Ferrero Rocher Nutella Crunch Brownies

Ferrero Rocher Nutella Crunch Brownies - made June 19, 2021

I got the idea for these brownies from Queenslee Appetit. She not only had some of the best brownie pictures I've ever seen with clean cuts and lick-my-screen brownies stuffed with Ferrero Rocher but also the brilliant idea of stuffing brownies with Ferrero Rocher

Not that the concept is new but for some reason, I rarely think of it. Probably because, as a general rule, I don't buy Ferrero Rochers and don't have them as a pantry staple because I would eat them. That may sound non-logical but trust me, my waistband finds it perfectly rational.

But I was inspired by her pictures to load up on one of my favorite chocolates so I could make these brownies. I used her brownie recipe but rather than topping with the fudge layer in her original recipe, I went with my standby of Nutella Crunch topping.

I also upped the ante by adding chopped toasted hazelnuts to the topping to pair with the whole hazelnuts centered within each Ferrero Rocher.

You can use your favorite brownie recipe for the base layer but bake in a slightly bigger pan because the nutella crunch layer may make the brownies too thick otherwise. Not usually a bad problem to have but I assume you want to be able to bite into these. So if you have a recipe for an 8 x 8 pan of brownies, bake them in a 9 x 9 pan instead and bake for a shorter time since the brownies will be thinner and not take as long.

The Nutella Crunch layer? To die for. Not to mention a good way to use up any leftover Rice Krispies in the box if you didn't use them all up for making Rice Krispie treats. You're welcome.

Your favorite brownie recipe or try the one from Queenslee Appetit (make the brownie layer only).

For the Nutella Crunch layer:

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 cup Nutella

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2-3 cups Rice Krispies (adjust amount based on however much you need to coat each crispy rice cereal)

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, lightly toasted, reserve a handful for garnish

1. Once the brownies have come out of the oven, prepare the topping.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, combine butter, Nutella and chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Add crispy rice cereal and stir to coat completely. Add hazelnuts. Spread topping in an even layer over warm brownies. Smooth top and sprinkle with additional chopped hazelnuts if desired.

Coconut Toffee Chocolate Chip Bars

Coconut Toffee Chocolate Chip Bars - made May 21, 2021 from Mom on Timeout

Coconut and toffee - hard to beat that combination if you're a coconut lover or a toffee lover or both.

With summer coming up (although with the current heat waves hitting the country, it feels like summer already pranced right in and sat down), these are good for picnics and any other outdoor activities where you have to pack a quick snack and don't want to worry about frosting melting into a mess or fragile baked goods wilting.

It's not that healthy of course but so few things on my blog are. But they are easy to make and pack (and ship) well. In extreme heat, there's only the chocolate to melt and melty chocolate chips aren't a bad thing in a sturdy, chewy bar cookie.

Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

2 cups flaked coconut

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Filling

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

8 ounces toffee bits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Crust: Combine flour, oats, coconut and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix at low speed.
3. Add butter and mix until a crumbly dough forms. Add egg and beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of dough for topping. Press remaining dough into an even layer in the prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes.
5. Filling: combine sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup in a small bowl and mix until combined. Pour evenly over hot crust. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Top evenly with reserved crust mixture.
6. Bake 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

Giant Red Velvet Cookies

Giant Red Velvet Cookies - made May 7, 2021 from Kar for a Bite 

I love red velvet and I love giant cookies. White chocolate and red velvet are a classic combination, pleasing to the eye and taste buds. At least, these ones were.

The only thing I don't like when baking with white chocolate is how they brown in the oven during baking. It just doesn't look as aesthetically pleasing as when they're still un-browned white chocolate. You can get around this by baking with the white chocolate inside the cookies then, as soon as you take them out of the oven, press more white chocolate chunks on top of the hot cookies, pressing them lightly to adhere on top of the cookies.

As you can tell, I didn't do that for this batch. But regardless of how they looked, these cookies were delicious. You don't have to make them as "giant" cookies but if you make them smaller, be sure to adjust baking time accordingly. I like them large enough that you can really get that fudgy texture and have something to sink your teeth into.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons red food coloring or 1 tablespoon red gel food coloring

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white chocolate chips

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, red food coloring, and vanilla, mixing on low speed until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in two additions to butter mixture, mixing briefly after each addition until just combined. Fold in white chocolate.
3. Portion dough into 12 equal parts and shape into thick discs. Cover and refrigerate or freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space cookie dough discs two inches apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Brown Butter Nutella Crunch Cookies

Brown Butter Nutella Crunch Cookies - made dough May 9, 2021 from Toasty Oasis 

Much as I love Rice Krispie treats, especially the cookie butter version, the most First World problem with them is I never use up the whole box of Rice Krispies to make them. So I'm left with a partial box that isn't enough to make another batch of Rice Krispie treats but are too much to throw away (which I wouldn't do anyway as my Filipino upbringing would abhor wasting even 1 puffed grain of rice). Yet if I don't use them soon enough, they'll go stale.

