I love smoothies because they’re easy, fast, and so simple to customize with your favorite flavors. Last spring I posted chocolate raspberry smoothie and tropical green smoothie (spring is clearly the start of smoothie season for me). This year I’m feeling a little more decadent, plus I’m still going through my Costco supply of Nutella, so I knew I had to try it – Nutella in a smoothie!

I only put in one serving size of Nutella to keep it reasonable, so the smoothie is mostly yogurt and fruit. Strawberries and chocolate are a classic combination so I thought they would be a nice compliment to the Nutella flavor, which turned out to be true. I used frozen strawberries but now that’s it’s strawberry season, feel free to use fresh and add some ice if you need to make it colder or thicker.

Have fun with the recipe and play with it – it would be great with raspberries or other seasonal fruit. The smoothie is perfect with a dollop of COOL WHIP whipped topping for added creaminess. Serve with a pretty straw and enjoy it in the spring sunshine.

Recipe:

Nutella Strawberry Smoothie

Yields: one serving

• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 small banana
• 2 tablespoons Nutella
• 4 frozen strawberries
• COOL WHIP for garnish (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Add additional Nutella or strawberries to taste. Serve in a glass with a fun straw and a dollop of COOL WHIP if desired.

~

This is just one of the many ways I get creative with COOL WHIP, making every dessert more delicious. Share what your kids love about COOL WHIP and you’ll be entered to win $500 cash!

Visit the COOL WHIP Facebook page to see more recipes and to share your own COOL WHIP creations!

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

The amazing Monica Bhide gave an inspiring talk on culinary writing that focused on looking inward. What are you doing and why are you doing it? Why you? Why do your readers come to you? These difficult questions were followed with some intense vision exercises. She spoke last Saturday and her words haven’t been far from my mind since. Why do I blog? Yes, I love food and sharing recipes and connecting with people over food, but what is the true purpose? And why do my readers keep coming back?

Photo of Monica Bhide by Daphne Domingo

Kristy from The Wicked Noodle wrote an uplifting post about her experience at EWR and also practicing gratefulness in her life recently. Her conclusion? “I blog for hope. I blog for meaning and joy and friendship and love. The recipes? The recipes are just a bonus. I blog because I’m grateful for my life and I’m grateful for you, my readers who make my day brighter with every interaction.”

What a beautiful way to look at blogging. As Monica pointed out during her presentation, we’re all immensely privileged. The sheer fact that we’re all able to write about food for pleasure and/or work makes us so incredibly fortunate. I’m deeply grateful for my life, where I have two part-time jobs that I enjoy and I am passionate enough about my third (blogging) to come home and do it for fun in my time off. As I focus on a vision for this blog and the future, I’m also mindful on being present and practicing gratefulness for all the wonderful things in my life.

I’m especially thankful for all of my readers. Thank you to each and every one of you. I love connecting with all of you, from every email, new subscriber, comment, or “like” on Facebook.

The conference wasn’t all deep thoughts, so let me share a few of the other highlights with you as well:

Photo by Daphne Domingo

Learning how to square dance (quite possibly the best ice breaker ever) on the first night of the conference.

A hands-on food photography and styling lesson by the talented Renee Comet and Lisa Cherkasky. See our final photos on Renee’s blog.

OXO sponsored a team cooking competition at CulinAerie. It was so much fun cooking in a culinary school and going head to head with so many fabulous food bloggers!

Team 9: Jennifer of Savory Simple, Stephanie from CopyKat Recipes and myself.

Oh, and did I mention that my team won?! We made Beer, Bacon, and Cheese Cupcakes (a.k.a. Mancakes). I’ll be posting the recipe soon!

