Banana Muffins with Hazelnuts and Nutella

Soft and moist, butter-free  banana-hazelnut muffins stuffed with creamy Nutella 

Do you have a bunch of ripe bananas sitting on your kitchen counter? And are you wondering if today is the day you will finally throw it away? Because let's face it: no one will eat those bananas. They are way past their kind-of-ok stage, and way into the too-mushy-to-be-any-good phase.
Like you, I really hate throwing away food. So my bananas just sit on the counter for the longest. But it's really not my fault. No one  in my house likes bananas when they are still green, and definitely no one eats them if they are ripe. Thi means, each banana has a about a three day time-span in which it should be eaten. Not a day less, and surely not a day more!
Today I decided NOT to throw away my ripe bananas and find a creative way to use them. So I baked these super yummy butter-free muffins, filled with hazelnuts and with a heart of nutella. Delicious! And I'm sure you know by now, hazelnut and Nutella combination is one of my favorite! Here is how I made these muffins:

Ingredients: to make 12 muffins

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) of vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups (225 gr) of all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup (75 gr) of chopped hazelnuts
• 12 teaspoons of Nutella
• about 1 tablespoon of raw coarse sugar (optional)

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350º F (175º C). In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork, or a potato ricer (like I did) and mix in the eggs.

2. Blend in the sugar, vanilla extract and the vegetable oil.

3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, until all is combined.

4. Add 3/4 cup of chopped hazelnuts.

5. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners, or grease with butter and flour. Spoon a little bit of batter (about half full). Add one teaspoon of nutella into each and cover with more batter. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped hazelnuts and some raw sugar (if you like).
Bake for about 25 minutes until the top are brown.

Enjoy!

more recipes @ http://cookingwithmanuela.blogspot.com