Cinnamon-Hazelnut Brownies

I'm not really much of a brownie person. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll eat brownies and I actually like most brownies, they're just not my favourite. I generally prefer things like cookies or cake or chocolate or ice cream. (Now, brownies + ice cream? That's a whole different animal! You kind of end up with a "more than the sum of its parts" situation there. Fabulous!) But yeah, brownies are not generally my first choice when it comes to baked goods. TF, however, loves them! He also loves hazelnuts. And Nutella. So, when I found a brownie recipe that called for all of these things, I had to try it.

I was tempted to leave out the cinnamon called for in these and just really focus on the hazelnuts, but I figured I'd stick to the recipe as written the first time around.

Cinnamon-Hazelnut Brownies
from Spache the Spatula
1 c. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. Dutched cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter
4 oz. (114g) + 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (sorry for mixing weight, mass, and volume here)
1 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. chocolate-hazelnut spread (eg. EuroCreme or Nutella)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. hazelnuts, crushed

1. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon).
2. Melt the butter over medium heat, then remove from heat and add the 4 oz. of chocolate chips, stirring to melt them as well.
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl with the sugar and beat for a couple minutes. (Spache's recipe specifies using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, but since I have neither, I just used a regular hand mixer. It seemed to work fine.)
4. Mix in the chocolate spread, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended.
6. Spread batter into a well-greased 8x8 square pan. (I skipped the parchment paper when preparing the pan. Feel free to use it if you're worried about sticking though.)
7. Combine the crushed hazelnuts (I just mashed mine up with a mortar and pestle) with the remaining semi-sweet chocolate chips and use this mixture to top the brownie batter in the pan.
8. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. (TF thinks they probably could've stood another few minutes in the oven, but says they're delicious as is and the edges are perfect. He is in agreement with Spache that it's better to slightly undercook rich, fudgey brownies like these than to end up overcooking them.)
9. Once brownies have completely cooled, cut and enjoy!

Update: I tried a little corner of one of these brownies and, while I'm still not a brownie person, I can say that I am so glad that I didn't leave out the cinnamon! It's so nice with the richness of the chocolate and the hazelnuts! I thought that it might detract and distract from the wonderful nuttiness of these brownies, but it's just the opposite. It really does enhance the flavour. Yum!