Nutella Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar (and Eggnog!)

 

 Nutella makes me happy. 

I love licking the knife off after making my daughter a 'tella wrap or dipping pretzels in it (best snack ever!).

Around the holidays eggnog also enters our house. My husband hates it so there is usually extra. I used our leftover eggnog to make these spiced delicious muffins with a Nutella surprise in them. I also made them using regular milk and it works just as well. This reminds me of a Good Housekeeping recipe my mom made when I was little. The muffins were dipped in cinnamon sugar and it always felt like we had been extra good to get something so sugar-y for breakfast. To balance out the topping on this muffin the batter is actually relatively healthy. I use a small amount of brown sugar, applesauce replaces any butter or oil and by switching out the egg & milk for available substitutes these could easily be vegan-friendly.

Perfect for breakfast when it looks like this out:

Nutella Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar
(makes 12) These taste best eaten warm when the filling is gooey so I don't usually make extra for later.

1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk or eggnog
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
Nutella (roughly 1/2-1 tsp per muffin- 12 total)

For topping:
2 TBS butter
3 TBS sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400. These muffins are going to bake for 5 minutes at 400 and 10 more at 350. I know it's a pain but it creates a nice crust around the muffin and keeps the Nutella soft. I experimented with one temperature but it causes the Nutella to cook into the batter which I didn't want.

2. Mix together applesauce and brown sugar. Add egg, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Once blended add flour and stir just until it's worked in. Don't overmix as this is already a dense batter.

3. Spray a muffin tin and scoop one spoonful of batter into the bottom of each tin to cover it. Go through and add a small spoon of Nutella to each right in the middle. Then top with an additional spoonful of batter dropped right onto the Nutella. It will ooze down and cover the Nutella. The batter will yield just enough to make 12 muffins so make sure not to overfill!

4. Bake for 5 minutes at 400. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out the muffins to cool. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

5. Melt the butter in the microwave in a small bowl. Realistically you only need 1 TBS but then it's really hard to dip the muffins. In another small bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar. Once the muffins have cooled dip the tops first into the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately and with lots of napkins for the kids! Enjoy :)

Remembering to Say "I Love You"

I have rewritten this over and over.

I am sorry that parents lost their children. Sisters and brothers lost their playmates and grandparents lost their pride and joy.

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Eggplant is hot right now. Not just the vegetable (although I have seen assorted "arty" eggplant pics everywhere) but the color. Last week I picked up two eggplants and they've been on the counter looking at me as I deliberated on what to do with them. Last night they became.... delicious. I made a quick and easy "quiche".

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'Twas a night in December, the month half complete
All the children were sleeping, a quite major feat;
The stockings were still stored up in the attic,
Decorating with tiny children had proven problematic;

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Turkey and Babies and Truck Stops- Oh My!

This last 10 days has been a whirlwind of fur, cleaning & driving. We had the "untraditional" Thanksgiving this year. To make a long story short my father-in-law is going in for a transplant and we flew down Thanksgiving Eve to see him, introduce him to the baby, and drive his dogs back up to Vermont so we can care for them during his recovery period.