Let’s end the same way Monica ended her presentation:

“Do it because you love it. Do it consistently. Do it persistently…and the rewards will be priceless.” – Monica Bhide

Check out some posts about Eat, Write, Retreat by other bloggers:

The Wicked Noodle

The Experimental Gourmand

Penny Pinching Epicure

Food Musings

What She’s She’s Having

Em-I-Lis

So, as it turns out, Nutella isn’t good for you. Considering that sugar and palm oil are the first ingredients and it’s artificially flavored, I wasn’t exactly shocked. Like the article says, a settlement will “be paid to consumers if they are willing to admit they can’t read a nutrition label.” Whether you can analyze a nutrition label or not though, companies shouldn’t imply that unhealthy products are good for you.

Most store bought snack foods aren’t good for you, which is why I love giving them makeovers and making homemade versions that are almost healthy (in other words, whole ingredients with no preservatives, artificial flavors or trans fats and reduced sugar when possible). I found this “Better than Nutella” recipe over at Chocolate Covered Katie (a must-visit blog for anyone looking for healthy desserts) and tweaked it a bit.

It can easily be made vegan and has fewer calories and less sugar than store-bought Nutella. There isn’t any added oil and it’s sweetened with agave nectar instead of refined sugar. The trade-off is that this homemade spread is a little thicker and less smooth than traditional Nutella, but I think it’s worth the benefits. Plus, it couldn’t get any easier! Check out the 3 photos below to see how simple this recipe is…

How to make Almost Healthy Nutella:

Roast raw hazelnuts and rub them in a kitchen towel to remove as much of the skin as possible

Place hazelnuts in a food processor and blend until the texture resembles nut butter. 

Add remaining ingredients and blend for a few minutes until smooth. Isn’t it easy?

Recipe:

Almost Healthy Nutella

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

Makes around 2 cups

• 2 cups raw hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp agave
• 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk (I used regular, but you can substitute your choice of non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread hazelnuts into a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until nuts become fragrant, lightly browned and skins are blistered. Place roasted hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel and rub them to remove the skins (don’t worry if there are some stubborn skins that won’t come off).

Place hazelnuts in a food processor and blend until the texture resembles nut butter. Add remaining ingredients and blend for a few minutes until smooth. Add additional sweetener to taste.

“You can’t even tell these are gluten free!”

Baking without gluten is notoriously difficult, so this statement made me smile. My sister and her partner are gluten-free so I’m always trying to find something to bake for our family get-togethers. In the past, I’ve avoided gluten altogether by making flourless desserts, such as flourless chocolate peppermint cake.

At our last family party, I was determined to make something with gluten free flour. I picked up a package of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour and some xanthan gum (I got it in the bulk section of my local food co-op, which is more affordable than getting a whole bag of it). I used a one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe and replaced the all-purpose flour with gluten free, along with a little xanthan gum.

The result? Perfectly fluffy, chocolatey cupcakes that you can’t even tell are gluten free! And I haven’t even mentioned the frosting yet – it’s like biting into a cloud of Nutella (hence the name). I’ve made my own Nutella buttercream lots of times, which is my most popular frosting to date. I came across Sweetapolita’s Nutella cloud frosting on Pinterest and knew I had to try it and compare the two. I still love my rich Nutella buttercream, but Sweetapolita’s recipe has a nice lightness to it, while mine is a bit heavier. Either way, you can’t beat Nutella frosting!

Recipe:

One-Bowl Chocolate Gluten Free Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 20-24 cupcakes

Oh, how I love Pinterest. It’s such a fun source for inspiration and new ideas. Someone pinned a cupcake bouquet and I knew right away that I had to create one myself. I couldn’t find any good guides on making them, so I put together a step by step photo tutorial for you so you can make one too. It’s really not that hard – pipe roses onto cupcakes (there’s an animated gif below to show you how), put them on some toothpicks into a styrofoam ball. Done!

I think a cupcake bouquet would be a lovely gift for Mother’s Day, which is coming up in two weeks. It would work for so many other occasions too – bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, as a get well gift, or just as a pick-me-up for a friend who needs a smile (and tasty treat). This is the first one I’ve made and I love how it turned out, except I want to experiment with the fake leaves – I used tissue paper but I’m wondering if I can use real leaves somehow. I will try that out next!

