TWD: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

Yuck. Sorry...that's it. I was so disappointed in these things. They were a pain in my rear from the time I started, and by the time I was done, I was cranky.
Cottage cheese has its place, but it does not belong in dough. This has got to be the stickiest, most stubborn, temperamental dough ever in the history of the world. It seemed like I had it out of the fridge for a minute and a half, and it was goopy and sticking to everything. I let it chill overnight before I started working with it. Then I rolled it with about 4 passes of the rolling pin, then chilled it (repeat about 6 times). I cut my rounds with the cookie cutters, then chilled them. Then I filled them and chilled them. Finally, by the time I got the first batch in the oven, I had used up my patience quotient for the day (and those of you who really know me know that I don't have much to begin with). I had high hopes. I filled some with PB and Nutella (due to my recent addiction to the stuff) and others were filled with strawberry jam. I baked them just like Dorie said, and I dusted them with powdered sugar and let them cool. And they weren't good.
This was one of the PB/Nutella ones. Look at that stupid "pufflet". There's no puff involved, really. It's just a cottage-cheesy flop. These won't be on my "to-make" list ever again. I sure hope some of the other TWDers enjoyed them, but I didn't. Ugh. For the record, though, this is the first time I've been disappointed with a TWD recipe. And oh my goodness...I have high hopes for next week. Chocolate? Check. Caramel? Check. Honey roasted peanuts? Check. I'm gonna have to get some bigger pants.
Anyway, if you're feelin' froggy this week and have some cottage cheese you want to make cookies out of, head on over to Daisy Lane Cupcakes for the recipe. I hope Jacque had better luck and more patience than me!

Dangerous.

You see that stuff? That is a 13-oz bottle of danger. A jar of diet disaster. It's food of the gods. And how have I made it nearly 30 years without ever tasting the stuff?! The first time I ever heard about Nutella was from a college roommate, Emily. She used to keep a jar in the suite, but I never tasted it. Then, I saw Giada de Laurentiis using it on her show in several recipes. Most recently, I've noticed bloggers using it in a number of recipes. The common denominator in all of those people is that they all talk about how wonderful it is. How have I held out this long?!

Yesterday, I broke down and bought a jar. I bought it on a whim. I had to go to Kroger to buy 2 dozen eggs for David to take to the church men's breakfast this morning. On my way back to the dairy case, I made my way through the produce section, past the bread, and by the peanut butter/jam/honey aisle. And there it was. It was calling my name. It was on sale. I bought it. I just had to see what all the fuss is about.

Well...the fuss is well-founded! Oh my word, I thought I was in chocolate heaven. I expected a texture like peanut butter, but it's actually more like slightly melted frosting. And the taste? It tastes JUST LIKE those Ferrero Rocher chocolates that I adore. I ate 2 teaspoons full just standing at the pantry door. Then I had to put it away. Then David came home and I made him taste it (and I had a couple more teaspoons full). And ever since then, this daggum jar of Nutella has been on my mind. Seriously...it has a little voice, and I can hear it constantly, calling me from the pantry. "Erin...get a spoon...get some Nutella!" I'm trying to resist, but I swear ya'll, it's like those Sirens from Greek mythology. It's gonna be the death of me.

As I've been trying to resist the call of the Nutella, I've been thinking about ways to use it in baking. First and foremost, Nutella and peanut butter will be used as fillings in my Cottage Cheese Pufflets that you'll be seeing on Tuesday. I thought it would make a nice swirl in some homemade ice cream. And I thought you could maybe marble a cake with it. Pound cake, even. And then I Googled Nutella, and there are pages devoted to Nutella recipes. Oh, my. Someone's going to have to stage an intervention. Help.