Nutella Cookies

So I know that I am a few days late on this, but don't worry I will try to play catch up over the weekend to get back on track. This month I have challenged myself to make one new treat everyday. I know a lofty goal, but hey why not end 2012 with a bang. Since my refrigerator and pantry aren't exactly stocked correctly for a month long baking project, I headed over to Supercook to see what I could make with what I had on hand. I found a recipe for Nutella cookies from Food Network and was ready to go. I am a huge Nutella fan and having it sit around is dangerous because it's so yummy. I have never used it in a recipe and figured this was a perfect time to try it. It was a super simple recipe that used only powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, flour, and Nutella. You are off by mixing the powdered sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla, gradually add in the flour, and finally beat in the Nutella. Some of the reviews said that it didn't have enough of a Nutella flavor, so I added more because you can never have enough, right?!

I will warn you that the batter does not look like normal cookie dough. Scoop out the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, only putting each because they spread out. However, I only had two baking sheets so I put more than 12 on each (I'm such a baking rebel!) Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, unless your oven is like mine and bakes super quickly. They will have an almost fudgy like texture, so don't worry if they don't look crunchy. Let them cool 5 minutes before cooling them completely on a wire rack. After they are completely cooled, you get to "roll" them in powdered sugar. Since they are somewhat flat, I am not entirely sure how that works, so I ended up just dipping the tops of the cookies. They were fudgy, melted in your mouth, and definitely had that Nutella taste to them. It was also suggested to add in some nuts, which might have been a good choice to add some texture. This is a great (and quick) recipe for those times you just need to whip up a batch of cookies.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Breakfast is a meal that I could eat at any time because there are so many options. You can either opt for the sweet side, like pancakes and waffles, or the savory side, like eggs and potatoes. To me, there is something about Sunday that means a big leisurely breakfast with the whole works. I love hearing about great breakfast places and the Food Network gave me a great option. When you are in San Antonio, you absolutely must stop by The Magnolia Pancake Haus. This place is only open for breakfast and lunch, and there is always a wait! If you want to go on Saturday or Sunday, expect a long wait, but I promise it will be worth it.

When you first open the menu, you are greeted with a wide variety of pancakes, waffles, and all sorts of egg dishes. However, there is one thing that will surely catch your eye. This place offers something that you can't find anywhere else. "Authentic Munchener Apfel Pfannekuchen", pronounced fan-e-koo-kan. This is basically a Bavarian apple pie pancake that's a family recipe. Though I really wanted to try this amazing sounding dish, I have found that I like to try my good ole favorites to see how they do them. For me, this is a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. All I can say is that the batter was light and airy and the chocolate chips melted perfectly into the batter. They weren't overly sweet and had the perfect chip to batter ratio. I think they definitely nailed the pancakes! Plus they are the size of a plate, so you most likely have leftovers to enjoy again.

They also have a fabulous pecan waffle that was very light and the added sweetness of the maple syrup gave it a pecan pie like taste. As big the plate, this waffle is sure to fill you up with just the right amount of morning sweetness. I have been to a fair number of breakfast places and sometimes the hash browns are a real disappointment. They are usually dry and bland or not crispy and limp. However, I was very pleasantly surprised at how delicious these hash browns were. They were grated with just the right thickness, had plenty of flavor, and were definitely crisped to perfection. Let's just say there were no leftovers of these.

The Magnolia Pancake Haus definitely lived up to all the hype and it's a good thing that I don't live closer because I might just become a regular. If you are going to be in the area, be sure you stop by at any time and try it out because I promise it's worth it!