For the cupcakes, I used Cupcake Project’s ultimate vanilla cupcake and vanilla bean buttercream (I substituted vanilla extract for bean in the frosting so it wouldn’t have flecks in it), which were met with rave reviews:

“As a chocolate person, I think of vanilla as a nothing flavor but this…this has a distinct flavor!”

“I hate frosting but this is great.” ”The frosting isn’t too sweet.” “The frosting does taste like melted vanilla ice cream!”

Seriously, I can’t recommend these recipes enough: the cake is fluffy with a nice vanilla flavor and the buttercream frosting pipes perfectly and tastes like melted vanilla ice cream.

Who would you give a cupcake bouquet to?

How to make cupcake bouquets:

You’ll need: cupcakes, frosting, a piping bag, Wilton 1M tip (or a similar open star tip), green tissue paper, clear tape, flower pot, styrofoam ball, and toothpicks. All of these things are available at craft stores such as Michael’s (that’s where I found the adorable polka dot flower pot).

Bake cupcakes and make buttercream frosting. To pipe a cupcake rose, fit a piping bag with a 1M tip and fill with room temperature frosting. To pipe a rose, hold the piping bag perpendicular to the surface and start in the center of the cupcake. Gently squeeze the bag and pipe frosting around in a spiral until you reach the outer edge, then let go. 

Place cupcakes in fridge while you prepare the styrofoam so the frosting becomes firm.

Place styrofoam ball into flower pot. Place two toothpicks in each area where you want a cupcake. Note: around the sides, insert toothpicks at 45° angle, otherwise cupcakes will fall off after a while.

Slide a cupcake onto each pair of toothpicks, adjusting toothpicks as needed to place cupcakes close together. Cover as much of the styrofoam as you can. (My styrofoam ball had a 5″ diameter and fit 10 cupcakes.)

Cut green tissue paper into small strips.

Fold strips into accordions 

Pinch the bottom of the accordion fold

Place a piece of clear tape at the pinched part of the tissue paper and stick it to the exposed styrofoam in between the cupcakes. Make more tissue paper “leaves” until you cover all the uncovered areas.

And you’re done! Bring your cupcake bouquet to your next birthday party, baby shower, Mother’s Day, bridal shower…the possibilities are endless!

Even after filling macarons with my Meyer lemon curd and giving a jar of it away, I still had a lot of lemon curd on my hands. Luckily, there’s no shortage of ways to enjoy it: mixed in yogurt, on toast, straight out of the jar with a spoon. Still, I was getting a little sick of my go-to ways to eat lemon curd, until I discovered a new way: easy lemon mousse! 

Seriously, this 5 minute recipe couldn’t get easier. It only has 2 ingredients: COOL WHIP whipped topping and lemon curd. Mix them together for a great spring or summer dessert – it’s refreshing, creamy and has a lovely lemon tang. 

I kept it simple and served it with fresh berries, a dollop of COOL WHIP and fresh mint. If you want to get a bit more fancy, you can double the recipe and pour it into a graham cracker pie crust. 

Recipe:

5 Minute Lemon Mousse

Makes 2 servings

• 1/2 cup homemade lemon curd (or store-bought lemon curd)
• 1 cup COOL WHIP whipped topping (or homemade whipped cream)
• Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. – whatever you like!)
• Fresh mint (optional)

Combine lemon curd and COOL WHIP whipped topping in a medium bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Serve with fresh berries in 2 wine glasses or bowls. Garnish with a dollop of COOL WHIP and a sprig of fresh mint, if desired.

Now that I have shared a quick and easy dessert recipe, I want to know what are the go-to desserts you serve your family? Reply below for a chance to win a KitchenAid mixer from COOL WHIP to create even more wonderful desserts!

Visit the COOL WHIP Facebook page to see more recipes and to share your own COOL WHIP creations!

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

I’m hoping that the title made some of my regular readers squeal with delight – I promised 4 Nutella recipes coming up and we’re on #2 with this one! After my lightbulb moment making Meyer lemon macarons (I realized they are really just cookies with a few basic steps, nothing to be afraid of), I was inspired to try making them again right away.

