What little kid – or big kid - would not love these Nutella Stuffed Cookies!? Crispy on the outside. Scrumptiously soft on the inside as the Nutella oozes out with every bite…mmmmm.
And, all you need is a whisk and large mixing bowl to whip up these chocolatey gems. Melt the butter and stir together the wet ingredients, then add the dry. It’s easy!
Add a handful or more of chocolate chips for even more chocolatey goodness. The chopped up dark chocolate helps keep that chocolatey flavor in every single bite full.
Make a large round of dough, flatten and press in your blob of Nutella. (I like to freeze the Nutella in small balls, first, to make it easier to complete the cookie dough balls.) Bake and cool to enjoy this popular cookie.
This recipe makes about 12-16 stuffed cookies.
Prepare your pans:
Line the baking sheets with parchment paper for easier cleanup.
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
Gather up the Ingredients:
½ C Butter, melted
½ C Shortening
½ C Sugar
¾ C Brown sugar
1 Egg
1 Egg yolk
1 T Vanilla extract
2 ½ C Flour (set ¼ C aside)
1 t Baking soda
2 T Cornstarch
½ t Salt
1 ½ C Chocolate chips, mini semi-sweet
¼ C Dark chocolate, rough chopped
½ C Hazelnuts or pecans, rough chopped
¼ C Chocolate chips, semi-sweet for garnish
Make and bake:
-Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl just until melted.
-In a medium to large mixing bowl, chop up the shortening and add the melted butter so they melt together.
-Add the sugars and vanilla and whisk until all combined well.
-Add the egg and whisk until well combined.
-Add the egg yolk and whisk until well combined.
-Sift in the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until it is well combined.
-Stir in the chocolate chips, rough chopped chocolate and nuts.
-Cover and chill the cookie dough for 2-3 hours or overnight. I like to make up a number of different batches of cookie dough one day. Then chill them and then scoop out the dough into balls and freeze for later baking.
-When you’re getting ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325F degrees.
-Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and let it warm up a little on the counter, about 10 minutes.
-Scoop out cookie dough using a 2-tablespoon spoon or cookie scoop.
-Form the dough ball and flatten it a bit. Place the Nutella ball in the middle and work the dough around it so there are no cracks or openings. You don’t want that Nutella to leak out!
-Place on the parchment paper lined cookie sheets, leaving a couple inches between each cookie.
-Bake at 325F degrees for 10-13 minutes. I usually check the cookies at the 8-minute mark, rotating my pans 180 degrees so they bake evenly.
-Pull the cookies out of the oven and place on top of the stove for 10 more minutes so they can continue baking.
-While the cookies are still warm, sprinkle and lightly press a few more chocolate chips on top of each cookie. Don’t press too hard or that delicious Nutella could spurt out.
-Allow the chocolate chips to firm up before you place in an airtight container. If you are in a hurry, place the pan of cookies in the refrigerator for 10 minutes so the chocolate chips firm up. Then place them in airtight containers.
Storage:
-Freeze the cookie dough balls for up to a month. I like to make a couple of batches of these cookies, freeze and pull out as many as I want to bake for my family or for a crowd. Thaw them out overnight in the refrigerator or for 20 minutes at room temperature.
-Freeze the fully baked cookies for up to a month, even though they do not last that long in my freezer. Once somebody’s discovered them in there, they sure do disappear fast!
-Refrigerate the dough for 3-5 days before baking.
These are delicious cookies, especially when rough chopped hazelnuts are added to the dough. And, the extra chocolate chips on top add more chocolatey flavor. However you end up making or garnishing these cookies, share them with your besties and “Bake your own Memories.”