What's Nutella?

That is what my co-worker asked when I first mentioned nutella cupcakes, which I've seen a dozen times on the What's Cooking board. Holy moly, I couldn't believe she had never heard of it. She has no idea what she is missing. I first had Nutella in Paris back in the spring of 2000 on a college trip. I have probably only purchased it once since then, but Mike recently went to Mexico for a week for work and what did he bring back for me... yep, a jar of Nutella. Yes, he knows you can get it at the grocery store...but I was just happy to have it. Until last night, I had been putting a little on my frozen yogurt as my nighttime treat...yep, to die for. But, I knew I was going to make Nutella cupcakes, which I've seen on so many blogs lately...here are a couple of them - they have other great stuff in addition to nutella cupcakes so check them out:

Proceed with Caution

Carrie's Sweet Life

Anyways, our friend, Kevin is having his annual beach party this weekend and I know I want to have our cooler stocked with goodies. So, I decided on mini nutella cupcakes... you know, the more, the merrier. These weren't as good as expected, but I think I just needed more nutella. They just seemed to dry. I think I may top them with a little dollop of nutella or chocolate icing before serving (I'll keep you posted on what I decide to do). Here's what I did:

Yep, that was it....ate it just like that. Just kidding, of course. But I could have easily stopped here, swirled in some nutella and went to town on it. Ok, ok...back to the recipe.

Mini-Nutella Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix

1/2 jar of Nutella

1. Mix cake batter as directed on box.

2. Fill muffin pan/tins 3/4 of the way full with batter.

3. Drop 1/4-1/2 tsp of nutella onto the top of each one. Swirl with a toothpick.

4. Bake on 350 for about 9 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

And because these little treats are so precious, I'd like you to have one... a gift from me to you!