Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies

GOURMET CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT NUTELLA BROWNIES

8/1/2022

If you love Nutella, you are going to LOVE Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies! Two layers of rich, ultra-fudgy brownies are stuffed with silky smooth Nutella filling, drizzled with a warm milk chocolate glaze and sprinkled with chocolate hazelnut pieces. These are sinfully delicious and unapologetically decadent and indulgent!

Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST GOURMET NUTELLA BROWNIES:

If I can only share one baking secret with you, always use a DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE. You can use measuring cups and spoons for most recipes, but using a digital scale makes for the more consistent and efficient baking. Take this from someone that bakes A LOT!
For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate for this recipe. Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through! I prefer Ghirardelli or Lindt dark chocolate bars with at least 70% chocolate for the melted chocolate, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips.
Don't overbeat your brownie batter! Mix your dry ingredients in with a spatula just until blended for a perfectly shiny, crispy, and crackly top - the way a brownie should be!
Baking brownies low and slow is the way to go! 325 degrees is usually the perfect temp for baking the best brownies, BUT for these double-layered stuffed brownies I kick the temp up to 350 degrees for best results.
Be sure you don’t overbake the brownies! They should not be liquidy when you pull them out of the oven, and will firm up as they cool. Over-baked brownies will not be chewy or fudgy.

After removing from the oven, I suggest you place brownies on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. They usually come to room temperature within a few hours - and although waiting for this may be the hardest part, they are worth the wait!
Don’t use glass baking dishes for brownies or blondies – the baking times and results will vary wildly, and the heat retention of glass can lead to overbaking and dryness.

For entertaining, I love to serve individual brownie squares. I recommend and use a Pampered Chef Brownie Pan, which makes 12 individual brownie squares. I line each cavity with a non-stick cupcake parchment liner (PaperChef Culinary Parchment Large Baking Cups are my favorite). I package each brownie individually in a self-adhesive cellophane bag (Pack It Chic 4x4” Clear Resealable Bags work perfectly). Perfect for those times that you want to prepare brownies ahead of time and freeze!

Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies

FOR THE BEST GOURMET BROWNIES, USE THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS:

For gourmet brownies, in addition to using premium chocolate and cocoa, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave. Make sure to use fresh ingredients for the best results! I’ve made so many cakes, cookies and brownies through the years, and these are my recommendations:

Butter: Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter. Avoid generic/bargain brands of butter, which often contain water, which will strip your brownies of a perfect shiny sheen on top – and we LOVE a brownie with the perfect sheen!
Flour: King Arthur All Purpose Unbleached Flour is my favorite (it contains more gluten than other brands). Pillsbury All Purpose is my back-up, but weighs differently – make sure to adjust as necessary. (For reference, King Arthur is 120g per cup, Pillsbury is 129g per cup.)
Granulated Sugar: Domino Pure Cane Sugar
Baking Powder: Make sure that you use “aluminum-free” baking powder to avoid a tinny flavor. Rumford is one of the oldest and trusted brands.
Salt: To avoid a tinny flavor, never use iodized salt in brownies. Morten Non-Iodized Table Salt is my preferred brand for cooking and baking. For sea salt flakes, I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.
Vanilla: Neiman Massey and Rodelle are my preferred brands for Pure Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste - both are made with the highest-quality Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar.
Espresso Powder: King Arthur Espresso Powder is my favorite! If you don’t have time to order, DeLallo brand is also good and available at most grocery stores.
Other Extracts & Flavorings: Neiman Massey (neimanmassey.com), Rodelle (rodellevanilla.com), Cooks (cooksvanilla.com) and Amoretti (amoretti.com) brands make my favorite extracts and emulsions. Keep in mind that extracts and emulsions have different strengths, so watch your measurements and use recommended amounts.

Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies

FOR PERFECT BROWNIES, USE THE RIGHT CHOCOLATE:

For gourmet brownies, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave. Trust me on this!
For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate. Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through!

Extra Dark & Bittersweet Chocolate: Guittard 63% Extra Dark Chocolate Baking Chips and Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips are my favorite.
Unsweetened Chocolate: Guittard and Ghirardelli 100% Unsweetened Chocolate Chips, or if you don’t mind chopping chocolate, Ghirardelli or Baker’s Unsweetened Baking Bars
Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Guittard and Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
German Chocolate: Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate Bars
Milk Chocolate: Guittard and Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Bars: For chocolate chunk brownies and cookies, you can substitute good quality chocolate bars (Lindt or Ghirardelli) or Callebaut chocolate blocks that are cut into small chunks or pieces.
White Chocolate: Guittard Mystic White Chocolate Baking Wafers (true white chocolate flavor and melt perfectly) or Lindt Classic White Chocolate Bars or Ghirardelli White Chocolate Premium Baking Bar, Ghirardelli Classic White Premium Baking Chips
Cocoa Powder: Always use Dutch-processed premium unsweetened cocoa for brownies! Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder, Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa, Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa or Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened Ground Cocoa
Black Cocoa Powder: King Arthur Black Cocoa will give you an intense, dark colored and unsweetened chocolate flavor – use sparingly for the darkest chocolate cake, cookies and brownies (think “Oreo” dark).

Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies

GOURMET CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT NUTELLA BROWNIES

Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
NUTELLA BROWNIES:
2-1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter
¾ cup (4 ounces) 100% cacao unsweetened chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups (7.5 oz) 63% extra dark chocolate chips
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/4 cup (250g) granulated sugar
1-1/4 cup (250g) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
1-1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder

NUTELLA FILLING:
2 cups Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread

MILK CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup (6 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GARNISH:
10 Ferrero Rocher chocolate hazelnut candies OR
6 ounces chocolate hazelnut candy bars OR
2 (3.52 oz.) Toblerone Swiss Milk Chocolate with Honey & Almonds

HOW I MAKE THESE:

Remove eggs from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Lightly grease the foil in the pan, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
PREPARE BROWNIES: In a small heavy saucepan, cut the butter into pieces and melt over low heat. Add the unsweetened bittersweet chocolate chips and extra dark chocolate chips to the melted butter, whisking together until melted and smooth. Remove pan from stove and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs.
Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt in a separate small bowl, then whisk into the eggs just until blended.
Briefly stir the melted chocolate mixture, then gradually drizzle into the egg mixture, whisking constantly just until combined.
Whisk in the vanilla extract and hazelnut extract.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Sift through a fine mesh strainer directly into the batter. Stir with a silicone spatula just until blended.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a small offset spatula.
Bake for 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and dollop the Nutella over the hot brownie base and spread evenly with a small offset spatula.
Dollop the remaining brownie batter evenly over the Nutella layer, and carefully spread evenly to the edges with an offset spatula.
Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the slab comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool while preparing Chocolate Glaze.
PREPARE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GARNISH: Unwrap and chop the hazelnut candies or candy bars into small pieces; set aside.
PREPARE CHOCOLATE GLAZE: You’ll need a double boiler or saucier for this step. Add two inches of water to the pan and heat to boiling; remove pan from heat. Insert double boiler insert or stainless steel mixing bowl, making sure that the bottom does not touch the boiling water.
Add the butter and milk chocolate chips, stirring with a small silicone spatula until the butter and chocolate are melted. Add light corn syrup and stir until perfectly smooth.
Remove the double boiler or bowl from the saucepan and place on a kitchen towel, wiping off any condensation from the outside.
Immediately pour the warm glaze over the top of the warm brownie slab. Using a small offset spatula, spread the glaze evenly. Let glazed brownies cool slightly before sprinkling with Chocolate Hazelnut Garnish – you want it warm enough for the garnish to stick, but not too hot that it melts the chocolate in the garnish.
Sprinkle chopped Chocolate Hazelnut pieces evenly over the top of Chocolate Glaze before it sets.
Refrigerate brownies overnight (or for at least 8 hours) before slicing and serving.
Brownies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

YIELD: 12 large squares or 24 smaller brownies.

RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST GOURMET NUTELLA BROWNIES:

If I can only share one baking secret with you, always use a DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE. You can use measuring cups and spoons for most recipes, but using a digital scale makes for the more consistent and efficient baking. Take this from someone that bakes A LOT!
For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate for this recipe. Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through! I prefer Ghirardelli or Lindt dark chocolate bars with at least 70% chocolate for the melted chocolate, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips.
Don't overbeat your brownie batter! Mix your dry ingredients in with a spatula just until blended for a perfectly shiny, crispy, and crackly top - the way a brownie should be!
Baking brownies low and slow is the way to go! 325 degrees is usually the perfect temp for baking the best brownies, BUT for these double-layered stuffed brownies I kick the temp up to 350 degrees for best results.
Be sure you don’t overbake the brownies! They should not be liquidy when you pull them out of the oven, and will firm up as they cool. Over-baked brownies will not be chewy or fudgy.

After removing from the oven, I suggest you place brownies on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. They usually come to room temperature within a few hours - and although waiting for this may be the hardest part, they are worth the wait!
Don’t use glass baking dishes for brownies or blondies – the baking times and results will vary wildly, and the heat retention of glass can lead to overbaking and dryness.

For entertaining, I love to serve individual brownie squares. I recommend and use a Pampered Chef Brownie Pan, which makes 12 individual brownie squares. I line each cavity with a non-stick cupcake parchment liner (PaperChef Culinary Parchment Large Baking Cups are my favorite). I package each brownie individually in a self-adhesive cellophane bag (Pack It Chic 4x4” Clear Resealable Bags work perfectly). Perfect for those times that you want to prepare brownies ahead of time and freeze!

Original recipe published June 2017; revised and reposted August 2022.

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