Before I start to wax poetic about how amazing these brownies are, I must first give the disclaimer that I could probably eat Nutella off of a piece of cardboard and be happy. I love the stuff. So these are right up my alley, but I honestly think anyone else would say the same – they’re fudgy and rich and offset by that delicious hint of hazelnut. In other words, there’s a lot to love about them.

You know what else I love about these brownies? They’re cocoa powder based. I always appreciate a brownie that doesn’t involve melting down bars of chocolate. This one doesn’t, but there is a little bit of stove top work which is just melting the butter and stirring the sugar into it until it’s dissolved.

The residual heat makes it easier to incorporate the Nutella fully as it melts a bit as you stir it in. Then all you do is add the rest of the usual brownie suspects – flour, eggs, baking powder, etc – and mix. There is espresso powder (or instant coffee) in these as well, and you’ll see that in many brownie recipes because while it doesn’t end up tasting like coffee, it does help bring out the chocolate flavor.

And these are plenty chocolatey. They’re as rich and fudgy as you want a brownie to be, but the nice thing about them is they’re not just chocolatey. There’s also that smooth hint of nutty hazelnut to keep things interesting. (Don’t worry – they still go great with a glass of milk.)