In good times or bad, baking seems to soothe our soul. I learned this coping mechanism when I spent weekends with my grandmother and great-grandmother cooking, baking and baking some more for the family. Every meal had at least two pies, but it was more likely an assortment of sweet offerings. Oma wanted everyone to have what they wanted. Perhaps this is why I believe every occasion requires dessert. A sweet nibble of some sort to celebrate another day. And I know I am not alone.
Though I typically focus on recipes that are good + good for you, there are times when good outweighs the good for you.
Breaking the Baking Rules
As we launch into our six month of the pandemic, this is when the desire to try something totally wild and unadulterated is too much and I cave in. Honestly, the older I get, the easier it is to concede to outside influencers. So when David emailed me a brilliant hack-like brownie recipe with only three ingredients–one of which is Nutella–I immediately walked over to the grocery list and wrote Nutella.
This was an easy sell because I love hack recipes and I love chocolate.
Additionally, the culinary scientist in me was curious about how a combination of Nutella, eggs, and flour would bake up. Would they be ooey, gooey and fudgy or would the eggs make them a little cakey? Whatever this recipe delivered, I was up for the challenge. One of my favorite brownie recipes on the blog hails from 2016. It’s a vegan brownie that uses almond butter as the base and the results have fooled the most brazen decadent brownie lovers and I was hoping these might be similar.
Decadent Results
This 3-ingredient recipe delivered. Crispy edges surrounding gooey-hazelnut chocolate with moist centers make these brownies one that is beyond simple and dirties only one bowl, along with a few measuring cups. For the serious Nutella fans, this may be the only brownie recipe you will ever need.
But, I warn you, these brownies are sweet, so the addition of a scoop of vanilla ice cream is highly recommended to balance the flavors (wink-wink). In the event you need to blame the brownie and ice cream combo on someone, I will happily accept this responsibility.
Buen provecho!
3-Ingredient Nutella Brownies
These brownies are beyond simple and absolutely sensational. The combo of Nutella, eggs and flour make this recipe one you can and will put to memory for whenever the mood strikes. And by dirtying only one bowl, the clean up is as easy as the recipe. For extra texture, feel free to add chopped hazelnuts or walnuts or pecans.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup Nutella
- 3 pastured eggs
- 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoons Nutella for swirling on the top, optional
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans optional
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
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In a mixing bowl, add Nutella and eggs and stir together so the eggs blend with the Nutella.
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Once incorporated, add the flour and fold in the flour until it is blended.
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For the nut lovers in the world, feel free to add your nut of choice. Hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans would be great. If using, add the nuts and mix well to combine.
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Pour the brownie batter into the parchment-lined baking dish and spread the batter evenly with an off-set spatula.
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If using, add two tablespoon-sized dollops of Nutella on top of the batter and swirl it in with a knife.
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Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, until the top is puffy, the edges are crispy and the center is mostly cooked.
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Let cool for an hour, cut the brownies into 12 squares and dig in. For an extra special treat, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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Freeze any remaining brownies and pull them out when nothing but a deep, rich and chocolatey brownie will do.
Love these brownies but for the holidays, would like to add chopped nuts like walnuts.
Would that work??
Yes, Janice. I think it will work beautifully. Hazelnuts would accentuate the nutella taste, so that would be my recommendation, though pecans or walnuts would be equally fab. Thanks for the inspiration…now I am going to add nuts next time I make these delicious and simple brownies.
Thanks Cowgirl and a very happy holiday season to you from Canada.
Can I use regular all-purpose flour or does it need to be gluten-free?
Also, I have one of those all-edges brownie pans. Putting parchment in that pan is not a fun activity, Can I just grease the pan and put a little coca on it to make sure these brownies don’t stick?
Hi David,
You can definitely use regular AP flour and definitely grease that all-edge pan well instead of parchment paper. I love the idea of dusting it with cocoa powder. Way togo! Let me know how they turn out.
Hi David,
I think this sounds like a lovely idea. Using cocoa will be perfect.
Heather