Nutella. . .Cheesecake?!!

This week's Free Recipe Friday
involves Nutella. . .
which for deep East Texas anyway,
is a relatively new product.
Nutella is a hazelnut spread and
is made with a combination of
roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and cocoa,
with no artificial colors or preservatives.
It's yummy-ness can be spread on
toast, crepes, pancakes, fruit, you name it!
But first, a history lesson.

Nutella was created in 1940 by a pastry maker,
Pietro Ferrero, in northwestern Italy.
At the time, there was very little chocolate

because cocoa was in short supply
due to World War II rationing.

Would we even know HOW
to ration these days?!? Yikes.

So, because of the rationing,

Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts,

which were plentiful in his area
to help extend the chocolate supply.
The original version (pasta gianduja)
a paste made into loaves
and sold in tin foil.
You could then slice it and place it
between two slices of bread.
It was later made into a softer spread
(supercrema gianduja) and eventually got
the final name change to Nutella.
At the time, the spread was
1/6 of the cost of chocolate!

From it's start, it was well received.
European families enjoyed this product
for more than 40 years before it was imported
to the northeastern U.S. around 1983.

Then of course, it took many more years
for it to reach the southern states.
Though originally a breakfast spread,

these days, thanks to
cable tv and the world wide web,
it's become so much more!

SO, for this week's Free Recipe Friday,

we are going to share a recipe
that is certainly as good it sounds!
Even though the pics aren't so great!

NO BAKE NUTELLA CHEESECAKE!

(thanks to mybakingaddiction.com!)
Easy AND delicious!

WHAT YOU NEED:
12 Oreo Cookies, crushed into bits
3 tablespoons butter, melted

 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8 oz) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

 whipped topping, chocolate shavings,
toasted chopped hazelnuts,
and/or cocoa powder
are all optional for garnishing

WHAT TO DO:

Crush your Oreo Cookies, filling and all,
into crumbs via a food processor
or by using a ziploc bag and rolling pin.
In a medium size bowl,
mix the crumbs well with the
melted butter.  Divide this mixture evenly,
press into small glass/plastic cups,
wine glasses or jars and set aside.
(We doubled this recipe and did not have
enough clear cups for serving, thus the
small plastic container for ours-
clear cups are solely for looks).

In a separate medium size bowl,
beat together the softened cream cheese
and Nutella until smooth.
Add vanilla and whipped topping
and mix until well combined.
Spoon the mixture equally
amongst your serving dishes.
Cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Before serving you can
dollop a bit of whipped cream on top
along with some toasted chopped hazelnuts
and a chocolate curl or two. . .
OR sprinkle with cocoa powder
as we did in our pics.

This easy schmeezy cheesecake
is so yummy
and NO BAKING required!

It's a WIN WIN!


ENJOY!