Saturday, December 10, 2016

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


34 comments:

  1. Whoa -- chocolate overload here!!!!! So....I can I pretend the nutella cookies are low fat since they don't have any butter in them? And that means low calorie too...right? I'm definitely trying this. And I can make it one person friendly because it's easy to halve. Woot!

    I'm a simple homemade cocoa in regular milk kind of girl but this looks super decadent!!!!!

    Don't enter me in the contest, 'cause I can't read ebooks. Happy count down to Christmas!

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    1. You know, we only tried the nutella cookies once and although everybody liked them, we just haven't tried them again. Maybe today is the day!

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  2. Help! Something has gone awry at the Cafe!!!

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    1. Well, fixed the giganto font but I'll keep the teal. My favorite color!

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  3. Haha! Sorry about that! I coded in the snowflakes and thought I was making the snowflakes bigger, but apparently I was making the COMMENTS bigger. And that is why I am not a programmer!

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  4. Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. What's not to love? And 6 kids to help is a bonus. I love Nutella recipes, so definitely will try this one. And maybe the hot chocolate. Maybe. ( and this is the 3rd time today I've tried to post this comment. Not sure what the problem is, but it's on my end)

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    1. Hi, Leola!! So good to see you here! Thanks for sticking with it and commenting. :) :) My internet has been crazy slow yesterday and today, too. Maybe because we had an ice storm. I finally just switched to my phone. Poor laptop can't handle the slow speeds!
      An you're entered in the giveaway. I love this cookbook! I have Taste of Home's Christmas book from about five years ago and I think I'll have to order this updated version for myself, too!

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  5. Thanks for making the blog look so festive, Mary Jane. These drifting flakes are about as much snow as we've had so far - just some flurries today.

    Thanks also for kicking off our 12 days of treats and sweets! Can you believe I have never tried Nutella? There was a bakery here for awhile that was totally Nutella-based recipes, but they were shut down pretty quickly for using the name without permission.

    Your books look so pretty in that box set. :) And the cookbook reminds me of the tattered one you'll see when I post my cookies. It sort of automatically falls open to one page. :)

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    1. I love my old cookbooks!! But I had too many, so I donated over 40 this past week and kept only my very favorites. My cookbook shelf is SO organized now!
      I remember your story about the Nutella bakery! I think we're safe here because we're not making money off their name, right? It's an HOMAGE. Not a sale. LOL. At least, I can hope....
      We've had more snow this year than we've had for a decade. SO MUCH FUN!

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  6. Love the snowflakes! So cute!

    We made a similar cookie recipe. My daughter saw it on Pinterest. What's not to love about nutella?! :) Lots of goodies to check out today. Nice.

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    1. Thanks! I almost went with red and green snowflakes but they were really distracting. lol
      My daughters love Nutella! They like to spread it on toast.

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  7. My Christmas cookies so far have involved boxed Peppermint Joe Joes and a white chocolate cranberry cookie mix. Maybe I will make buckeyes, but since I am writing my first book, that might not happen. 😀

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    1. Congratulations on your book, Gretchen! Those cookies sound delicious but life definitely gets pushed aside a teeny bit when were writing. :) And that's okay because we don't have unlimited time, right?
      Wishing you swift fingers and lots of words!

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  8. I love the teal! And what a fun post this is, and I'm totally all over the snowflakes!!!! Happy dancing right now!!!!

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    1. Aren't they cute? I think if I adjust a line, I can have them fall from higher up, but I think I'm not touching it again. LOL. Who knows what might happen!

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  9. One of my son's girlfriend came over and I taught her how to make cookies for the very first time , we created a cranberry butterscotch chocolate cookie that tastes like a million dollars . A new favorite around here altho it can never replace snicker doodles in my heart!

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  10. I love tea with cookies during the winter. This reader appreciates recipes at the end of a book. Some of my favorite recipes today are ones from fiction books.

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  11. Love the snowflakes!My favorite cookie is probably ginger snaps. I'll have some with your hot chocolate! I've started a little bit of Christmas baking. We had our first Christmas party last night. Would love to read those books and I love cookbooks. Haha, I read cookbooks just like a novel!

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  12. Hi Cindi! Those sound delicious! I may have to try those. My daughter wants to try some caramel filled snicker doodles she saw.
    And how very sweet of you to bake cookies with your son's girlfriend. I think cooking together is a great way to show love and friendship.

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  13. Hi Marilyn! One of my readers tweeted a picture of the root beer doughnuts she'd made from the recipe in A Star To Steer By. I was so touched!
    Some of my favorite books have people eating delicious things. I loved the RedWall series when I was s kid and was fascinated with all the feasts the mice had.

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  14. Those Nutella cookies look delicious - and SUPER easy!

    But the chocolate...I have to try that. There's nothing like a good cup of hot chocolate!

    Thanks for kicking off our Twelve Days of Christmas Treats in such a fun way!

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  15. Hi Patsy! Me, too! And it's even better when the cookbook author has a sense of humor. I have a Joy of Cooking from the 50's and some of the recipe commentary is a hoot! I'm not sure if the modern ones are the same but I love reading through it.

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  16. Hi Jan! Thanks for popping by! And my friend was right about the Italian Swiss chocolate-- it was a completely new experience!

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  17. First I must say the recipe for the Nutella cookies and hot chocolate look amazing. I love chocolate chip cookies with M&Ms and sugar cookies with sprinkles. Merry Christmas.

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    1. Hi deana! MMMMM, I have a total weekness for chocolate chip cookies with M&Ms! Merry Christmas to you, too!

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  18. My favorite cookie is molasses. I haven't started holiday baking yet...still in the planning stage.

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  19. Simple for me.. sugar cookie cut outs to decorate are my favorite & no.. I haven't started any baking yet.. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Hi Deanna! We just made cut out sugar cookies last night and my kids went a little crazy with the decorating. I did keep a few to myself so I could give them some light icing. Nothing crazy.
      Merry Christmas to you, too!

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  20. So I'm wondering, would peanut butter work instead of Nutella? Just because I have Pb in the house but not Nutella. Favorite cookie? Do I have to choose? Well, okay....chocolate chip cookies!

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    1. Oh, I bet it would! Actually, that sounds AMAZING. Chocolate and peanut butter are perfect together. I think I'm going to have to try that.
      And my 11 year old son thinks chocolate chip cookies are the only real cookie worth eating. Makes me smile!

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  21. my favorite cookies are snickerdoodles! these recipes look so delicious! thank you for the chance!

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    1. My eleven year old loves snickerdoodles, too! Thanks for dropping by, Debbie. :)

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  22. My husband makes the decadently delicious Army Cookies. Not a glamorous name but they have every tasty ingredient you could want & they make 12 dozen. You'll be thankful for that amount once you taste the first one!!

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    1. Interesting! I've never heard of anything like that. :) Now I want the recipe!

      And 12 dozen sounds totally up my alley. With 8 people in our family, we can eat a lot of cookies when we invite a few families over for the evening!!

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