Nutella S'more Brownies

Happy National S'mores Day!

Are you celebrating? If not, you should be.

As if we really need an excuse to eat graham crackers, chocolate, and melty marshmallow. . .

It's hard to beat the goodness of regular classic s'mores, but every year I like to have an excuse to try new desserts with three of my favorite ingredients. Last year I made these healthy gluten-free and paleo coconut s'more bars.

This year I decided to go in the opposite direction and make totally decadent nutella s'more brownies.

Whoa, yum.

It all started a couple weeks ago when my mom told me about a recipe she'd seen for 2- ingredient nutella brownies. Yep, two ingredients: 1 cup nutella and 4 eggs. I didn't quite believe her until I found this helpful post from The Kitchn, and then I was hooked. The nutella and eggs undergo some kind of magical transformation in the oven. These brownies have a complex dark chocolate flavor and a fudgy smooth texture.

You already know I have a thing for marshmallow and chocolate together. I've gone in different directions with the marshmallow topping in the past. In these double chocolate peanut butter brownies, I used marshmallow fluff, but for these sweet potato blondies, I used mini-marshmalllows.

I've always been somewhat intimidated by making my own marshmallow topping. Tempering egg whites and cream of tartar? What if it was too much work or I messed it up?

As usual, Smitten Kitchen came to the rescue with a stellar no-fail recipe for marshmallow frosting. I may never go back. While it might take slightly longer than opening a bag of marshmallows or a jar of marshmallow fluff, this marshmallow frosting is well worth the little bit of effort. I loved the thick layer of marshmallow covering the brownie, and two steps of the recipe are pretty hard to mess up. Trust me, I've messed up a lot of recipes.

The resulting s'more brownies are over-the-top good. And rich.  Fudgy brownie, crunchy graham cracker and sweet gooey marshmallow.  What more do you need?

Two-Ingredient Nutella Brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup nutella
4 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8-inch square pan liberally with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

Crack 4 eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 7-10 minutes, starting on low and gradually increasing speed to medium high. This might take a little less time with a hand mixer.  You'll know you're done when the eggs have tripled in size and are light yellow and frothy.

Measure 1 cup of Nutella into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stirring in 15 second increments.

Gradually add melted nutellla into the egg mixture, keeping the speed on low. Mix until nutella is fully incorporated and batter is smooth.

Pour brownie batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until sides pull away from the pan, and a toothpick (or knife) inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool before cutting.

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Fill a small saucepan with 2 inches of water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.

In a large mixing bowl, add egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tarter. Place the mixing bowl over the small sauce pan. Whisk egg mixture together for 2-3 minutes, or until sugar is mostly dissolved. (Watch the temperature of the bowl. If it get too hot, turn the heat down. You don't want to scramble the egg whites!)

Remove bowl from the stove. Stir in vanilla extract, then beat with electric mixer for 5-7 minutes or until frosting is glossy and thick.

Nutella S'more Brownies

Ingredients:
nutella brownies
marshmallow frosting
7 graham crackers, crushed

Directions:
Preheat oven to broil and move rack to upper third of the oven.

Gently press the graham cracker crumbs into the brownie.

Ladle marshmallow frosting over the top, gently smoothing over with a spoon. (You can make swirly designs with the spoon if you desire!)

Broil for 1-2 minutes, watching VERY carefully. Remove as soon as the top is starting to turn golden brown.

Let cool for 1 hour for easy slicing, or just enjoy the crumbly messy gooey brownies hot from the oven.


Notes:

• Gluten-Free variation--just use gluten-free graham crackers!

Brownie recipe adapted from The Kitchn.

Marshmallow Frosting adapted from Smitten Kitchen.