One-bite buttons. Four buttons is a reasonable serving size, right? I mean, they’re so tiny. So really, when you think about it, I should eat more, right? Easily done!
Earlier this week, I popped my head into the DH’s man-cave and shook a jar of Nutella in his face.
Me: Sweetie, don’t eat any more Nutella! Because I need it for a recipe.
DH: I haven’t had any.
Me: But it’s half gone!
DH: I haven’t had any, I swear.
Me: Really? Um…never mind!
Later that week:
Me: Sweetheart, can you buy some Nutella when you go shopping?
DH: But I bought some!
Me: *sheepishly and in a small voice* I ate it all.
Shopping together a few days ago:
Me: Oh, here’s the Nutella! Let’s get this jar, it’s on sale.
DH: *takes small jar out of my hands and puts it back on the shelf* *reaches for biggest jar* We need this one. Actually, we should get two.
Me: No, it’s not healthy for me.
DH: *looks at me pointedly*
Me: What!?!
So yeah. I ate an entire jar of Nutella. By myself. In the space of a week. But it was just so goooood! And…confession time…I’m eating some more as I type this.
In the middle of the dolloping, but pre- spoon-licking.
My on-line bake-a-long group is making Nutella Buttons from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi cookbook this week, which is why I had Nutella in the house to begin with. The Nutella Buttons are these cute little mini cupcakes with Nutella in the centre and ganache on top. Although in my case, because you know I had to change something in the recipe, I used homemade Magic Shell as a topping.
Dolloping is done and spoons are licked!
It’s surprising easy to make them, although you do have to whip the egg whites separately and then fold them in. But aside from that bit of fiddly-ness, you just make a vanilla batter, dollop a bit in a muffin liner in a mini muffin tray, dollop a teeny bit of Nutella on top of the batter dollop, and finish it off with another dollop of batter. (And yes, dollop is my new favourite word.)
Post-dolloping, pre-dunking.
Once you’re done dolloping, you just bake them as you would any cupcake, and then let cool. Dorie suggests icing with a chocolate ganache, but I think a chocolate frosting would be nice too. I had some homemade magic shell in the fridge (chocolate mixed with coconut oil, basically) so I melted some in a container, and dipped the buttons in that. They turned out pretty well, and I can totally see serving these with tea for the chocoholic in your life. Or in my case, sending them into work with the DH so that I don’t eat them all.
Because you know that I totally would. (Along with another dollop of Nutella!)
Next Post: Rosemary and Aged Cheddar Foccaccia. Seriously easy!
jora
May 11, 2015 at 2:48 pmNutella is delicious, isn’t it? I used to love Nutella sandwiches. I enjoyed these, but found myself wishing they had even more Nutella in them.
Margaret
May 11, 2015 at 3:33 pmI think everyone will agree that more Nutella is always A Good Thing. 🙂 So yes, I think they would have been even better with more Nutella!
Diane Zwang
May 12, 2015 at 5:00 amI love the title of your post. Costco sells Nutella I think in a twin-pack;) These were good.
Margaret
May 12, 2015 at 5:13 amA twin-pack, you say? Guess I’m going shopping! 🙂
Cakelaw
May 12, 2015 at 6:33 amLOL, I eat Nutella out of the jar too – whic is why I only bought a small jar. These were delish. I also only made a half batch for the same reason …
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:12 amI should have done what you did, and only made half a batch. Because…then there would have been more Nutella for meeeeee! 🙂
Margrét Jóhanna
May 12, 2015 at 8:47 amWe love nutella as well. I hid the nutella until I had finished baking, but still somebody found it and half the jar was empty.
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:12 amHalf the jar! A mere single serving. *grin*
jane of many trades
May 12, 2015 at 8:51 amSkipped the Nutella in these, used Trader Joe’s Speculoos-suffered the same spoon licking and excessive nibbling you did. Taking these to work and hoping my coworkers will finish them off…
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:08 amOooh, Speculoos — great idea! I’m sure your co-workers devoured them and clamoured for more!
Christie
May 12, 2015 at 12:50 pmToo funny! My best friend’s mom can’t buy peanut butter because she will snack on it till it’s gone.
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:07 amGlad I’m not the only one who does this! 🙂
Nicole
May 12, 2015 at 12:56 pmOh yeah… I was right there licking spoons too. Waste not, want not!
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:07 amEXACTLY! Waste not, want not. Why, really, it’s the moral thing to do, to lick Nutella-coated spoons. 😉
Amy
May 12, 2015 at 2:45 pmI agree, you can never go wrong with Nutella!
Zosia
May 12, 2015 at 4:17 pmI love the thin coating of chocolate, enough to taste but not take over. Nutella doesn’t last long in my house either – I have to hide the jar if I want to bake with it.
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:05 amGlad I’m not the only one who has to hiding baking ingredients! Although in this case, hiding Nutella from myself just…doesn’t work. *grin*
Sarah R
May 12, 2015 at 10:28 pmI made mine with cherry jelly. I thought the Nutella might be too over the top, but maybe there’s no such thing as too over the top!
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:04 amOooh, cherry jelly sounds super-delicious! A nice tart cherry jelly would be perfect — great idea!
Lovie Bernardi
May 13, 2015 at 12:13 amThe most challenging part of the recipe was not licking the spoon in between each dollup of Nutella. It’s dangerous stuff!
Margaret
May 13, 2015 at 2:04 amI agree! Am eating some more as I’m reading my comments. Yum-city!
Joyce, Kitchen Flavours
May 13, 2015 at 3:05 pmOh yum! These are yummy!
Julie
May 13, 2015 at 11:00 pmLet’s start a Nutella support group…to support each other in eating so much Nutella! Your cupcakes look fabulous. 🙂
Margaret
May 14, 2015 at 1:42 amA Nutella support group! Great idea! But…this is a group to encourage the eating of Nutella, right? 😉
steph (whisk/spoon)
May 14, 2015 at 4:49 pmI initially thought two buttons would be good serving size–but it definitely wasn’t enough! 🙂
Margaret
May 15, 2015 at 2:52 pmMore buttons = more Nutella = always good. 🙂
Cathleen | My Culinary Mission
May 15, 2015 at 12:25 amGreat post! Made me laugh. Your “buttons” look perfect!
Margaret
May 15, 2015 at 2:51 pmThanks so much! 🙂