When I showed up to work with two different types of macarons, my coworker said, “I thought you were never going to make these again.” I didn’t think so either! But here I am making two types in one week. I conquered my fear and I know you can too – don’t let these little cookies intimidate you or stress you out. They’re only cookies after all!

This time, I added a little cocoa powder to the macaron shells and filled them with a lovely Nutella ganache. By chilling and then whipping the ganache, it became fluffy and reminds me of a mousse. If you love macarons and Nutella, these are a must-try!

What macaron flavor should I try making next?

How to make chocolate macarons:

If you use store bought almond meal, sift it and weigh to 110 grams

Put sifted almond meal in food processor with cocoa powder and powdered sugar, process for a minute

Beat egg whites until foamy

Put mixer on low and add granulated sugar to foamy egg whites

Beat egg whites and sugar until it has a stiff peak

 Add dry ingredients from food processor into stiff egg whites

Fold dry ingredients into egg whites until your mixture looks like this

Prep piping bag with large round tip. Place a clip near the tip to stop the batter from flowing out and place it in a tall glass.

Pour batter into bag, take it out of the glass and twist the top. When you’re ready to pipe, remove the clip.

Pipe batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Let batter rest for at least 45 minutes, or until they no longer feel sticky to the touch. Brush your finger against the cookies – if they don’t feel dry, wait and try again in 15 minutes. 

Bake for 12 minutes. Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. 

How to make Nutella mousse:

Pour warm cream over Nutella and chocolate

Whisk until ganache is smooth

Refrigerate ganache for 30-45 minutes, until it thickens

Beat ganache until it lightens in color and becomes more fluffy like a mousse

Pair up macarons of the same size. Pipe or spoon a little Nutella mousse onto one cookie. Place the other cookie on top and press down gently.

Recipe:

Chocolate Macarons with Nutella Mousse

Adapted from Cake and Allie

Makes 20 very small macarons

Chocolate macarons:

• 110 grams almond meal (you can make your own using blanched slivered almonds)
• 200 grams minus 2 Tbs powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 100 grams egg whites (3-3 1/2 large eggs), aged in the fridge for 3-5 days (I only left them overnight; not sure how necessary this step is)
• 50 gm granulated sugar

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mats.

If you’re using almonds: place in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

If you’re using almond meal: run through a sifter. Place in food processor.

Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder to food processor and pulse a few times until everything is incorporated. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites for a few minutes until they are foamy. Place mixer on low and slowly add the granulated sugar to the foamy egg whites. Continue beating until egg whites have stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and fold them in with a spatula. Fit a large round tip (I used one that is 1 1/2 inches)onto a piping bag and place a clip above it so batter won’t flow out while you fill the bag. Place the bag on a tall glass to hold it up and fill it with the batter. Twist the top shut and remove the clip. Pipe small circles (I made them 1/2-1 inch) onto the prepared baking sheets.

Let batter rest for around 45 minutes, until it feels dry (and not sticky) to the touch. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 300°F.

Bake for 12 minutes. Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension. Remove from oven and let cool completely before adding filling.

Nutella mousse:

• ½ cup of heavy cream
• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 3 Tbsp Nutella

Store macarons in the refrigerator. Let sit out for 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

This isn’t going to be one of those blog posts complaining about how mysteriously difficult and finicky macarons are to make. I’m starting to believe that people over-think them and stress out over making them so much that that might be the actual problem. I used to be like that – I was mystified by the extensive directions and odd variables that came along with every long-winded post about making macarons. I watched videos on YouTube, studied photos, read countless recipes.

I’m no expert (I’ve only made macarons a handful of times) but I had a lightbulb go off in my head this time I made them: there’s a few basic steps to making macarons, all things I’ve done a million times before in other recipes. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks, fold in dry ingredients, pipe onto a baking sheet. 3 basic steps. I didn’t worry about the consistency of the batter, I didn’t dry out my almond meal in the oven, I didn’t use superfine sugar, and I didn’t age my egg whites for 3-5 days.

