Self-Frosting Nutella Cupcakes

I used to hate Nutella. It's a sad, sad fact, but it's true. While we were in France, I had a bite of a particularly delicious crepe smothered in Nutella. Every hotel we stayed at served little cups of Nutella with baguettes and croissants. I became obsessed. Now it goes on everything: waffles, bread, fruit, and now cupcakes. These were very good, but the cupcake itself was just a little dry, so I will probably use all butter next time or make smaller muffins to shorten the cooking time. Smaller muffins would have helped the overflow problem I had as well. Lesson learned: don't overfill your muffin tin!

Self-Frosting Nutella Cupcakes
*From The Family Kitchen

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk or half and half
1/2-2/3 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350º.

Beat the oil, butter, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the mixture to the batter and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the milk and mix until just combined, then add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups (I will do 15-18 muffins next time). Spoon the Nutella into a dish and microwave for 15-30 seconds, until soft. Drop a spoonful of Nutella into each muffin cup on top of the batter and swirl with a knife.

Bake 20-30 minutes or until springy to the touch. Enjoy!