When we saw the recipe in Cook’s Illustrated for “Fluffy Vanilla Icing”, we had our suspicions that it was a thinly veiled, homemade version of the classic marshmallow fluff spread. They weren’t fooling anybody. As it turns out, that’s exactly what we ended up with. Score!
The recipe did, however, yield a little more than we were expecting. Tragic, I know. What to do with all of that fluff? It wasn’t long before the leftover Pumpkin Bread (it’s BAAA-ack) and our beloved Nutella jumped into the fray and the Pumpkin Fluffer-Nutell-er Sandwich was born.
Assemble the sandwiches and sauté them in a little butter until the inside is oooey-gooey and the outside is crisp and toasty. If you want to get even fancier, dust them with a little confectioner’s sugar.
Imagine, if you will, that your favorite ever grilled cheese sandwich had a foreign, exotic, much hotter cousin…Welcome to the dream. Light some candles, put on some Sade and forget all your troubles. We know this a recurring theme, but…You’re welcome.
Fluff adapted from The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook.
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (plus 1 tablespoon) water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- For the Sandwiches:
- 1 loaf pumpkin bread, cut into ½”-thick slices
- Nutella, or other chocolate-hazelnut spread
- Prepared marshmallow “fluff”
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar, for garnish
- Combine egg whites, sugar, water, vanilla, and corn syrup iin bowl of standing mixer or large heatproof bowl and set over medium saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water (do not let bottom of bowl touch water).
- Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove bowl from heat and transfer mixture to standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until mixture has cooled to room temperature and stiff peaks form, 5 minutes longer.
- To make grilled Fluffer-Nutell-ers, spread a 1-2 tablespoons fluff each on half of the pumpkin bread slices, then spread 1-2 tablespoons of Nutella on each of half of the other slices. Sandwich the fluff and Nutella smeared pieces together.
- Heat the butter over a large skillet over medium. Add sandwiches to the pan, two at a time, and heat on each side 2-3 minutes, or until browned and crisp outside. Remove sandwiches from pan, let cool for a minute or two, and garnish with powdered sugar before diving in.
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