I don't know why I never thought of using them in cookie recipes sooner or more often. I think I just had a one-track (or two-track) mind that they could only be used in Rice Krispie treats or my Nutella Crunch brownies. I don't eat them as straight cereal; I only bake with them. Enter Nutella Crunch Cookies.

These turned out pretty well because, well, Nutella.... As with all sandwich cookies, err on the side of making these small since you'll be eating two of them as a sandwich cookie. I also took the precaution of flattening them slightly to start their baking from a disc shape rather than a round bake. It helps with more even baking and increases your chances of ending up with a more uniform shape.

True to their title, they do have some crunch, both from the Rice Krispies in the dough but also in the texture of the cookie itself. You still don't want to overbake though. You don't want the texture of a crisp Oreo or the blackened look of one either.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and browned

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold from refrigerator

1 cup Nutella

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal (45 grams)

1. In a mixing bowl, pour hot melted browned butter over granulated sugar and brown sugar and stir to combine. Whisk in vanilla extract then eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Stir in Nutella, mixing until combined and smooth,
2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter-Nutella mixture in two additions, stirring to combine after each addition. Fold in crispy rice cereal.
3. If dough is too warm or soft to portion out, cover and chill for 30 minutes. Then portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until edges have set and middles no longer look raw. Let rest on cookie sheet for several minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Sandwich with Nutella if desired.

Biscoff White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Biscoff White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies - made dough April 21, 2021 from Sally's Baking Addiction 

It's been another little while since I last updated my blog. I could use the same (valid) excuse that I was busy, both with work and because now that I'm fully vaccinated, I've been able to get out more in terms of volunteering. Plus the weather has been nicer albeit all over the place with temps varying by 40-50 degrees in the same week, sometimes in the same day.

But I had also been feeling some ennui, back to feeling like I'm not really doing anything new. Since most of my baking has been concentrated on sending out military care packages for Soldiers Angels, I'm still doing a lot of cookies and brownies and there's a sameness to them, especially since I also tend to same the same basic types of cookies (chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, oatmeal chocolate chip) and brownies (fudge brownies plain or with different mix-ins like chocolate chips, Nutella, Oreos, candy bars).

I did do some baking for local housing-insecure/homeless folks a few times but again the same type of things since they could easily be packed in lunch bags for distribution and consumption. For that latest effort, I made over 100 cookies, brownies and a bundt cake that I sliced and packaged up for inclusion. The bundt cake was only okay (to me) and was what I was supposed to post about next. Since it didn't seem that inspired to me, I couldn't think what to write about it.

So this is my long lead-in to say I'm just going to do the obvious and just blog what I want to blog about. And what I want to blog about are the things I liked and turned out well, not stuff that just turned out okay and not that interesting to me. 

Fortunately, this one turned out well and I rather liked it. That's the norm for any recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. If you haven't ever tried any of her recipes, this is a great one to start with. It's easy to make and it's delicious, especially if you're a cookie butter fan. The dough is very easy to make and work with. The cookies don't spread much and this is an excellent flavor combination between the cookie butter, the oatmeal and white chocolate.

It also has the added benefit of mailing well because, like most oatmeal cookies, it bakes up sturdy (not fragile) and is easily packaged and shipped. Be sure to check out Sally's blog for more amazing recipes.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1/2 cup Biscoff or cookie butter spread

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups oats

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips or chunks

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
2. In a separate, larger bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar until combined. Whisk in egg until combined. Add cookie butter and vanilla and stir until combined.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Add oats and white chocolate, reserving a handful of white chocolate chips.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls on baking sheets. Bake 11-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Do not overbake. Remove from oven, let cookies rest on baking sheets for several minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cookie Butter-Stuffed Blondies

Cookie Butter-Stuffed Blondies - made on April 30, 2021 from Handle the Heat 

I feel a bit conflicted about this bar cookie. On the face of it, it's everything I like: easy-to-make bar cookie (always good when baking for a crowd, which I was), brown-sugar blondie and hello, cookie butter.

