Apparently these are all over Pinterest. I am not all over Pinterest, because if I go down that rabbit hole, I am never ever coming out. You might use Nutella to make these, but if you are feeling slightly horrified by the sugar content of Nutella and happen to have a nice natural foods store or Whole Foods nearby, you can find a “healthier” hazelnut-chocolate spread that works well. (Let’s just pretend it is healthier. I’m not sure how over 30% hazelnut and 20% cocoa powder can be healthy, but let’s not worry about it.)
I used this recipe: http://www.krissys-creations.com/2012/05/nutella-muffin-cakes.html
This stuff is ah-mur-zing.
Swirling.
And after baking.
The only change to the recipe I’d recommend is giving your chocolate-hazelnut spread a good mix with a spoon or fork before adding it to the muffin tins. It’s much easier to swirl after it’s been whipped up a little bit. These aren’t really cakes, but are a bit too sweet to be muffins. I don’t know what they are, exactly, but they feel more like a breakfast or brunch food than an after-dinner treat. Have fun and enjoy!
Crumpets in Camelot 
Well, nut butters are actually quite good for you, depending on the fat source. And cocoa is an antioxidant. And it has less sugar! It looks a lot less creamy (and therefore less fatty) than Nutella. So yay! I pronounce you healthy.Rationalization is great, isn’t it? I get a kick out of Nutella’s commercials touting it as a healthy spread to put on your kid’s toast in the morning. I think of it as spreadable candy. But the muffins look great!
Spreadable candy is about right! I love those ads, too — the healthy fruit, the wholegrain bread … and a pile of sugar. Hm!
By the way, have you tried Biscoff spread? Talk about spreadable candy – it doesn’t even have the marginal claim to health benefits of a nut butter. Yes, it actually is spreadable cookies. And quite tasty spread on actual cookies.
Nutella is definitely spreadable candy…and Kate eats it with peanut butter almost every single day. I am definitely going to look up the Whole Foods alternative. (I can ALWAYS justify a trip to WF!) These muffins might cause my children to short-circuit out of giddy excitement. Christmas breakfast, here we come! (They are going to be so hyped up that day I might as well BRING THE SUGAR early on.)
I put candy in the stockings and its the one day out of the year they can just dive in and eat it. Gives me an extra five minutes to drink my coffee on christmas morning, and that’s what it’s all about right? That and joy and whatever, but mostly getting a bit of quiet and some coffee.