Nutella and Peanut Butter Brownies

Two Sunday's ago, I had this strange feeling come over me.  I hadn't had a feeling like this in a while...at least not since the summer started.  I had that feeling that I just needed to bake something.  Yes, bake....even though it's still in the 100's here, I actually wanted to bake.  I think I'm jealous of all the other blogs I read that talk about all the fall like weather they are having!!  The downside of this need/want was that I didn't want to go to the store, that could be a a problem. I looked in my pantry to see what I had...flour, yes, baking powder and/or soda, yes, vanilla, yes, and so on and so on.  But then I saw the Nutella gazing at me from beside the peanut butter.  I wonder......................  I went to my computer and typed in Nutella, peanut butter, recipe... and behold the creation of Nutella and Peanut Butter Brownies!!!  YES!!! Not only were these absolutely delicious, they were WAY simple to make.  Though I do seem to be having a problem with timing lately and this was no exception.  The recipe called for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Mine took about 40 minutes at that temp.  Had I thought about it a bit more, I would have increased the heat to 375 and just watched them closely.  But no matter, these little gems were wonderful.  Nice and chocolatey with a tad bit of peanut butter, but I didn't get a lot of the hazelnut flavor from the Nutella.  Next time I might cut the cocoa powder down and add a bit more Nutella...I don't know.  If you could find actual hazelnuts, you could chop them up and add them to the mix....These are actually so incredibly easy, that experimenting with the recipe would be extremely fun!

Nutella and Peanut Butter Brownies
Adapted from The Craving Chronicles 
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter, melted and cooled
1 cup of sugar (granulated)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper (or spray with non-stick spray and coat with a little cocoa powder).

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

In a bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar.  Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in the vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, mix until combined.

In a small bowl, add the peanut butter and Nutella.  Microwave about 10-15 seconds, just enough to get them to combine smoothly.  Fold into the brownie mix.  Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan every 10 minutes, or when a toothpick poked into the center comes out mostly clean; start checking doneness after 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting into squares.  Enjoy!

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