Dirty Blondes or Nutella Blondies

I don't usually bake goodies or treats since I have a husband with little self-control. One time when we were in Istanbul, he ate a pound of baklava by himself. Anyhow, I also don't want to gain 50 lbs this pregnancy, so I have a once-a-week quota for ice cream or other substitute. 


This recipe is not my own, but it comes from a seasoned dessert master: Kari Hickman, leader of the notorious dessert club, published dessert author, mother of 3, and my friend.  I perform a few variations, which in my humble opinion, make it more scrumptious, but the link to the original recipe is
http://virtualgoodyplate.blogspot.com/search/label/Nutella.

1/2 stick unsalted butter or butter flavored crisco

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBSP cocoa

1/3 cup hazelnuts

Plenty of Nutella

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x11 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper; butter parchment. Get nuts toasting on a baking sheet - watch closely - just until fragrant, a few minutes.

Melt butter. Beat butter and sugar until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set half of the whisked mixture into a separate bowl, then add the dry cocoa to one of the bowls and whisk again. You should have one bowl with a white flour mixture, and a second with a cocoa'ed mixture. 

Beat eggs and vanilla into butter mixture. Once mixture is homogenous, put half of it into the bowl with the cocoa'ed flour, and the other half into the non-cocoa'ed flour mixture; stir just until combined. 

Add two heaping spoonfuls of Nutella to the cocoa'ed mixture. Stir in as best as you can. 

Place the batters into the pan a spoonful at time, alternating a scoop of the dark batter with a scoop of the light batter. You have to kind of press it into the pan. Once you've got all the batter in the pan, zap some nutella in the microwave for 15 seconds so it's more liquidy. Then use a spoon to create lovely swirls of Nutella atop your treats. Sprinkle nuts on top. 

Bake for 25 minutes, and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting. 

This is Kari's picture of her world-famous blondies. 

Some of my girlfriends from a mothers' group were the lucky partakers, but Allen ate most of them for breakfast and then took the rest to work.