Outrageous Chocolate Hazelnut Blondies

Outrageous Chocolate Hazelnut Blondies ~ these blondies are made with hazelnuts, Nutella, and dark chocolate chips for a truly unique flavor.

Give me a blondie over pie or cake or ice cream any day.  They’re just about the most enticing dessert I can think of.  It’s the texture, I think, that gets me every time.  

Earthy toasted hazelnuts and a thick swirl of Nutella make these blondies stand out.  Nutella is pretty heady stuff.  There were near riots in France recently when one of the supermarkets unwisely decided to do a flash sale with a huge slash in price, and people trampled each other trying to get to the tubs of discounted Nutella.  It might have a similar effect in these blondies, so best make a double batch.

I especially love the combination of dark chocolate with nuts.  Nuts of all kind, really, but there’s something special about toasted hazelnuts.

The hazelnut presence makes these blondies especially earthy and satisfying.  The bittersweet chocolate (you can sub semi sweet or milk) makes them sophisticated.  We couldn’t keep away from them.

TIPS:

• Look for hazelnut meal with the specialty flours at your larger supermarket or whole food store.  You can buy it on Amazon here, and Trader Joe’s carries it, too.  You can also easily make your own ~ simply toast whole hazelnuts for 15 minutes on a baking sheet in a 350F oven.  Let them cool completely, then grind them in your food processor or high speed blender until they become finely ground.  Don’t process too far or you’ll get hazelnut butter ~ good, but not what we’re going for here!  Store any extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
  

Make it your own ~

• There really is no substitute for the hazelnuts in this recipe, but you’ll get a similar type of dessert with my ALMOND BUTTER SKILLET BLONDIES.

Don’t forget to pin these outrageous Chocolate Hazelnut Blondies!