And you know what? They turned out fine.

When I was looking up more information about aging egg whites (which I’m not convinced you need to do really), I ran across this post on BraveTart: macaron mythbusters. A professional baker debunks many of the methods that I’ve read in most macaron recipes. It’s a good read for anyone out there who is intimidated about making macarons.

These Meyer lemon macarons are the perfect answer to the question my Meyer lemon curd recipe poses: what do you do with 6 leftover egg whites? Make macarons! It made sense to fill them with the Meyer lemon curd itself, but you can fill them with store-bought lemon curd or a more traditional ganache filling.

My only complaint about these is that the curd is much gooier than a ganache, so it was a bit messier than a traditional macaron. However, that being said, the Meyer lemon curd has such a bright citrus flavor, it’s like biting into sunshine. It makes these little cookies taste like bites of spring, and I wouldn’t change that one bit.

How to make macarons:

If you use store bought almond meal, sift it and weigh to 110 grams

Put sifted almond meal in food processor with powdered sugar, process for a minute

Beat egg whites until foamy

Put mixer on low and add granulated sugar to foamy egg whites

Beat egg whites to soft peak

Add powdered food coloring to egg whites

Continue beating until egg whites hold a stiff peak

 Add 1/3 dry ingredients from food processor and carefully fold into stiff egg whites

Fold remaining dry ingredients into batter

Prep piping bag with large round tip. Place a clip near the tip to stop the batter from flowing out and place it in a tall glass. Fill will batter, twist the top of the bag closed and remove clip when ready to pipe.

Pipe macaron batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (and try to make them more even than I did). Pipe batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Let batter rest for at least 45 minutes, or until they no longer feel sticky to the touch. Brush your finger against the cookies – if they don’t feel dry, wait and try again in 15 minutes. 

Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. 

Pair up macarons of the same size. Spoon a little lemon curd onto one cookie. Place the other cookie on top and press down gently. 

Recipe:

Meyer Lemon Macarons

Makes 20 large macarons (around 2-3″)

Macarons:

• 220 grams almond meal (you can make your own using blanched slivered almonds)
• 400 grams powdered sugar
• 200 grams egg whites (around 5-6 large eggs), aged in the fridge for 3-5 days (I only left them overnight; not sure how necessary this step is)
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• Powdered food coloring (optional)
• Homemade Meyer lemon curd (or store-bought lemon curd)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mats.

If you’re using almonds: place in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

If you’re using almond meal: run through a sifter. Place in food processor.

Add powdered sugar to food processor and pulse a few times until everything is incorporated. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites for a few minutes until they are foamy. Place mixer on low and slowly add the granulated sugar to the foamy egg whites. Continue beating until egg whites have soft peaks. Add powdered food coloring if desired. Continue beating egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg whites and fold them in with a spatula. Add remaining dry ingredients and fold them in.

Fit a large round tip (I used one that is 1 1/2 inches) onto a piping bag and place a clip above it so batter won’t flow out while you fill the bag. Place the bag on a tall glass to hold it up and fill it with the batter. Twist the top shut and remove the clip. Pipe circles (I made them 2-2 1/2 inches) onto the prepared baking sheets.

Let batter rest for around 45 minutes, until it feels dry (and not sticky) to the touch. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 300°F.

Bake for 15-17 minutes (if you made them smaller, bake them for 12 minutes). Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension. Remove from oven and let cool completely before adding filling.

Store macarons in the refrigerator. Let sit out for 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Do you have a lemon recipe you want to share? Join the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop! Each month a different ingredient is featured, and this month is lemon. To join, post a lemon recipe between now and April 23rd. Go here to get the code for your post, add the image above to your post, and add your link here. Follow along on Twitter with #SABH and Pinterest.