But I don't know if my taste buds were a bit on sugar overload when I made this or what the issue was but I didn't love this as much as I expected. For one thing, it was a bit too thick, even for me, so it might've been better to bake in a 9 x 9 pan instead of an 8 x 8. Plus the cookie butter-sweetened condensed milk filling was a bit too thick and didn't taste as cookie buttery as I would've wanted. Instead it just seemed gelatinous.

Next time, I might just thin the cookie butter by melting it and perhaps adding a few tablespoons of whole milk rather than mixing it with sweetened condensed milk.

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted

1 3/4 cups (350 grams) dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup cookie butter

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine the hot melted butter and sugar with a rubber spatula. Let cool. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until combined. Stir in the salt and flour.
3. Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until it just begins to set. Keep oven at 350°F.
4. In a heatproof container, microwave the cookie butter and condensed milk in 20-second bursts, stirring between bursts, until warmed through and well combined.
5. Spread the cookie butter mixture over the par-baked blondie layer in one even layer. Use your palms to flatten pieces of the cookie butter mixture to layer over the blondie if needed. Spread the remaining blondie batter over the cookie butter layer until it’s completely covered.
6. Return to the 350°F oven and bake for another 30 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Let cool completely before chopping into bars with a big sharp knife. Wipe the blade with hot water for cleaner slices.

Biscoff Blondies

Biscoff Blondies - made April 30, 2021 from Jane's Patisserie

Hot on the heels of my earlier post regarding stuffed cookie butter cookies, here's a bar version where blondies are baked with cookie butter swirled in and topped with Biscoff cookie pieces. 

So you can already imagine I'm going to tell you this was also incredible. Because it was.

The cookie butter was a bit difficult to swirl in since it's fairly stiff. You can always warm it up slightly for easier swirling but I wouldn't worry too much about it because having large pockets of cookie butter in the blondie isn't a bad thing.

I've become a fan of adding Biscoff cookies to pretty much anything. Unlike my other favorite, the Oreo cookie, Biscoff cookies don't soften in baking and retain the crispness I like so much in these cookies.

I didn't bake this bar cookie as much as I could have as it was difficult to tell when it was actually done via the toothpick test so I could've baked it a little longer for more of a golden brown color.

Still, it was pretty feckin' delicious anyway. The original blogger, Jane's Patisserie, is from Australia (I believe) so the original recipe followed the metric system. I've translated to ounces for the butter but kept everything else in grams so it's best if you have a food scale to measure the ingredients.

200 grams (7 ounces or 14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

125 grams granulated sugar

125 grams brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

275 grams all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

200 grams white chocolate chips

250 grams cookie butter

100 grams Biscoff cookies, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 9" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, beating after each addition.
4. Add flour and cornstarch; mix until just combined.
5. Fold in white chocolate chips.
6. Pour into prepared pan and dollop the cookie butter on top. Swirl through batter. Sprinkle chopped Biscoff cookies. 
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until corners are set, middle no longer looks raw and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

White Chocolate Macadamia Coconut Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Coconut Cookies - made dough April 26, 2021 from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen

This is still part of the mass baking day I did the first weekend in May. You'll always see cookie recipes as part of my mass baking days since I could (and do) mix together cookie doughs any time I have a spare 15-20 minutes throughout the week then I keep the cookie doughs in my freezer until I'm ready to bake. 

It's a handy time management trick since I tend to do my mass baking when I have several free hours (which only seems to be on my Friday day off and/or the weekend) and baking a ton of cookies is much easier and takes less time when the cookie doughs are already made up and ready to go.

I love the coconut-macadamia combination and macadamias are almost the only nut I can tolerate inside a cookie since they don't soften like pecans and aren't bitter like walnuts. Plus they taste good.

This is a pretty good cookie. It has brown sugar overtones, the chewiness of coconut, the crunch of macadamia nuts and the sweetness from the white chocolate. All in all, a great combination. 

1 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white chocolate chunks

1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, lightly toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

1 10-ounce package sweetened flaked coconut

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined and no butter lumps remain, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, mixing briefly after each addition until just combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in two additions, mixing after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Fold in white chocolate, macadamia nuts and coconut. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls 2 inches apart. Bake 12-14 minutes until edges are golden and middles no longer look raw. Cool on baking sheets for several minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.