Nutella Brownies

Nutella Brownies

NY Times

These dreamy four-ingredient Nutella brownies are assembled in less than five minutes. Nutella is the recipe’s workhorse, rendering obsolete the need for sugar, leavening and fat. Instead, the magical combination of chocolate-hazelnut spread, a little flour, a couple of eggs and a generous dash of salt, results in the fudgiest, chewiest and easiest of Nutella brownies. If a simpler brownie recipe exists, we have yet to be introduced.

Yield: One 8-inch pan

Non-stick cooking spray

1½ cups/442 grams chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)

2 large eggs, room temperature

¾ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

⅓ cup/43 grams all-purpose flour

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan, preferably metal (see Tip), with non-stick cooking spray and line with a long sheet of parchment paper that extends over two opposite sides of the pan.

Whisk the Nutella, eggs and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Gently fold in the flour with a flexible spatula, just until the last streak disappears.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, rotating at the halfway point, until crackly-topped and slightly puffed. A wooden skewer or cake tester inserted in the center should come out just clean. Try not to overbake, as these brownies dry out quickly.

Let cool to room temperature before lifting the brownies from the pan with the paper overhang, slicing into 9 squares and serving. Brownies will keep tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month.

Tip: Glass does not conduct heat as well as metal, so it can cause baked goods to cook unevenly and requires an increase in cook time. If using a glass pan, increase the bake time to 37 to 40 minutes, and expect some variation in texture.

*Personally, I’d maybe do a touch less salt. I made these with a glass pan (I really need a metal one)! At 22 minutes, they were still raw, they were done at 35. My other tip: oil your whisk and liquid measuring cup (for the Nutella) with non-stick spray — it makes everything easier.