Have you ever tasted sunshine? No? Then you have to try making lemon curd! I’m lucky enough to have a Meyer lemon tree in my family. My brother and sister-in-law are eager to give away bagfuls of these lemon-orange hybrids, which are sweeter than regular lemons. I’ve used them in vegan lemon cupcakes, candied their peels, and used them with limoncello to make cupcakes.

I was under the impression that making curd was a time consuming pain, but when they passed on a half dozen ripe Meyers to me last week, I looked it up. I ran across a really simple recipe on Leite’s Culinaria. All you have to do is combine Meyer lemon juice with eggs and sugar and whisk it over a double boiler for a while. This may sound boring, but it’s actually pretty magical. Seriously – you start with liquid and around 15 minutes later it turns into a thick, creamy yellow sauce. Just like that! I was totally entertained and delighted, but I’m easy to please.

I hope you find as much joy in making curd as I did, but even if you find it boring, the end result will definitely make up for your time and effort. The citrus flavor is incredibly bright, and it makes anything taste like sweet sunshine. That up there? Healthy, boring whole wheat bread. Spread some sunshine –I mean, Meyer lemon curd– on it and you suddenly have a healthy, delightful snack. And don’t worry about those 6 leftover egg whites; I have the perfect recipe to use them up. Put them in the fridge to age and stay tuned…

Edited to add: my recipe for Meyer lemon macarons is now up – the perfect way to use up egg whites and enjoy the curd!

How to make Meyer lemon curd:

Combine eggs, sugar and Meyer lemon juice in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Insert candy thermometer and start whiskin’.

Just keep whisking, just keep whisking, just keep whisking (to the tune of “just keep swimming” from Finding Nemo). Keep going until the curd thickens and reaches 170°F.

Strain the curd into a large bowl. Add butter and Meyer lemon zest and whisk until butter is melted and ingredients are fully incorporated.

Pour into jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Seal with lids and you’re all done!

Enjoy straight out of the jar, or on toast, scones, muffins, or in yogurt, macarons, mousse…more recipes to come soon! What’s your favorite way to eat lemon curd?

Recipe:

Meyer Lemon Curd

Adapted from Leite’s Culinaria

Makes 2 pints

• 6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)*
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated Meyer lemon zest*
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Happy National Grilled Cheese Month! I don’t know who comes up with these official food holidays, but I can’t complain about celebrating grilled cheese. Toasted bread and melted cheese is the foundation of an excellent sandwich.

Tillamook invited me to participate in their National Grilled Cheese Month Recipepalooza, and I quickly began brainstorming. Grilled cheese sandwiches are wonderful as they are, but I wanted to add something extra to make them even better. Caramelized onions, bacon, pepper jack, and jalapeños were considered, but I stuck with the basics: sharp cheddar and whole wheat bread, the flavors of my childhood. The special touch? Brown butter, which has a nutty and more complex flavor than regular butter.

Brown butter is easy to make: you simply cook the butter a little longer until it turns brown. It’s easy to burn, so cook over low heat – you’ll want that for the grilled cheese anyway, so you can melt the cheese without burning the bread. You’ll end up with a crispy grilled cheese that’s tough to beat.

Tomorrow is National Grilled Cheese day – how will you celebrate?

P.S. I know I promised 4 Nutella posts in a row in the Nutella & Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies post, but I decided to space them out. Don’t worry, you’ll see more Nutella here soon!

 How to make a brown butter grilled cheese:Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter over low heat

Occasionally stir butter as it melts

Wait until it turns brown (you’ll see lots of brown spots) – now is the time to add the bread

Add two slices of bread to brown butter

Add two slices of cheese to bread

Once bread is toasted, move second slice on top of cheese

Continue cooking over very low heat, pressing down on sandwich

Cook until cheese is fully melted

Slice grilled cheese in half

Enjoy immediately!

Recipe:

Brown Butter Grilled Cheese

Makes 1 sandwich

• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 2 slices sharp cheddar cheese

Disclaimer: Tillamook sent me cheese to sample. All opinions expressed are my own.