Chewy Nutella Brownies

Nutella is beyond amazing. It's definitely on my top 10 favorites list. Not sure if anyone can relate to me besides my brother - but as a kid, while everyone else was eating peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese sandwiches at lunch time, I was eating nutella sandwiches. Like most Italian households, I always have a jar on hand in the pantry. It's just one of those necessities.

So, as I'm staring at the Nutella jar this weekend, the idea of making brownies came to mind. I never made homemade brownies, but it was actually very easy to make, especially since I had all the ingredients at home. They were such a hit, everyone at our dinner party was raving.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Sticks of Butter
• 8 oz Semisweet Chocolate Chips
• 2 Eggs
• 2/3 cups Sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups Self-rising Flour, sifted
• 1 cup Nutella
• Pinch of Cinnamon
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/4 cup Salted Toasted Hazel Nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Melt the butter and chocolate chips in the microwave or use a double boiler. Leave to cool slightly.

In a standing mixer or bowl with a hand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.

Add in the Nutella and continue beating until it is well blended.

Carefully fold in the melted butter and chocolate chips mixture, continue mixing. Add in the flour and pinch of salt and cinnamon, and mix until the flour is dissolved.

Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch square baking pan and press in the hazel nuts, evenly spread around. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

Poke with a fork to see if it comes up dry. Once fully cooled, cut into equal squares.