Nutella Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have made so many Nutella brownies in the last couple months that I have become sick of them. Not possible you say? Yes it is possible. I found this recipe for Fudgy Nutella Brownies that looked so amazing that I thought I must try it. However it was a make from scratch recipe and I really like the simplicity of dumping a mix and a few ingredients together, stirring, and baking. So I wanted to adapt the recipe to use a brownie mix. I did this successfully the very first time I tried it. They were amazing! The brownies are not the greatest by themselves, but with the cream cheese frosting, oh la la. The unfortunate part is that I forgot to write down the exact measurements for the ingredients so I have since made way too many pans in an attempt to recreate those first delicious brownies. And since these brownies are in no way low fat and there are only 2 of us eating solid food in this house I didn't want to just make pan after pan just for us because I know that I would end up eating most of them by myself and gaining about 20 pounds which I really don't need because I'm still trying to lose a little of the baby weight. So I only made them for functions. So basically every function I took food to in the last couple months got a pan of brownies. I think it is possible that my friends and family got sick of Nutella Brownies too :). However I think I have gotten it, I think this is the recipe. Hopefully you will enjoy this recipe as much as I did the first few times! And maybe, I will be able to make them again sometime soon :)

I did in fact try the original recipe too because it looked amazing and not that difficult ad also because I wanted to see how my adaptation stacked up next to the original recipe. And I found that the Fudgy Nutella Brownies are absolutely amazing, and not an incredible amount of work for a made from scratch recipe, really it is a great recipe. However this adaptation is also pretty amazing, in a slightly different way. How do they compare? The Fudgy brownies really are more fudge-y. I made two pans of them for a bake sale and one of the pans barely set up, it stayed soft and grainy like fudge. My brownies are more like a brownie (like a brownie made from a mix) They are firmer and more (for lack of a better word) cake/brownie like. Both are a little plain without frosting. Both are absolutely delicious with frosting. If serving at something like a bake sale I recommend cutting off the edges because they are not as high quality or delicious because they have less Nutella. I also definitely recommend drizzling the Nutella on the top like I did because it makes them look really fancy and it adds just a little bit more Nutella flavor, which is good. So in ay case I Love Love Love both recipes and both are definitely worth trying. Please let me know if you try either recipe and what you thought of them :)

Oh and one thing I wanted to share with you, I tasted these brownies at varying times ranging from the same day they were made to several days or a week later. I think these actually taste best after sitting in the fridge for a couple days. It cools them down, lets the frosting set up, and allows the flavors to mix. So feel free to make these a couple days before the event. They will actually taste better! (This tip is specific to my recipe I didn't get the chance to try the other recipe more than one day after making them)

Anyways, without further ado ...

Nutella Brownies

(adapted from Fudgy Nutella Brownies)

I made Nutella Brownie Bites for my sister's shower

Ingredients:

• 1 Brownie Mix (whatever brand you like, I used a couple different brands)
• 3/4 c butter (melted) or oil (the first amazing time I used butter and it was very good, very rich. 1 time I used oil because I wanted to make some lactose free for Mr. Random, it was not quite as good, but still good)
• 1/4 c water
• 3 whole eggs
• 2/3 c Nutella, separated (I have to admit I didn't actually measure this in any way, I just eyeballed it to see how much I thought should be on it)

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pan.

 Mix together all ingredients except Nutella.

 Spread mixture in pan

 Spoon Nutella on top of mixture

 Use spoon to spread Nutella all over brownies

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until done (for brownies you can do the toothpick test, it should come out solid, but still damp and clinging to the toothpick. It will still be fully cooked, but it will be more fudge-y.)

Allow to Cool. Frost Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting. The first can of Nutella I got was a lot more stiff than the second one (yes I was a Nutella virgin before this so I didn't know what it was supposed to be like). The can says not to microwave Nutella but I did microwave it just for a few seconds, to liquify it enough to get it to swirl well. Run the edge of a spoon both ways through the Nutella and frosting to create the swirl design.

Don't They look yummy!

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