A delicious Nutella Day celebration

Well Blazers, it's that time of year again. A time when the clouds and winter cold seem a little less bleak, when everyday stresses and "important work" seem inconsequential and everywhere you look people are alive in the warm spirit of a blessed holiday. We are talking, of course, about World Nutella Day (WND for short). A day for the free exchange of recipes on the cutting edge of Nutella baking science. A day for Nutella lovers of the world to descend on their kitchens with a vengeance, lovingly turning that most delicious of chocolate hazelnut spreads into all manner of scrumptious treats. And a day for us here at Silver Chips Online to walk that fine line between "promoting" and "shilling for" a trademarked brand.

WND has been held every year since 2007, when Italy-based American blogger Sarah Rosso realized that Nutella was just too good not to have its own day of celebration. Thus was WND born: to encourage Nutella-lovers around the world to enjoy and be creative with the delicious chocolate spread. At the WND website, enthusiasts can find over 700 recipes to celebrate with. Here at SCO, we've tried out a couple of the top recipes for your benefit. Keep reading to discover how to make Nutella-based brownies, cookies and hot chocolate. Enjoy!

Nutella Brownies (courtesy of blogger Suzy Bakes)

Hello there, Nutella lovers! It's Zoe. Now, I bake pretty regularly, and I've tried everything from petit fours (three days and 19 eggs) to microwave brownies (two minutes and not very good), but I've rarely come across a brownie recipe as simple and good-natured as this one—or as delicious. It only takes 15 minutes to whip everything together, and, if you can keep yourself from eating all the batter immediately, you'll have gooey, hazelnutty, chocolatey perfection in no time. Whether you're an experienced baker or a newbie who's only reading this because we put the word 'Nutella' in the headline, you'll have no trouble with this little beauty. What are you waiting for? Stop eating Nutella directly from the jar. Go to!

2 sticks butter, melted

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 eggs, preferably room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup Nutella

Baking Temperature: 350 degrees

Baking Time: 30 minutes

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Melt the butter (microwave is fine). Stir in sugar and vanilla extract until well combined. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture, mixing completely after each addition. Whisk in cocoa mixture to butter mixture until combined. Warm Nutella in the microwave in 20 second intervals until softened. Stir into the batter.

Pour into greased 9×13 baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. Try to let it cool for five or 10 minutes before shoveling it eagerly into your awaiting, Nutella-deprived mouth so you don't burn your taste buds off. Then enjoy with a glass of milk.

Nutella cookies (courtesy of blogger Ambitious Kitchen)

Hi folks. Dylan here. If you're like me, you aren't much of a cook. When it comes to eating a hot meal, more often than not it flows from a cup of ramen noodles or, if you're feeling particularly ambitious, takes the form of a hearty English muffin pizza. I've always loved Nutella, and I've always loved cookies, but for me, those worlds have always been heartbreakingly separate, kept apart by a chasm of inconvenience, my own laziness and the delightful taste of Nutella on a spoon. I'll admit, I was wary of this whole "Nutella Day" thing when I heard about it, I was sure I wouldn't be able to participate because my baking acumen is so lacking. But these cookies are so mind-bendingly easy to make that it just might make a baking convert out of all you fellow hazelnut-heads.

1 cup Nutella

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 egg

½ cup flour

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Blend all ingredients besides salt in a large bowl with electric mixer until well combined. Place the dough in a freezer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes. roll the dough into approximately 1-inch balls, place on ungreased baking sheet at least two inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool for a few minutes until they are set, then very carefully transfer to a wire rack. Generously sprinkle with sea salt.

...And that really is all.

Hot cocoa (courtesy of blogger