Nutella Stuffed Muffins

Why hello there!

It's been AGES I know, but I am so happy to be back to blogging and back at good old Rutgers University. True, the bus system is still horrendous and for some reason air conditioning only reaches certain classrooms in certain buildings. but nonetheless I am moved back into my apartment and ready for the new semester.

I am also super excited to be writing this post from the brand new Barnes and Noble on campus! It's three stories of nerdy awesomeness, and TED ALLEN will be showing up here in roughly twenty minutes for a book signing! Needless to say I have staked out a nice spot to (hopefully) snap a quick picture of him to share with you all, so fingers crossed!

Now back to the title of this post: stuffed muffins. Yes, we have done stuffed cookies here On Sugar Mountain, and stuffed cupcakes, but now all boundaries are broken with the help of our old friend Nutella.

So this starts out as your run-of-the-mill muffin recipe; mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, and stir until just combined. But then things get interesting once you begin to fill your muffin pans...

Fill the cavities a tad less than halfway with muffin batter, then go ahead and put a big ole' dollop of Nutella in the center. Of course, Nutella naturally fights to stay on the spoon instead of off of it, so two spoons may be necessary at this point.

Then cover with more muffin batter and bake until scents of cinnamon, nutmeg and Nutella fill your kitchen. What a stress-relieving aroma let me tell you.

These are cute and delicious on their own, but why stop here? What could make a Nutella-stuffed muffin even more gratifying? Oh I don't know....how about dipping it in melted butter and cinnamon sugar?

I thought so.

Whether you're starting a new semester, feeling frazzled or just in the mood for some seriously comforting sweet treats, these muffins are absolutely, positively the way to go.

Oh and just a bit of shameless self-promotion before I go, the new blog The Foodie Files has begun! Click here for my first post and check over there tomorrow for an out-of-this-world recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup.

Until next time,

Happy Baking!

Nutella Stuffed Muffins Via DamnDelicious
makes roughly 16 muffins

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
16 tsp nutella

cinnamon sugar topping:
6 tbsp melted butter
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together vegetable oil, milk eggs, and vanilla.
4. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
5. Scoop a small amount of batter (half of what you would normally use, maybe 2 tbsp) into the bottom of each muffin cavity. Then, drop a teaspoon of nutella in the center of each. Cover nutella with more muffin batter.
6. Bake muffins at 400 degrees for 13-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan before moving to wire rack to cool completely.

7. For cinnamon sugar topping: stir together cinnamon and sugar until well incorporated.
8. Grab muffin from bottom and gently dip top into the melted butter and then quickly into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.