Nutella Bread Pudding

I'm obsessed with Nutella.  When people say they don't like Nutella, I always look at them like they have 3 heads.  I mean, how is that really possible?  Nutella is the best thing since sliced bread!  (And even better ON sliced bread!)

My friend Victoria featured Nutella Bread Pudding on her blog a while back.  I was traveling for work in Florida, and we were invited to a colleague's house for dinner.  Knowing that I like to bake, she requested that I make dessert.  Since I was going to be making it at her house, I wanted something that would be quick and easy, and when I asked Victoria for suggestions and she mentioned this, I knew it would go over really well!

While the bread that I bought was super fresh (and it needs to be stale), I cubed it, and toasted it prior to putting it together with the custard.  (On a note, if you don't fully submerge all of the bread into the custard, it won't get soaked through....It will just toast in the oven.  So when the recipe says submerge, it means it!)

This is the first bread pudding that I've ever made, and it definitely won't be the last!

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love Nutella. I'm pretty sure the first time I tried it was when I was in Italy in the 10th grade on a high school trip. I think it was the first time a lot of us had tried it, and we were all completely taken in with it's deliciousness. I remember the guys on the trip stealing rolls from the hotel Continental Breakfast and indulging on bread and Nutella (they bought a monster bottle of it).

Since then, I usually have a bottle of it in the pantry. I don't eat it all the time, but when I do eat it, I remember WHY I love it so much. 

 Last night, I got an itch to bake. Work has been rough this week, and I wanted to do something that makes me happy. And baking makes me happy. In order to capitalize on as easy a recipe as possible, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies, but add in some Nutella, just for fun. I took my usual Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and cut the butter in half, and used the Nutella in it's place. The result? Deliciousness.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Recipe
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
2 1/4 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1-12oz bag Milk Chocolate Chips

The Method
Cream together the butter and Nutella until well mixed.  Add in the Sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add the Vanilla and Eggs, and beat well.  Add the flour, soda, and salt, and mix well.  Add in the chocolate chips and make sure they're mixed in well (Basic Cookies, here).

Bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes.

And ENJOY!!!