NUTELLA Mini PIES

1 refrigerated pie crust                                      

1 jar of Nutella

Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Pre-heat your oven to 350.  Using a medium sized cookie cutter (2-3 inches,) cut out circles from your rolled out dough.  With the scraps, re-roll the dough out to cut additional circles– but be sure you roll it thin enough!  Scoop about 1 tsp, maybe a bit less, of Nutella towards the front of the circle.  Fold the back of the circle over, and press the edges together using a fork (this will both seal the pies and give them a cute design).  Poke holes in the top of the pie with the fork (again for cuteness, but this will also stop your dough from bubbling!)

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and remove from oven.  Sift powdered sugar over the tops.

Nutella Cookie Cups

INGREDIENTS:                                                            

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Nutella, melted/softened

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard size muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, add flours, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat for 2 more minutes.
Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until all combined and well-incorporated.
Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
Place Nutella in a microwave-safe bowl and warm up the Nutella in 30 second intervals in the microwave until you achieve a smooth and runny consistency that is easy to spoon out.
Using a medium cookie dough scoop, scoop out 1.5 - 2 tbsp. of cookie dough, flatten it to the bottom of the muffin tin. Repeat with the dough until all 10 of the muffin tin bottoms are lined with cookie dough.
Take a tbsp. of the warmed up Nutella and place in the middle of the dough that's in the muffin tin. Then, take the remaining cookie dough and cover the Nutella layer. You don't have to push it down hard, it'll make the Nutella ooze. Just a gentle tap will do.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are brown. Immediately run a paring knife around the cookie cups when they come out of the oven so you can loosen them for easy removal later.
Cool completely before removing them and eating :)
Top with vanilla ice cream for a sinfully delicious treat!

Homemade Nutella

Ingredients  

1 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup powdered milk
1 Tbsp. honey
pinch salt
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

Toast the hazelnuts at 375 for 10-15 minutes until fragrant & the skins split
Place the nuts on a tea towel and rub them to get as many of the skins off as possible
Transfer to a food processor (while warm) and puree into a paste (like thick peanut butter)
While the nuts puree, warm the milk, powdered milk, honey and salt over medium heat until it JUST starts to boil
Melt the chocolate in double boiler or in the microwave (on lower power) until smooth
With the food processor running, slowly add the melted chocolate to the ground nuts (scrape the sides if required)
Add the warm milk & honey to the processor and puree until smooth
Pour the mixture into a jar/container (it will thicken upon cooling)

Allow the mixture to cool and store in the fridge