Nutella Stuffed Donut Muffins

All time best mash-ups:

Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Donuts and Croissants
Ice Cream and Hot Fudge

and of course...

Donuts and Muffins

Double the breakfast. Double the fun (and deliciousness).

Any excuse to eat two breakfast items in one right? Especially when it's stuffed with Nutella. Thick, gooey, chocolate-y Nutella.

Are you sold yet?

For the Muffins:
(9 regular sized muffins)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

9 teaspoons Nutella (1 teaspoon per muffin)

Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 Tablespoons butter, melted


Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 9 muffin tins with paper liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the wet ingredients (milk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla).
Add the wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture and stir until combined.

Place a spoonful of batter into the bottom of a muffin tin and dollop a teaspoon of Nutella into the center.

Top with enough batter to evenly cover the Nutella. Bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow muffins to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before coating.

In a small bowl, melt the 3 Tablespoons of butter. In a second small bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar for the topping.
Dunk the tops of the cooled muffins into the butter then the cinnamon sugar mixture. Continue this until all of the muffins have been dunked and coated. Serve immediately.

I love the oozing chocolate center and crunchy cinnamon-sugar coating... YUM!

*recipe adapted from Damn Delicious

Peanut Butter Lovers Ice Cream

Happy National Ice Cream Day! Honestly, every day is a good day for ice cream... To celebrate, how about whipping up a batch of this peanut butter dream ice cream? It definitely isn't for the faint of heart. Creamy peanut butter base, with a caramel-y peanut butter ribbon, mini peanut butter cups, and pretzels (for that salty sweet mojo!)

Here's how to make it...

For the Ice Cream:
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
3/4 cup peanut butter, creamy
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

For the Peanut Butter Caramel:
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 heavy cream
1/4 creamy peanut butter

1 cup chopped peanut butter cups
1/2 cup chopped pretzels

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients for the ice cream. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and ingredients are completely combined... Hint: You don't need to cook this ice cream base because there are no eggs! Place the base into the refrigerator to cool for 3-4 hours.

Meanwhile, make caramel. Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until sugar and peanut butter become smooth and creamy. Remove, place into a heat proof container and allow it to cool in the fridge with the ice cream base.

Once the base is cooled, churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturers instructions. During the last 5 minutes of mixing, add in the chopped peanut butter cups and pretzels. Remove ice cream and place half of the mixture into an airtight container. Swirl half of the peanut butter caramel over the top and cover with the remaining base and then the remaining caramel. Swirl with a chopstick or spoon. Allow the ice cream to set up in the freezer for 4-5 hours or overnight (the best).

Allow the ice cream to warm slightly before scooping and enjoy! I absolutely love the intense peanut butter flavor!

*recipe adapted from Life Made Simple

Fruit Salsa with Homemade Cinnamon Chips

I'm sure you have seen this delicious recipe floating all over the internet's and from what I'm told, its a top rated recipe on allrecipes.com.

I first tried it when my coworker brought it to a dessert pot luck... So good. I had dreams about it as a topping on ice cream or over yogurt with granola.

Whipping up a batch at home is easy and with in no time, this healthy "dessert" can be on your table. And honestly, who wants to bake or heat up the house with an oven when its 100 degrees out? Not. Me.

Enjoy!

For the Salsa:
2 green apples, diced
2 kiwis, diced
1 carton (8-ounces) strawberries, diced
1 (8-ounce) container raspberries, cut in half
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons fruit preserves (I used strawberry!)

For the Chips:
10 large tortillas, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Start by making the salsa: dice all of your fruit to roughly the same size and place into a medium bowl. Toss the fruit with the sugars and fruit preserves. Cover mixture with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerate to macerate for 1-2 hours.

Meanwhile, make your chips. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
Place tortilla triangles on a lightly greased cookie sheet and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon/sugar mixture over the top.
Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes until golden. Remove from cookie sheet on to a cooling rack and allow the chips to cool completely, 10-15 minutes.

Serve chips and salsa, dip, and enjoy! I love how crunchy the apples remain and how soft the rest of the fruit is. The sugars and fruit preserves make a perfect juicy addition. I could literally eat the salsa by the spoonfuls and the chips by themselves. Please make this today!

Not Your Classic Banana Pudding

I sincerely apologize that I've been out of the blogging world for so long.

I think I've been in a funk. Work has been crazy, home life has been crazy, and there have been so many bumps in the road.

So, I want to apologize to all of those who entered in my giveaway... I will announce the winner next week after I get some things in order.

For now however, can I make it up to you with some "out of this world" banana pudding?

It's more than just a box of Nillas and vanilla pudding... Here's how you make it!

You Will Need:
1 box of Nilla Wafers
1 box (3.5 ounce) french vanilla pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tub of Cool Whip
4 bananas, sliced

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cold milk and vanilla pudding until thickened, set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk with a hand mixer until combined. Beat in the thickened pudding mixture until incorporated.
Gently fold the cool whip into the pudding mixture until combined and set aside.
Now to assemble.

Place 3/4 of the Nilla wafers on to the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish.
Top with the sliced bananas, then the pudding mixture, smoothing it to the edges. Lastly top, the pudding decoratively, with the remaining Nillas.

Cover and place in your refrigerator to set for 2-3 hours. Enjoy! I love the added creaminess that the cream cheese and cool whip bring. It takes your average banana pudding it knocks it on it's heels... I hope you make this soon!

*Recipe adapted from Paula Deen's "Not Yo Mamas Banana Pudding"