chocolate hazelnut brownies better homes and gardens

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Chewy, gooey flourless chocolate hazelnut brownie bars, made with creamy hazelnut-cocoa spread, flaky sea salt and crunchy hazelnuts.

Square chocolate brownie bars in a metal serving dish, topped with toasted hazelnuts.

Chocolate and hazelnuts. Like Bogie and Bacall, they were made for each other.

Nutella, that creamy confectional marriage of cocoa and hazelnuts, is an international craze — a fun fact alleges that one jar of it sells every 2.5 seconds throughout the world.

These dense, rich bars have a short list of ingredients in the recipe (and no flour or dairy products), putting the spotlight directly on the main characters.

What is Nutella?

The story goes that gianduja, a sweet chocolate-hazelnut paste, was invented by chocolatiers in Turin, after Napoleon blocked the cacao trade in 1806. Hazelnuts helped the scarce chocolate go a lot further.

A close up picture of a a chocolate hazelnut brownie square, with gooey melted chocolate on top.

Hundreds of years later, a pastry chef named Pietro Ferrero came up with the process for manufacturing the thick spread, making it accessible and affordable for the masses.

Find it now in a pantry near you!

This recipe is adapted from a nut butter blondie recipe I bookmarked months ago, but when I decided to make it I turned to my favorite spread instead of almond butter.

Why not double-down on the flavors?

I love Nocciolata spread for this recupe— it's a little bit more spendy than the plastic supermarket tubs of Nutella, but it's organic, doesn't include palm oil, and it's not as sugary sweet.

Use whatever spread you like, and try reducing the sugar by a tablespoon if you have something sweeter, like Nutella.

Tips for making gooey chocolate hazelnut brownies:

Use good quality dark chocolate, at least 70% cacao. You'll need one 3.5 ounce bar for this recipe. Smack the bar on the counter to break it into pieces.
If you can't wait for the brownies to cool at room temperature, pop them in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Use a knife blade dipped in hot water to facilitate slicing.

Gooey Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

Creamy, decadent flourless brownies made with chocolate and hazelnut butter. Dairy-free and gluten-free.

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Desserts

Cuisine chocolate

Servings 14 servings

2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (224 g) chocolate-hazelnut spread
⅓ cup (42 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 ½ ounces (100 g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
¼ cup (30 g) toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Preheat oven to 325 (160 C) degrees.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a piece of parchment paper so that it hangs over two sides — this will make it easier to remove the brownies.
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl with the vanilla and chocolate-hazelnut spread until smooth. Stir in the sugar, baking soda, salt and half of the chopped chocolate. Continue stirring until blended.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it into the corners. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate and the hazelnuts over the top.
Bake 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the flaky sea salt over the top.
Let cool in the pan completely. Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan and cut into squares (you can chill the baked brownie in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before slicing if you find them too gooey).

Hey, I'm Karen

Creator of Familystyle Food

I'm a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about making cooking fun and doable, with easy to follow tested recipes and incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.