I Tried It: The Three Ingredient Brownie

Gratuitous closeup of Nutella

Have you been as curious about the myth of the 3 ingredient Nutella Brownie as I have? Seeing it all of the internet, thinking "Hmm...I wonder if that really works?" and then letting your mind carry you away to a lovely daydream about Nutella? I mean, erm. What?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I bring you good news: It works! Not only does it work, but these may also be my favorite brownies of Brownie Quest 2013 (aka The Quest for the Perfect Brownie).

Here's my spin, which technically includes five ingredients, but 2 are optional.

What you'll need:

(Makes 12-16 brownies)

• 300g Nutella
• 65g Self Raising flour (I used Dove's Farm GF blend)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla (Technically optional, but highly recommended. I think it nicely added to the flavor!)
• hazelnut pieces (to sprinkle over the top, if so desired)

The Brownie Triumvirate.

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 180C/360F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, and flour. I used my handheld electric mixer on low for about 30 seconds. Then add in the Nutella, blending thoroughly. This should take about a minute.

Butter an 8 x 8 inch baking dish (or an approximately sized round dish, as you see below), and pour in the batter (mine was pretty thick - almost between batter and dough in consistency - so don't be alarmed if yours is too. Particularly if you are using gluten free flour.).

Sprinkle the top with a handful of chopped hazelnut pieces (or not, up to you! I just had some leftovers from these Nutella cookies I made a little while ago.)

Pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Whole pan of brownies cooling

Let cool for at least 5 minutes before attempting to cut if you want your brownies to resemble any actual geometric shape. If you're not so picky about aesthetics, let cool for 3 minutes before digging in.

So pretty and full of Nutella.

And in case you're wondering, these are not overpoweringly hazelnutty. There is definitely a taste of Nutella, but it's not as strong as you would expect given that it is one of the main ingredients. These are just super tasty brownies with a really good consistency (on the fudge-y side, not cake-like or dry).

Have you tried these yet? If not, will you now?

Nutella Chip Cookies

I'm hoping I had you at "Nutella", but just in case you need convincing, these were delicious, thin and crispy, not too sweet, and perfect with a cup of coffee (or probably with a bowl of ice cream, although I haven't tried that yet) cookies. On board yet?

What you'll need:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 150g nutella 
• 340g self raising flour (I used Dove's Farm GF blend)
• 2.5 tsps baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 75g chocolate powder
• finely chopped hazelnuts
• 100g finely chopped milk chocolate

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 180C/360F.

Then combine the sugars, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. I used an electric mixer on a low/medium speed for about a minute, or until everything is fully blended. Set this mixture aside for a moment while you combine the remaining dry ingredients - the flour, baking soda, chocolate powder, and salt. Mix thoroughly then blend, little by little, into the wet mixture using the handheld electric mixer.

Once you have a cookie dough with an even consistency, blend in the nutella, hazelnuts, and chopped milk chocolate. Make sure to blend thoroughly, or you risk having a few disappointingly chocolate chip-less cookies!

Roll the dough into balls that fit neatly into the middle of your palm and flatten a bit before placing on the cookie sheet. A ready to be popped into the oven sheet should look like this:

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes. Fresh from the oven, your cookie sheet should look like this:

 Let cool just a tiny bit before eating - this step will be difficult, but trust me on this one. Try to remember that a warm cookie is so much better than a scalding hot cookie.

Enjoy the final results! Sharing is recommended, but mainly because I have no self control if left alone with these. Seriously. NO self control.

The contents of this plate did not last long. And there were really NOT that many people helping.