I couldn't have had a better surprise this morning than to wake up to a snowstorm and closed schools! I was really happy to have the kids at home, I made an army of tiny Red Velvet Cupcakes, found an Origami Heart pattern on the net then invited a few friends over for sweets and crafts!
It was my first time making Red Velvet anything and I thought Valentine's Day was the ideal day to try these cupcakes. I was pleasantly surprised by their texture, they were soft and fluffy with just a hint of cocoa and the color, wow, very impressive. The cream cheese icing, well, it's just over the top sweet and creamy but I wouldn't have it any other way!
And with all this talk about Nutella lately, combined with a serious craving for brownies, well it was just a matter of time before I gave in and made Nutella Brownies. Armed with a recipe by one of my faves, Ricardo, of course, I knew I couldn't fail! The brownies were just delightful, the hazelnut taste of the Nutella really came through and the texture, oh boy, just dreamy! Perfect for a Valentine's Day weekend!
I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!!!
For the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe please visit Brown Eyed Baker. I made the recipe pretty much as is except for using gel food coloring (about 1 tbsp) instead of liquid and baking the cupcakes in mini muffin pans for about 12 minutes.
For the Nutella Brownies recipe please visit Ricardo's website.
Ah, World Nutella Day! A few years ago I made myself a cup of Nutella Hot Chocolate, posted it on my blog and sent the link to Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso, so I could participate in World Nutella Day. I never thought it would become one of my most popular recipes to date!
So, this year, I prepared a bit better and started thinking of Nutella recipes a little more in advance. I knew I wanted to make something with cream cheese but not a cheesecake. I thought of brownies but I wanted to taste the cream cheese and the Nutella. Then I found this dough recipe that could be easily adapted, added some cream cheese to it, filled the dough with Nutella and tadaaa! I got my Nutella Filled Cream Cheese Cookies! They are moist, not too sweet, you get a hint of cream cheese in each bite and the Nutella, well, that's just the most wonderful surprise to get inside a cookie! And it works so well with the cream cheese, the cookies stay moist and they are even better the next day.
Tell me, are you making Nutella recipes today or are you dipping your spoon into a jar and enjoying Nutella "au naturel"? We'll probably be doing a little of both around here today!
Nutella Filled Cream Cheese Cookies
(dough recipe adapted from Michael Smith via Food Network Canada)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1 - 250g package of cream cheese, room temp.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temp.
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp corn syrup
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Nutella, for filling
1/3 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
Preheat your oven to 375F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
In your mixer of choice, beat the butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar together until well mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the vanilla and corn syrup and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to the butter/cream cheese mix and beat until the batter comes together.
Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, otherwise it will be sticky, very had to work with and the cookies won't keep their shape as well.
Once your dough has been refrigerated, use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon and form little balls of dough. Make an indentation in each one and dollop about 1/2 tsp of Nutella in it. Close the dough around the Nutella as much as you can then use a small piece of dough to close up the hole. Form into a ball shape and roll into the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Place on the parchment lined cookie sheet, 6 cookies to a sheet.
Bake (one sheet at a time) in preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 36 large cookies.
