guess that makes it healthy, right?  Broiling the marshmallows really makes them taste exactly like they would roasting them over a fire.  The outside gets brown and slightly crispy, and the inside is warm and gooey and oh so delicious!  Just watch very closely when broiling it because it will brown really quickly.  I caught mine just in the nick of time...and I like mine pretty toasty brown.  I wasn't sure whether to use marshmallows or fluff, so I decided to use both(:  I think the fluff tasted better, but it was SO hard to put on top of the nutella/graham cracker layer smoothly, so I just ended up blobbing it on. The marshmallows browned faster than the fluff, so the toast looked kind of funny, but I'm telling you: it was the best toast I've ever had!

Ingredients:
1 slice of bread ***
1-2 tablespoons nutella
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
handful of marshmallows and/or a few spoon fulls of marshmallow fluff


Instructions:
1. Set oven to broil.
2.  While oven is broiling, toast bread.  Spread nutella immediately over hot toast.  Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, and then marshmallows and/or plop on fluff.  
3.  Place toast in a small, ungreased pan.  Broil the toast until marshmallows brown (watch closely to prevent burning because they brown very fast!)
4.  Remove toast from pan and enjoy.


*** If making a sandwich, add a piece of toast on top of the toasted marshmallows after broiling, and add another tablespoon of nutella to that slice.

Easiest Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana Pudding

This is seriously way too easy.  It's ten times better than any banana pudding I've ever had, and it's by far the quickest and simplest to make.  The secret ingredient for this creamy and luscious dessert is overly ripe bananas. Just whizz up some frozen bananas with peanut butter and cocoa powder.  That's all there is to it.  Feel free to add other toppings as well...I often add nutella and/or whipped cream. You can even freeze the pudding for an hour and enjoy it like ice cream. Yum! 


Yield: About 2-4 servings


Ingredients:
2 medium, very ripe bananas, peeled and sliced (the riper the better!)
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder  (and/or nutella)


Instructions:
1. Place the banana slices on a plate lined with parchment paper.  Freeze for about 2 hours.
2.  In a food processor, combine frozen bananas, peanut butter, and cocoa powder.  Process until thick and smooth. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Cream Pie Toast/Sandwich

Ahhh nutella....the world's most favorite spread....along with peanut butter, of course.  Did you know that there's a World Nutella Day?  Yep.  You can check out the website here.  There are sooo many amazing recipes all revolving around that one heavenly ingredient: NUTELLA. Whoever invented nutella was a genius.   I mean really, chocolate on bread?  Can it really be that easy and that delicious?  Ohh yesss..it most certainly can.  So I decided to enhance the usual nutella on toast to be a little more decadent: by adding whipped cream!  The whipped cream gets soft and slightly melted on top of the warm nutella and melts in your mouth.  I've had this toast many times...always with different toppings.  Feel free to add whatever toppings you'd like...crushed oreos, nilla wafers, or other crushed cookies, drizzle peanut butter, flaked coconut, caramel sauce, crushed candy bars, chocolate shavings....oh yeah, I've had it all.  Whatever way you choose to jazz it up, it will always be good.  And that's a promise.

Ingredients:

1 slice of bread, or 2 for a sandwich

1-2 tablespoons nutella (depending how much you want)

desired amount of whipped cream

desired toppings (see ones listed above, optional)

Instructions:

Toast bread.  Spread nutella immediatly over hot, toasted bread, until evenly coated.  Put whipped cream on top of nutella.  Add desired toppings, and enjoy(:

***you can add a slice of toasted bread on top to make a sandwich, too. And just a warning...the whipped cream tends to ooze out. But hey, it's the taste that counts, right? 

Mashed Banana Toast/Sandwiches

Do you mash or slice your bananas???


I would guess you have probably been slicing them your whole life.  Well, here's something new to try: MASH 'EM! All it does it make it creamy.  It's literally like creating your own banana spread.  Especially if the banana is really ripe...mashing a ripe banana will make it taste way better than a greenish banana (since ripe bananas have more sugar). Did you know that they sell banana peanut butter?  I don't understand why would anyone buy that when you can just make it yourself.  Anyways...instead of your usual peanut butter and sliced banana toast/sandwiches that I'm sure you've been doing for as long as you can remember, just mash the banana!  You can mix other spreads in with the banana if you want to change it up even more.  


Mashed Banana Toast/Sandwich:


Ingredients:
1 slice of bread, toasted   (or 2 for a sandwich)
1/2 to 1 ripe banana (depending how big it is)




Instructions:
Mash the banana as chunky or creamy as you'd like.  Spread mashed banana on hot toast.


***Add a slice of bread on top to make a sandwich if you prefer.  Toasting is optional. 


Variations:  Mix into mashed banana mixture before spreading on top of bread...

