I distinctly remember the moment I fell in love with Nutella. I was sold by its creamy texture, distinct hazelnut flavor, and how well it tasted spread over a banana, then sprinkled with coconut. Ever since that very moment, I knew if there was one thing I needed to always have in my pantry, that would be Nutella. It quickly became a pantry staple as would peanut butter or flour for that matter. Whatever you decide to do with it, you’re sure to love it. I’m pretty sure there is simply no way to ruin any recipe that has Nutella in it.
 
So when I came upon this recipe for Nutella Cheesecake Pumpkin Muffins from TK member (Amy) mynameissnickerdoodle, I instantly knew this recipe was going to be a keeper. I could hardly wait for the cold weather to really set in so I could curl up with a cup of coffee and a plate of these muffins. I mean, the thought of Nutella cheesecake alone sounds heavenly, but Nutella cheesecake in the center of a pumpkin muffin? Only one word comes to mind: magical. And that’s exactly what they are.

To make these delicious muffins, you’ll need eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, Nutella and cream cheese. I didn’t have any vegetable oil so I just substituted 1 cup extra light olive oil and a half cup of unsweetened applesauce and it worked like a charm.
 
 
 
 

Preheat your oven to 375ºF and line a muffin tin with some baking liners. These days you can find liners in all sorts of different colors or designs, which can really add personality and dress up any cupcake or muffin.
 
 
 
 

Now let’s get going with the pumpkin batter. In a bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. It should start to smell good already!

Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside for just a moment.
 
 
 
 

In a large bowl, crack four eggs.
 
 
 
 

Gently whisk the eggs until they are slightly beaten.
 
 
 
 

Next add in the sugar, applesauce and pumpkin puree.
 
 
 
 

Lastly, add in the oil.
 
 
 
 

Stir until all the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined.
 
 
 
 

Working in batches, add a little of the flour mixture into the pumpkin batter.
 
 
 
 

Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
 
 
 
 

The batter should be smooth yet slightly thick. My rule of thumb: if the batter tastes amazing, so will the final baked product. And let me just tell you, the batter is absolutely fantastic! Now, if you can help it, set it aside and get started with the cheesecake filling.
 
 
 
 

Measure out a half cup of Nutella.
 
 
 
 
>

Add the Nutella, along with the 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and one whole egg into a medium bowl.
 
 
 
 

Using a hand mixer, blend until smooth.

Now comes the fun part! To the lined muffin tin, add two level tablespoons of the pumpkin batter.
 
 
 
 

Next place a tablespoon of the Nutella cheesecake mixture on top of that.
 
 
 
 

Lastly, top the Nutella mixture with two more tablespoons of the pumpkin batter. Place in your preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. See? So easy!
 
 
 
 

My muffins baked up perfectly in 18 minutes. They were light and fluffy and my home filled up with the smell of pumpkin. Here are some words of advice: let them cool slightly before removing from the pan and attempting to eat.
 
 
 
 

What I really liked about this recipe, besides the whole entire thing, was that the measurements are spot on. I didn’t have any leftover batter or cheesecake filling. And if you keep the muffins in an airtight container, they can last for up to a week. (If that’s even possible.)
 
 
 
 

It was pure genius of Amy to match this fluffy pumpkin cake with the silkiness of Nutella cheesecake. These muffins pack easily and are great afternoon snack or as an evening dessert. And as a Season Two Dessert Host for Real Women of Philadelphia, Amy is no stranger to creating fun and delicious treats. It’s obvious she knows her way around a kitchen. Just check out Amy’s Tasty Kitchen recipe box or stop by her fun and happy website My Name is Snickerdoodle and you’ll see just why. Thank you, Amy, for sharing such a scrumptious muffin recipe with us! This recipe will firmly hold a spot in my recipe box and I can’t wait to bake these again for the holidays.

Note: The only change to this recipe I made was to use 1 cup olive oil and a half cup unsweetened apple sauce instead of 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil.

