Overnight Nutella Oatmeal
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon hazelnuts
1 Tablespoon chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon nutella
3/4 cup milk
additional nutella, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips
In a small bowl or mug, stir together the oats, cocoa, nuts, and chips. Stir in the nutella and milk. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, enjoy cold or heat in the microwave. Garnish as desired.
The fourth nutella breakfast. This one ended up making a smaller batch than I had thought, so I would suggest using more oats, using more milk for a thinner, but more filling bowl of oatmeal, or bulking up and enriching the oatmeal with a little ground flax seed or wheat germ. This breakfast can also be prepared the night before, and enjoyed warm or cold.
Chocolate Nutella Pancake Stacks
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup milk
2 Tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutella
fruit
hazelnuts
Heat a little oil in a small frying pan over medium heat.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center.
Add the milk, oil, and vanilla to the well and mix until smooth. Drop small spoonfuls of batter into the frying pan (in batches if needed) and cook for a minute or two per side until firm.
Assemble the stacks by sandwiching four pancakes together with plenty of nutella between the layers. Garnish with fresh fruit and hazelnuts. Makes two stacks or eight miniature pancakes. Alternately you could make one large pancake and spread it with nutella, fruit, and hazelnuts.
Here is the second nutella breakfast addition. This makes one serving of pancakes - so you can make a hot breakfast just for yourself or for a loved one. You can make either the batter or the pancakes in advance and cook or reheat them in the morning.
Yesterday I featured Nutella Inspired Truffles. Today I am featuring Nutella Inspired Tarts. This creation is based off yesterday's recipe: both use the same primary ingredients and have the same flavors, but neither of them actually uses Nutella - just chocolate and hazelnuts used to recreate the beloved flavor. Actually, I suppose I featured these posts in the wrong order, as the original recipe was meant as a pie or tart crust, and I formed some truffles with the leftover mixture. Either way, the base recipe is featured in yesterday's post. Here is the process I used for making these tarts.
I used miniature aluminium pie plates and pressed the crust mixture into them in a layer thick enough to cover the pan. Then I stuck them in the freezer until firm. Once firm, I gently removed them from the pie plates. In hindsight, although this may allow for a prettier presentation, it was not the best idea for transporting and serving the tarts. Since the crust mixture is not baked, it falls apart easily when handled too much or warmed to room temperature, so the tarts would have held together much better if I had left them in the pan.
Making the best of things, I placed them on a plate and did not move them until it was time to eat. The filling is a chocolate cream cheese mixture. I then used cranberries to form a heart on each tart, and garnished with some meringue icing I had (as I prefer it to whipped cream based on flavor), as well as some strawberry slivers.
This makes nice individual tarts where you can vary flavors to suit your tastes (see yesterday's truffle post) and create unique designs. Alternately you could make one large pie, but I like the elegance of individual servings.
This is not a traditional truffle recipe, but it is a really quick and even nutritious truffle recipe. It uses ingredients with natural sugars and healthy fats. Although these are not the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth type truffles, they have a bit of texture and are more like decadent energy bites. I call them Nutella inspired, because the chocolate and hazelnut flavors are reminiscent of Nutella. I used frozen strawberry halves as a surprise center, though almost anything could be used or you can leave them without a center.
Nutella Inspired Truffles
1 cup whole hazelnuts
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup dates
pinch salt
strawberry halves (fresh or frozen), or desired filling
Process all ingredients in a food processor until well combined - hazelnuts should be ground and dates should be puréed so they are basically undetectable but hold the mixture together. Taste and add a little more salt, or you can add a sweetener if you wish though the dates do provide sufficient sweetness. Add a touch of cinnamon or vanilla extract if desired.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for a few hours until firm enough to roll into balls without crumbling.
Roll into balls, placing a strawberry half or desired filling in the middle, then rolling to encase it. Refrigerate again until firm. At this point the truffles can then be dipped in chocolate for added decadence, or just served with chocolate shavings on the side.
Variations are endless and go as follows:
Nuts: almonds, pecans, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, coconuts, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts
Fruit: raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, prunes, figs
Filling: small pieces of fresh, frozen, or dried fruits; whole nuts, chocolate pieces; cookie pieces; jams, preserves, or dessert sauces
Flavorings: cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon extract, ground coffee
Apple Oatmeal Parfait
1/2 cup hot whole grain cereal (see NOTE)
2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt (I used plain)
1 large apple, chopped
2 Tablespoons hazelnuts
honey or maple syrup, to taste
ground cinnamon, to taste
NOTE: For this recipe, you will need about 1/2 cup of prepared hot cereal. I use my favorite hot cereal mix, see {Hot Cereal Mix}. You will need 1/4 cup dry mix and 1/2 cup water, then cook according to recipe directions. Alternatively, you can simply use 1/4 cup rolled oats and 1/2 cup water or milk and cook them.
Prepare the cereal as required. The cereal can be used hot or cold. If you desire a cold parfait to transport, I recommend either allowing the cereal to cool, or making it up the night before and putting it in the fridge - even less prep work in the morning. Some people do not like the combination of the cereal and yogurt - as the cereal heats up the yogurt and the yogurt cools down the cereal. I happen to like this mixture of flavors, textures, and temperatures, but do as you wish.
I just kept this in a bowl and didn't layer it in a glass or parfait dish, but do this if you wish, or wish to transport it. Simply layer all ingredients as desired!
