Nutella Brownies

Easy Nutella Brownies that are so soft and chewy! Only 7 ingredients is all you need for these perfectly fudgy brownies with a swirl of Nutella!

 

I had you at Nutella didn’t I? I know, my heart skips a beat when I hear that magical word too. The first time I had Nutella I was sitting in a little French bistro in Paris- err I wish. Ok maybe my first time wasn’t magical but it was memorable. My sister actually turned me on to this stuff after she had taken a cooking class in highschool.

I remember the first spoonful. The first thought that ran through my head was I can’t believe my entire childhood had gone without this chocolate hazelnut spread! I mean I love peanut butter. Don’t get me wrong. I love it so much I stuffed it in a cupcake. 

But Nutella. Oh man. Spread this stuff on a shoe and I would eat it. So when you go and stuff it in a brownie. That’s a no brainer. Now I wish I could say I dreamt up this crazy ridiculously good Nutella brownie recipe with swirls of Nutella running through it. But I didn’t. Instead this is the mad genius work of a fellow food blogger, Shelly over at Cookies and Cups and her fabulous new cookbook, Cookies and Cups. 

When she released the cookbook back in April 2016 I knew I had to get my hands on it. And I as flipped through all the glossy photos I mentally dog eared a bunch I couldn’t wait to make. But the one that stood out that I needed to make like YESTERDAY- these Nutella Brownies. 

Brownies are simple right? Fudgy, chocolatey heaven. Perfect on their own. But then she went and swirled in Nutella. Like I said. My heart skipped a beat.

Ingredients Needed

Yes you really only need 7 ingredients! Here is what you should round up from the pantry for this Nutella brownie recipe:

• Salted butter – If you don’t have salted butter, then use unsalted butter, but add a little extra salt. And no they aren’t the same! You can read more here about Unsalted Butter Vs. Salted Butter In BakingMake sure it’s softened. Here is  to soften butter fast (3 ways!)
• Light brown sugar – I have only made these with light but I’m assuming dark brown sugar would also work. And if you have run out you can always make your own brown sugar.
• Eggs – You want two room temperature eggs. I place mine in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before I start.
• Vanilla – Of course, vanilla is always a great addition for flavor! I do recommend pure vanilla extract for the best flavor. 
• Nutella – Of course Nutella brownies need that chocolate hazelnut spread! Try making your own homemade Nutella.
• Salt – Yes a little extra salt. I used kosher salt for the best flavor of salt. You can read more here about The Role Of Salt In Baking.
• Flour – Flour is the #1 ingredient bakers measure wrong so I always recommend measuring by weight for best accuracy. But if you are measuring flour, make sure to not pack the flour into the cup. You can read more here about How To Measure Flour.

How to make this Nutella Brownie Recipe

1. Creaming your butter and sugar together. These brownies start with creaming your butter and your brown sugar together in your stand mixer for about 2 minutes. If you use your hand mixer, this will take a couple more minutes. Be sure to stop and  scrape down the sides of the bowl. This is an important step during creaming that is often overlooked. You want to make sure that your ingredients are being evenly creamed together. You can read more here about What Is The Creaming Method?
2. Add eggs and vanilla. Once your butter and sugar has been creamed, it’s time to add your eggs and vanilla extract. Be sure your eggs are at room temperature so they incorporate into the mixture easily. You want to make sure to add each egg and incorporate before adding the next and scraping down the bowl as needed to make sure all is mixed evenly,
3. Add Nutella! After your eggs and vanilla extract have been incorporated, it’s time to add my favorite part. The chocolate hazelnut spread. Nutella has it’s own milk, and sugar added to it, so it’s basically like adding a few ingredients all at once. But make sure you save 1/4 cup of the spread to swirl on at the end. 
4. Time for the flour and salt. Once your Nutella has been mixed in, reduce your mixer to low and add your flour. Be sure to measure your flour correctly, otherwise it could result in a tough dry brownie instead of a chewy soft one. 

Swirl on more Nutella. Once the batter is made, spread it into your pan. And then dollop on the 1/4 cup of the remaining Nutella. Use a butter knife to swirl the Nutella throughout the batter. 

Bake! You want to bake these for about 30-35 minute, on a center rack in your oven, until the center is just set. Then let them cool in the pan on a cooling rack. 

Recipe Tips

• Measure flour correctly. As always, measure your flour correctly. I recommend using a kitchen scale for best accuracy. But if you want to use your dry measuring cups (no shame in that) but make sure you spoon the flour in and level off with a flat edge. Do not pack the flour down in to the cup which results in too much flour and results in a dense cakey brownie. It’s one of my top 10 baking tips. 
• Do not overmix. When it comes to any kind of baking, overmixing can result in too much gluten (protein in the flour that results in how chewy a baked good can end up being) forming. So I always stir just until the flour is mixed in and then I stop. 
• Reserve some Nutella. It’s easy to accidentally just add it all in and forget! Make sure to reserve a 1/4 cup to dollop and swirl in at the end. 

Nutella Brownie Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

• Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
• 3 ingredient Nutella Brownies
• Nutella Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Nutella Banana Bread
• Nutella Cupcakes