Homemade Nutella Stuffed French Toast

When Nick and I went on our honeymoon, we fell in love with Nutella.  Not that we've never had it before, but there is something about European Nutella that doesn't even compare with American Nutella.  Sorry guys... perhaps it's the artificial flavoring?

Anyway, I had a pack of hazelnuts on hand and thought I'd take a stab at my own Nutella. And what better way to serve it than stuffed between two pieces of french toast!! (I didn't have all the ingredients for pound cake... that's the best way to eat Nutella)

These french toasts turned out delicious!  You don't even need syrup... but you are certainly allowed to have syrup on these.  We had breakfast for dinner when I made these and skipped dessert because the whole dinner is one big dessert!  Enjoy!

Nutella Stuffed French Toast:

Serves: 4 (with Nutella left over)

Ingredients:

For the Nutella:

1 cup of hazelnuts

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2-3 tablespoons milk of your choice (I used almond/coconut milk)

2-3 tablespoons of sweetener of your choice... give or take (I used unrefined powdered sugar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Place hazelnuts on baking sheet and place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.  Check often to avoid those suckers from burning... cause they burn fast!

Remove from oven and let cool just enough to handle.  When able to handle, remove skins from the nut and place the nuts in a blender or food processor.  Blend until the nuts form a nice paste, add the cocoa powder, milk and sweetener and blend until combined.  Taste and add sweetener to your liking.

Ingredients: 

For the French Toast:

3/4 cup of homemade Nutella

8 slices of bread (here is a good homemade bread recipe)

4 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

splash of milk (I used almond/coconut milk)

coconut oil for pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to it's lowest setting.

In a pie plate or dish, mix together the eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk.

Spread Nutella over both slices of bread and sandwich them, to make a Nutella sandwich.  Dip into the egg mixture and flip, covering both sides.

In an oiled skillet over medium low heat, add the french toast sandwich.  Cook for about 3 minutes, until golden brown and flip.  Repeat with remaining sandwiches.  Store finished sandwiches in a preheated oven to keep warm. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Honey Nut Clusters

I'm always looking for healthy and filling snacks and being pregnant, I look for high protein snacks too.  We had these nut clusters at Christmas from Costco and they were delicious and kept us full for hours.  Since we always have nuts and honey on hand, I thought I'd make these myself.  They actually turned out really delicious and I made pretty generous servings.  Each serving has only 150 calories, tons of good fats, and 5 grams of protein!

I absolutely love finding new gluten free snacks that aren't vegetables (Now I do love my vegetables, but it's all about variety).  You can make these with basically any nut you have in the house, just make sure your nut to honey ratio is 2 cups to 4 tablespoons. Also, if you plan on making these ofter, Trader Joe's has a great organic nut section.  Also, the bulk section of Whole Foods or any health food store is usually pretty cheap too. Enjoy!

Honey Nut Clusters
Servings: 12 (very generous portions)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a small ramekin or mixing bowl, add honey and maple syrup (may need to heat if your honey is raw and thick), stir to combine.  In a large mixing bowl, add your nuts and pour the honey mixture over them.  Stir to combine and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet.  I used a cookie sheet and it worked fine, but to make it more uniform, use an 8x8 baking dish.  Do not forget the parchment paper, it's your best friend for this project.

Place in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until nuts start to brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Cover and let sit for a few hours to over night to harden.  If you can't wait, it'll be just fine if you grab a bite.

Cut into bite sized pieces and enjoy! Note: My pieces were fairly large because they crumbled as small pieces.  I think this is because I used the baking sheet and they weren't as thick.  But really, who are we kidding... we are going to eat the same amount regardless.  This just allows less trips back to the bowl!

Store in an airtight container.