Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites

I almost missed this month of the Improv Cooking Challenge but thankfully I scheduled a reminder on my calendar which pinged me the other day and got me on track. I’m telling you, Maisie’s schedule is keeping me busy and I’ve barely had time to cook let alone sit down at the computer to do any blogging.  I think I need to better organize my life but that’s a project and story for another day.  Enough whinging and back to the challenge.  This month our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two specified ingredients of the month.  This month, being the month of love with Valentine’s Day and all, Kristen did a little pun and had our challenge ingredients as Hearts and Flours.  We didn’t have to use hearts, we could make anything as long as it was
either heart shaped or served/photographed in a heart serving dish but it did need to contain at least one flour of some sort.  I actually did think about possibly making some lightly batter-fried chicken hearts, I mean I’ve done it with great success with chicken livers, but instead I opted for something a little less offal (yes I can play the pun game too) and a whole lot sweeter.  So for my Hearts and Flours challenge I present, Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites.

I don’t know where this recipe originated but I’ve seen it all over the internet and it’s absolutely genius.  Being as easy as it is and the fact that it includes the nectar of the Gods Nutella, I’ve been wanting to make these for ages but as I’m always watching my “white” intake (flour and sugar), I just needed the right opportunity to present itself so to have an excuse to make these tasty little treats and thanks to this month’s challenge, the time came. 

So, how were they?  Well for only three ingredients (plus salt if desired), less than five minutes of work and ten minutes of cook time…they were amazingly delicious.  Shoot had they taken twice the work, ingredients and cook time I’d still be making these again and again.  I love the simplicity of this recipe and that I always have the required ingredients in my pantry so when the craving strikes I can easily whip up a batch.  One last great thing, the recipe can be halved only making 6 little bites and making them in a muffin tin, they’re portion controlled!!  I easily could have eaten the entire batch but after the one I enjoyed, I left that task to Eammon and he enjoyed each and every one.

If you make these, be sure to not to overcook them because the ooey-gooey slightly undercooked center absolutely makes the brownie bites all that much better. 

Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites 

• 1 cup Nutella
• 2 lg. eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat the Nutella until slightly warm and runny.  Stir in the eggs, flour and salt until fully combined.  Portion the batter between 12 full sized muffin tins lined with cupcake liners or use a silicon cupcake pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. (I used a heart shaped silicon cupcake pan)  Depending on your oven, bake 10-12 minutes, just until the tops of the Brownie Bites are just cooked.and dry.  Do not over cook as you want the centers to be slightly undercooked and gooey.  Allow the Brownie Bites to cool slightly in the pans, remove to a cooling rack, dust with confectioners sugar and then enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Nutella No Bake Cookies

I know that we made something similar before, back when Maisie and I made Math Book No Bake Cookies but when Aimee over on Sugary Sweets posted her recipe for Nutella No Bake Cookies, well we just had to make them.  Nutella is just the bomb and it made what were already delicious sweet little treats just that much better. 

Maisie with her mouth full, displaying her cookies.

Maisie loves scooping out the cookies.

She’s also a good taste tester, even before her work is completed.

I did change Aimee’s recipe a bit in that I used Old Fashioned oats instead of quick oats, because that’s what I had in the house.  The difference in using Old Fashioned or rolled oats in place of quick oats is that the cookies are a bit chewier, which we all enjoyed.  I also made the cookies in the microwave instead of on the stove top because it works easier for Maisie.

Nutella No Bake Cookies (adapted from here)

2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa 
1/2 cup milk (I used skim) 
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup Nutella
3 cup Old Fashioned oats

In a microwave safe bowl combine the sugar, cocoa, milk and butter.  Heat in one minute intervals stirring after each minute until the butter and is melted and all the ingredients are combined.  Once the ingredients are all melted and combined, microwave on high for two minutes.  Remove from the microwave and add the vanilla, salt, peanut butter & Nutella.  Stir to combine until smooth.  Stir in the oats until combined.  Drop by teaspoon or cookie scoop onto a Silpat or wax paper.  Refrigerate until they are set.

Enjoy!