Nutella + Banana Ice Cream

Probably for most of my childhood (ok, even adulthood), if someone asked me my favorite food, I'd most likely have responded [very enthusiastically] with "Ice Cream!"

It should be of no surprise to anyone that we put an ice cream maker on our wedding registry. It should also be no surprise how excited I was when I learned the gift was fulfilled. It's maybe a little dangerous that I own an ice cream maker now, BUT, I can have ice cream ANYTIME I want. Not only that, I can have ANY flavor I want.

Life is good.

We inaugurated this beautiful machine with, what else, Nutella. I threw a banana in there, too. That makes it healthy, right?

The ice cream consistency was not AS creamy as say, Mitchell's, but it was pretty freakin' delicious, all the same. I made a milkshake out of it, too; it was fabulous.

Nutella & Banana Ice Cream
recipe slightly adapted from Crumb Blog
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Yield:
1 pint ice cream

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Nutella (or, your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread)
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups half and half

Method:
Mix all ingredients in food processor or a blender until everything is well incorporated. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Then, prepare the ice cream according to your machine's direction. I left mine in the machine for about 20 minutes. The ice cream will be pretty soft. To firm it up, transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container, and freeze for a couple hours before enjoying (I know, this part is tough). Once frozen, scoop & enjoy!
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Almond Joy + Donut

If you don't have a donut pan in your life, you should probably get one. We had put it on our registry thinking it'd be fun to try our hand at homemade donuts. Well, tried we have. And the results are delicious. Always. Plus, they're baked. Way healthier than fried donuts, right?

This base recipe is great. From there, you can dip the donuts into any toppings. I'm still on a Nutella kick, so I decided on an almond joy variety of donut, but with Nutella instead of plain ol' chocolate. Great decision, if I do say so myself.

Almond Joy Donuts

adapted from Table for Two

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Yield: 

6 donuts

Ingredients:

For the Donut:

3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar (I cut this down to even less)

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp butter, melted

For the "Almond Joy" topping:

1/3 cup nutella

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly butter or grease donut pan.

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt & sugar.

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together milk, vinegar, egg & melted butter.

Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix, or your donuts won't be fluffy!

Transfer batter to the donut pan. I use a spoon, but a ziploc bag with a corner cut out would work well, also.

Bake for 7 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on top and the donuts spring back when touched.

Let cool for a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, prepare the topping. 

Mix together the nutella and heavy cream until smooth. 

Place coconut and almond together in a separate bowl.

Take each donut, dip and swirl in the nutella mix and then dip in the almond & coconut mix.

Repeat until you've reached your desired amount of topping.

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Nutella + Peanut Butter

Welcome to our little kitchen. In the beautiful city by the bay. Here's what you need to know about us, for now. I'm S & he's H. We are newlyweds. And we love food. Here's to embarking on a new adventure together, to share the love from our kitchen with you. We hope you enjoy!

It's our first blog post AND it's World Nutella Day. Coincidence? Fate? 

When I came across this recipe on Pinterest, it was straight to the kitchen I went. Apart from the insanely deliciously sounding combination in the name, I was even more inclined to try these because the recipe lacked flour. 

Make these, you won't be disappointed.

Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies with Nutella Filling
recipe courtesy of The Spiffy Cookie

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Yield:
2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup nutella
Course sea salt, optional

Method:
Preheat oven to 350*F and lightly grease a cookie sheet (or line with parchment)
Mix peanut butter, sugars, egg, vanilla extract until combined. Scoop the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet. I used two spoons to do so, but a small ice cream scoop would work just as well. These cookies won't spread much, so there is no need to space them more than 1/2 inch apart.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are slightly flattened and the shine has disappeared.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.
While the cookies are still warm, make an indentation in the middle of each one. I used a bottle cap to do so, it was the perfect size. Scoop nutella into each of the indentations. I used two spoons to do this, as well.
Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.

*I halved the recipe, it yielded about 10 cookies.
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