The Nutella Challenge - Mini Nutella Cheesecakes

Happy Chocolate Friday everybody!! We survived another week! I hope you had a wonderful week and I hope you've got a jar of Nutella to enjoy 'cause that's what I'm talking about today!

A while back I joined the Nutella Challenge hosted by Paula of bell' alimento. I love Nutella so how hard could it be to come up with a few recipes? Well, I am not really a food blogger and have never created a recipe! I am a recipe follower, not a recipe creator. And look at some of the entries like Nutella Gelato or Nutella Crostata and tell me you wouldn't be intimidated! But, for the sake of Nutella and Chocolate Friday readers everywhere - I did come up with something! :)

Now, the main Nutella recipe that I eat is this:

But I figured I should come up with something a little more complicated than that!

I had a mini cheesecake recipe that I decided to tweak and make into mini Nutella cheesecakes. I'm not used to taking pics of the whole process, but thought I would attempt it this time.

I wanted to create a new crust, so I got some Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Cookies - Chocolate Hazelnut flavor. Take 12 cookies and crush them in a bowl. Then try not to eat the leftover cookies in one sitting.

Then mix in some melted butter. Not 4 tablespoons like I did - that was too much. Try 2-3 tablespoons instead.

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and fill evenly with crust mixture - about 2 teaspoons each. Then press down and flatten.

Mix up cheesecake batter and fill paper cups about 3/4 full or so. Put about 4 tablespoons of Nutella into remaining cheesecake batter and stir. Distribute evenly between cups - either covering the top completely or using a knife to marble the batter. I tried different methods to see if it mattered for presentation or flavor.

Bake as directed and let cool. Chill. Carefully peel off paper cups and eat!

The two different types don't have a big flavor difference and I think the marbled one is prettier. The cheesecakes have a nice subtle Nutella flavor, but I think some Nutella drizzle (Nutella thinned with a little milk) on the plate helps out. The crust is good, but slightly chewy - not sure if that's because I used too much butter. However, hubby gave the crust 2 thumbs up. You could always try the original crust which is just dropping a Nilla Wafer into the bottom of each paper cup.

Mini Nutella Cheesecakes

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 tablespoons Nutella
12 Chocolate Hazelnut Pirouette cookies, crushed and mixed with 2-3 tablespoons melted butter
-or - 12 Nilla Wafers

Line muffin pans with cupcake papers. Put Nilla Wafers or Crushed cookie mixture into bottoms of cups. If using cookie mixture, press flat.

On medium speed, blend cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and mix well. Pour batter over crust, filling cups about 3/4 full. Stir Nutella into remaining cheesecake batter. Distribute Nutella batter evenly between cups and use a knife to marble mixture.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove, cool, and chill. Serves 12.

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There you have it - my first Nutella Challenge (stop over there for yummy Nutella recipes)! I survived! I hope you enjoy the recipe.

If you like Nutella, try my other Nutella recipes:

 ~ Nutella Biscotti
 ~ Nutella Popcorn
 ~ Nutella Macadamia Cake
 ~ Nutella S'Mores Cake
 ~ Nutella Bites

I'm linking this post up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Stop over there for great food tips and lots of yummy recipes!

Have a lovely chocolate-filled day my friends!