Nutella Stuffed Cookies and the BEST hot chocolate ever- and giveaway!

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here, kicking off the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS TREATS! I have to admit, I had a hard time picking which treats I wanted to showcase but I eventually decided to do several for each post. That way, you can choose whether to make cookies, a drink, or a cake!

So, first off, let's start with the Nutella Stuffed Cookies!

'Tis the season of cookies and my kids saw a giant container of Nutella at Walmart. And so.... It would be wrong to just eat it with a spoon, right? (Ok, just play along.)


 Plus, it seemed as if Mr. MANLY MIXER (still not sure what his name is, but we're working on getting acquainted) was in the holiday mood. Looks like he's been using the snowflake paper punch!

 So, this recipe is the essence of EASE.
1 cup softened Nutella
1 cup chilled Nutella
1 cup flour
1 egg

Got that? One, one, one, one. We're not even making it to the number TWO.

But.... I've got six kids so I have to double. I'll use those math skills and... two cups of softened Nutella,  two cups of chilled Nutella (not in the picture), two cups flour, two eggs.

 Mic the flour, softened Nutella, and egg in a bowl. Mr. Manly Mixer was really enjoying this part.  Flatten in a 3 inch disc shape. Kids were thrilled with this. Mash, mash, mashity-mash.

 Take the Nutella from the fridge. (I had a feeling it would really slow things down if we were hacking the Nutella out of the jar as we try to assemble the cookies. Key to kids in the kitchen? Be prepared... So, I had an older kid hack out the Nutella into 1/2 tsp bits and put it back in the fridge. I'm sort of surprised there was anything left after she performed that task.)

 Flattern another cookie dough round and lay over the top. Now, these can be square, like ravioli, but who's got time for that? Plus, the circle is the most perfect shape in nature.

 While they're cooking at 350F for 8-10 minutes, make some tasty tea.

 Fresh from the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Crack them open....  Best eaten right away, so the Nutella inside is soft and warm. We actually took these to an ice skating party and they were delicious the next day!

And now, on to the best hot chocolate ever!
 So, my friend was telling me that if I haven't had Italian Alps hot chocolate, I haven't HAD hot chocolate.

I begged to differ. I drink Mexican hot chocolate with pan Mexicano so I was pretty sure I knew a little something about hot chocolate.

 But after seeing those pictures, I decided to try it out. Some recipes use half and half, some use arrow root.  I used corn starch and it worked perfectly.

You'll need:
4 cups milk
5Tbs good powdered chocolate
5TBS condensed milk
2TBS corn starch
sugar to taste
vanilla to taste

 Dissolve the corn starch a few TBS of hot milk. Heat the milk, condensed milk, chocolate and corn starch together until boiling. Stirring constantly, let it cook at a simmer or low boil for four minutes or so.

 If you'd like to add anything to it, add when removing from the heat.  I added crushed chocolate covered espresso beans. OH, YUMMY!

 Pour into cups or small ramekins. Don't drink immediately. It's VERY HOT.
                                              
 Grate chocolate over the top and let it melt a little.

YUMMMMMY

 As it cooled, I could smell the coffee/chocolate all over the house.

 I was a little worried when I dipped into it that I'd made pudding. (Oh, who am I kidding? I was not worried in the SLIGHTEST. Pudding is delicious.)

 But it was still liquid, so I guess we could still call it hot chocolate.

I did have to eat it with a spoon, but my kids drank it down (they got the espresso free version, FYI, before anybody calls the cops).

And now for the giveaway!

 I love giving away books, but I especially love giving away cookbooks. My own books always have recipes inside and I just love finding delicious new dishes to share. So, I'm giving away ONE set of my Cane River novels, a five book series, 

and ONE copy of Taste of Home 'Christmas- 465 Recipes for the Merry Holiday'.

We'll be drawing names and notifying the winners every weekend, so feel free to comment on any of the posts and you'll be entered! Check back on the weekend and we'll let you know who won which giveaway. :)

 What's your favorite cookie? Have you started your Christmas baking yet?

 Feel free to stop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway, my other author page at Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things that Last.