Printable Recipe

Nutella Cheesecake Pumpkin Muffins

by mynameissnickerdoodle on September 5, 2011 in Breads, Muffins September 5, 2011 BreadsMuffins

See post on mynameissnickerdoodle’s site!

4.60 Mitt(s) 15 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 22 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 20

Share f a e

20

• Print
• Leave a comment
• write a review

x

Print Options

Page size

Letter 3x5 4x6

Text Size

Small Medium Large

Content

Include description
Include prep time, etc.
Show image

Print

Description

Pumpkin muffins just says fall. Adding a little Nutella cheesecake filling to pumpkin muffins just YELLS fall!

Ingredients

• FOR THE PUMPKIN MUFFINS:
• 4 whole Large Eggs
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Pumpkin Puree
• 1-½ cup Vegetable Oil
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• FOR THE NUTELLA CHEECAKE FILLING:
• 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
• ½ cups Nutella
• 1 whole Large Egg

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add in sugar, pumpkin and oil and beat thoroughly. Add in remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese, Nutella and egg until smooth.

Place paper liners in a muffin tin. Place about 2 tablespoons of pumpkin batter into each liner, then 1 tablespoon of Nutella batter, then top with 2 more tablespoons of pumpkin batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes.

These are best served completely cooled. Makes 20 muffins.

 
 
_______________________________________

Laurie is the force behind Simply Scratch, a blog that documents her efforts to find and create recipes that are made simply from scratch. (We think it’s sweet that her mother-in-law helped her set up her blog and get started.) We love her recipes; they’re not just tried and true, but they look gorgeous as well. Check out her blog and you’ll become a fan too.

Help us welcome another guest contributor, Laurie of Simply Scratch, who is sharing a wonderfully easy and impressive recipe for Strawberry White Chocolate Streusel Bars from TK member angpritch. It’s a great dessert for your cookout today. Welcome, Laurie and thank you, Angela!

_______________________________________

 
 
Strawberries! Beautiful, juicy, red and sweet strawberries! I don’t think there’s a single soul who doesn’t love this delectable fruit. They are possibly the most loved berry of all berries, whether it’s for their bright red color, the distinct aroma or juicy seedy texture … seriously, what’s not to love?

I always get excited when I start seeing them arrive at my local farm stands and supermarkets, because that means spring is here and summer is not too far behind it! Aside from fruit salads, shortcakes and chocolate-covered strawberries, you can use strawberries in anything from sweet and savory jams and salsas to crisp, fresh salads or cold frozen treats. I really haven’t met a strawberry recipe I didn’t fall in love with and devour, including this recipe from TK member angpritch (Angela). I mean, c’mon— strawberries, streusel, and white chocolate, all atop a crispy oatmeal cookie bar. This recipe had me at strawberry, and sold me with the white chocolate drizzle!  

To make these heavenly bars you will need old-fashioned oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, chilled butter, strawberries, strawberry jam, lemon zest, and white chocolate. I was surprised by how much of the ingredients I already had in my pantry!

In a large bowl add the oats, flour and sugars. Make sure your oats are the old-fashioned kind and NOT quick oats, otherwise the oats will get mushy in the oven and not hold their shape.

Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt to the bowl.

Whisk the dry ingredients until combined.

Cut the chilled butter into pieces and toss them into the bowl as well.

With a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour and oat mixture. I used my free hand to scrape down the sides of the bowl to better incorporate all of the dry ingredients with the butter.

There are a few things that are certain when I’m cutting in butter. First, I will be flinging flour-coated butter crumbles everywhere and making somewhat of a mess. And the moment my arm becomes tired, I will want to throw in the towel because I’m starting to feel I can no longer do it. It’s just at this point that it becomes easier and starts coming together. So hang in there—you’re almost done!

Stop once the crumbles are small and uniform, wipe your brow. Cutting in butter is no simple task!

