In case you are still in need to bring an outstanding dessert to your 4th of July picnic. Here it is! Nutella Brownies will be the winner of the day. Ooey, gooey, chocolaty, and salty. They are simply irresistible.
| Nutella Brownies | | Print |
- ⅓ cup (72 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and ⅓ cups (400 g) Nutella, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
- sea salt
- Preheat your oven to 350 F convection.
- Butter an 8 x 8 inch baking dish and line with parchment paper. Make sure to have parchment paper hanging over the edges for easier removal of the brownies later.
- Use a standmixer on medium speed to beat together the butter and sugar.
- On slow speed add eggs, one at a time. Mix well.
- Add vanilla extract and 1 cup (300 g) Nutella. Mix well.
- Slowly add the flour and salt. Beat until just combined.
- Transfer batter evenly into prepared baking pan.
- Spread remaining Nutella over the top of the batter.
- Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Bake for 25 minutes (longer in non Convection oven). Baking times may vary.
Please try to make your Nutella from scratch. The problem with store bought Nutella is that it contains palm oil. Palm oil production is linked to major issues such as deforestation, habitat degradation, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses in the countries where it is produced, as the land and forests must be cleared for the development of the oil palm plantations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, an area the equivalent size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each hour to make way for palm oil production. This large-scale deforestation is pushing many species to extinction, and findings show that if nothing changes species like the orangutan could become extinct in the wild within the next 5-10 years, and Sumatran tigers less than 3 years.
Therefore, let’s make our own Nutella – without palm oil. I found a great recipe for it over at David Lebovitz’s Blog: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/02/homemade-nutella-recipe-chocolate-hazelnut-spread/
{ 2 comments }
well they look stunning and such an easy recipe too… i’ve been baking a lot of sugar-free brownies recently so i need to work out a way to make these sugar-free!
Dom, sure, you could substitute the sugar with dates. You could also make your own Nutella like David does (see recipe link above) and sweeten it with honey.
Happy Baking!
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