Dessert Wars: Nutella

There’s a new game in town: Dessert Wars. It’s the creation of bloggers Christine “Momma Cupcake” at The Cupcake Bandits and Reeni “Cinnamon Girl” from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.

Dessert Wars is a progressive blogger competition with monthly winners who will go head to head at the end of the year (December) to secure the position of ULTIMATE DESSERT WARRIOR and win a grand prize package. Each month you will be challenged with a theme ingredient and/or a specific dessert to bake. For example; one month it may be to use lavender in a dessert, the next month it might be to bake a pie. This will leave room for you to express your own creativity. The more creatively you embrace the theme, the more likely you are to win!

This month’s inaugural challenge is Nutella.

There’s still a few days left to enter the contest. Click here to view the complete rules.

Here’s a list of the fantastic prizes one of us will win!

-Whisk and cupcake necklace from Moon & Star Designs

-The Smartshopper Electronic Grocery List Organizer

-Beanilla Sampler Pack of Vanilla Beans

-Lenox Personalized Musical Cupcake

-Crepe Pan from BEKA Cookware

-1,000 ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes

-Endless Vanilla and Cinnamon Extract

-Unlimited Layers: A Recipe for Turning Your Passion into Profits

-$50 Gift Certificate to Theme Kitchen

-$50 Coupon Redeemable for Organic Valley Products

-$50 Coupon Redeemable for Organic Prairie Products

So on to my entry...

Nutella is good for a lot of things like crepes or just slathered on toast. I’ve also noticed that it’s nice to use to give a flavor boost to chocolate pudding. But I can’t stop there. I usually make a mousse with it and fill phyllo cups. This time I thought it would be fun to try to make mini pies, so that’s what I did.

First, make a pie crust dough. Roll the dough into 1 inch sized balls. Place each ball in the cups of a mini muffin pan. Use either a mini tart shaper or the bottom of a shot glass to shape into mini pie shells. Prick the bottom of each shell with a fork.

Bake the pie shells in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Let crusts completely cool before filling.

To make the filling, combine 1 3/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of Nutella. Whisk together until it is well mixed and resembles chocolate milk. Add one 1.4 oz box of Chocolate Instant Jello Pudding. Mix well and refrigerate until set.

Meanwhile, let an 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip thaw on your kitchen counter. Once it is thawed, add a few spoonfuls to the pudding and stir together well. Then gently fold in the rest to make a light fluffy mousse. Use a pastry bag to fill your pie shells. Or forget all that and just grab a spoon and dig in!!

Click here for the Printable Recipe at Tasty Kitchen.