Be sure to reserve a cup of that crumble mixture and set it off to the side. You will need it later in this recipe.

Pour the remaining crumble into an un-greased 10×15 jelly roll pan.

Press it down firmly with your fingers to form the crust and then place into a preheated 350ºF oven for 12–13 minutes. You’re not looking for it to brown; you just want it to firm up a little. 

While the crust is baking, hull and quarter about a pound of strawberries. You’ll need about two heaping cups of quartered strawberries. 

Then zest your lemon and measure out a teaspoon of the fragrant zest.

In a small sauce pan, heat a half cup of strawberry jam and the teaspoon of lemon zest over low heat until the jam is warm and spreadable. You could also warm the jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir in the lemon zest, if you want fewer dirty dishes.

Drizzle and brush with a pastry brush or a rubber spatula to spread the jam all over the warm crust. (Note: The preserves I used were a bit chunkier and I found that I needed a little extra of it to cover my bars, so I added two more heaping tablespoonfuls.)

Then scatter the strawberries evenly on top of the jam.

Sprinkle with the reserved cup of the crumb mixture, and then place the pan back into the oven for 20–25 more minutes or until the streusel topping is a light golden brown.

Once baked, your home should smell amazing, but you’ll have to let the pan cool for one whole agonizing hour.

Once the strawberry bars are cooled, it’s time to prepare the white chocolate drizzle. Place the white chocolate into a glass bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Gently stir until completely melted.

Angela’s recipe calls for 3 fluid ounces of white chocolate. I had whit chocolate chip on hand, so I used half a cup of that and added a tablespoon of coconut oil to the chips to thin it out a tad.

With a spoon, dip into the melted chocolate and drizzle across the tops of the bars. I cut my bars before drizzling, but you could also drizzle before cutting them. Whatever floats your boat!

While the chocolate cools, maybe go brew some coffee or tea, or pour a tall glass of milk!

Curl up in your favorite spot to enjoy every delicious morsel.

 
Thank you Angela for sharing this delicious and extremely fun-to-make recipe! My family and I truly enjoyed every piece right down to the last oatmeal crumble—a definite keeper!

Please be sure to visit Angela over at her blog, Recipes from My Mom, where she honors her mother’s memory with heartwarming stories and delicious mouth-watering recipes.

Printable Recipe

Strawberry White Chocolate Streusel Bars

by angpritch on March 22, 2011 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts March 22, 2011 Brownies and BarsDesserts

See post on angpritch’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 36

Share f a e

36

• Print
• Leave a comment
• write a review

x

Print Options

Page size

Letter 3x5 4x6

Text Size

Small Medium Large

Content

Include description
Include prep time, etc.
Show image

Print

Description

If a granola bar and strawberry shortcake had babies!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• ¾ cups White Sugar
• ¾ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Cold Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces
• 4 ounces, fluid Strawberry Jam
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 2 cups Strawberries, Chopped Or Sliced
• 3 ounces, fluid White Chocolate

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Add the chopped up cold butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like small crumbles. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.
3. Dump the remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 15” x 10” pan (jellyroll pan) and press it into an even crust.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to touch. Do not brown.
5. Remove pan from oven. Warm the jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir in the lemon zest. Drizzle the warm jam over the warm crust. Spread the chopped strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle on the reserved cup of crumb mixture.
6. Return pan to 350 degree F oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the crumbs on top are lightly browned. Then remove it from the oven and let the pan cool for 1 hour.
7. Melt the white chocolate in microwave, following directions on package. Drizzle melted chocolate in thin lines over the streusel top. Cut into bars.

 
 
_______________________________________

Laurie is the food blogger behind Simply Scratch, a blog that documents her efforts to find and create recipes that are made simply from scratch. (We think it’s sweet that her mother-in-law helped her set up her blog and get started.) We love her recipes; they’re not just tried and true, but they look gorgeous as well. Check out her blog and you’ll become a fan too.