• peanut butter
• nutella
• honey
• melted chocolate chips (flavor of your choice)
• cocoa powder
• cinnamon
• blueberries
• almond butter (or other nut butter of your choice)
• chopped or sliced strawberries
• crushed Nilla Wafers
• toffee bits
• coconut flakes
• dash of vanilla extract
• brown sugar (this is very sweet..but delicious)
• chopped nuts of your choice
• grape nuts (or other cereal of your choice.  Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch is really good too)
• caramel sauce
• whipped cream
• chocolate sauce/syrup
• pudding
• maple syrup
• jelly 
• yogurt

Melted chocolate chips & banana:

Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, and Banana:

Peanut Butter, Banana and Chocolate Chunks:

Mashed Banana and Nutella Sandwich:

Almond Butter and Banana:

Spread it on graham crackers!

Nutella Peanut Butter Pillows

Oh yes. These really are just as good as the picture.  But I can't take credit; these wonderful pillows originated from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine.  I only altered it a little. These are so flavorful and incredibly amazing.  The outside is a peanut butter cookie with slightly crisp edges, and the inside is a soft cloud of peanut butter-nutella filling.  They're rolled in a sweet-and-salty pile of peanuts, cinnamon, and sugar.  And it's really fun to roll them...who doesn't love playing with cookie dough? ;) The slight saltiness, especially from the sea salt, makes these little master pieces have loads of flavor.  The almond extract gives it a really fantastic nut taste, as opposed to using vanilla extract.The cookie tastes like a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich only without the boring slice of bread. Imagine that instead of bread, you have a sugar cookie with a sprinkling of sea salt and cinnamon. Grab a tall glass of ice cold milk and prepare to be transported to a Nutella and peanut butter filled heaven.

Cookie Ingredients
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of cake flour (if you don't have cake flour, all-purpose can be substituted, but just use 1/4 cup...so a total of 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour)
1/2 tsp. of baking Soda
3/4 tsp. of sea salt
1/2 cup ( 1 stick ) butter. At room temp.
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter (crunchy is fine too, but they're more "pillow-like" with smooth)

Nutella Filling Ingredients
1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup of Nutella
1/4 tsp. of sea salt
1 Tbsp. of cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. of confectioners sugar

Topping/Rolling Ingredients
1/4 cup of finely ground, roasted (regular peanuts are fine too) peanuts (run through the food processor )
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of sea salt

Method
In a small bowl, Sift the flours and baking soda together. Whisk in the sea salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, Cream the butter. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the almond extract and *peanut butter.* Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time. Be careful not to over mix. Stop beating when all the flour streaks are gone. Cover and refrigerate for an hour while you make the filling and topping.

* If you lightly grease and flour the measuring cup it will be much easier to remove the peanut butter. *

To make the Nutella filling, Combine all the ingredients and mix well. You should be able to easily roll the filling into ball forms. If it is too sticky add more confectioners sugar. Set aside until ready to use.

To make the topping, Simply mix all the ingredients into a shallow bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Measure out about 2 level tablespoons of the chilled cookie dough. Roll into a ball and flatten out onto the parchment paper. Roll some of the Nutella dough into a smaller ball and place on top of the cookie dough, Press in slightly. Gently fold the cookie dough over the Nutella so it is completely covered. 

Carefully roll into a ball and roll the ball into the topping so it has a nice coating. Place ball back onto the parchment paper and lightly press down with the bottom of a glass.

Place cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are a light gold.

Makes about 20-28 cookies. *You can adjust the size of your cookies and use as little or as much filling as you want. Just be sure to adjust the baking time accordingly.*

Triple Decker Nutella, Banana, & Flutternutter Sandwich

who knew that one sandwich could contain.....













peanut butter...















bananas...















nutella...

















AND marshmallow fluff?

Ohh yess..it truly is as good as it sounds...and as good as it looks. 


Today, I created the ultimate sandwich. 
peanut butter + banana + nutella + marshmallow fluff = the best sandwich in the entire universe.
Especially if you're a chocolate peanut butter fanatic - like me. You know how Elvis is famous for his peanut butter and banana sandwich? Well, I'm almost certain that I'll be famous for this sandwich in a couple years.   I'm also a huge fan of the fluffernutter (peanut butter and marshmallow fluff).  This triple decker sandwich is the fluffernutter sandwich combined with my second favorite sandwich: nutella and banana.
it just doesn't get better than that.
My lunch table was beyond jealous.


Guard this recipe [with your life]:


Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
1/2 a banana, sliced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon nutella
1 tablespoon marshmallow fluff


*you can double it if you have a pretty big appetite, but most people would find half to be a pretty good size. 


Instructions:
1. Cut the bread slices in half.  You will have 1 half left over that won't be needed.
2. Place the sliced bananas on one half. Spread the peanut butter over a separate half and place it against the slice with the sliced bananas, making a peanut butter and banana (half) sandwich.
3. On the top of the slice where you spread the peanut butter, spread the nutella.  
4. On the 3rd bread slice, spread the marshmallow fluff.  Place this against the nutella bread slice, so that the marshmallow side goes against the nutella.


Helpful tip: to make it even more gooier, try toasting it.