More Stuffed Cookies
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Much as I love chocolate chip and double chocolate cookies, this recipe may just be my all-time favorite chocolate cookie. These Nutella-stuffed cookies are a bit of culinary magic: A tender, intensely chocolatey cookie exterior gives way to melty, gooey Nutella inside. And as if that weren't enough, a sprinkling of flaky sea salt gives the cookies the perfect salty-sweet finish.
What People Are Saying:
"I made these for Christmas and they were loved by all. I have been asked for this recipe many times since, this is a keeper" - GreenCoffee
"Delicious! Made them for work cook exchange….Will make again at Christmas get-together." - Gold Hammer
The Nutella needs a good long chill, so we’ll start with that. Using a 1-Tbsp. scoop, portion out the Nutella onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. This is somewhat messy business, but there’s no need to attempt to form perfectly shaped balls; reasonably tidy dollops are plenty good. (You can make the Nutella easier to scoop by placing the jar in the fridge for 15 minutes.)
Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and chill the Nutella until solid, 30 minutes at a minimum but preferably 2 hours or more. The extra time will make shaping the cookies considerably easier.
While the Nutella is chilling, work on the cookie dough. Grab a handheld mixer and a large bowl and beat the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy; this step is known as “creaming,” and it helps the cookies spread evenly and bake up nice and light. Now, beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla, followed by the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Once the dry ingredients go in, it’s important to mix as little as possible to minimize gluten development. The moment you no longer see any dry steaks, you’re done.
Cover the bowl and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up. Chilling the dough makes it less sticky and easier to shape. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Once the Nutella and cookie dough are sufficiently chilled, it’s time to form the cookies. Working one at a time, scoop out heaping tablespoons of cookie dough, press to flatten, then top with a disk of frozen Nutella. Wrap the dough around the Nutella and pinch to seal. The Nutella should be fully enclosed; add more dough to close up any exposed patches if needed. If the dough becomes too sticky to work with, you have two options. You can lightly dust your hands with flour or, my preference, return the dough and Nutella to the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to give the dough a chance to firm up once again. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart.
Sprinkle the cookies with flaky sea salt.
Bake until the cookies are puffed and just set, about 15 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
The Nutella can be portioned out and frozen 1 week ahead. If freezing for more than a few hours, cover with plastic wrap or transfer to a resealable plastic bag. The cookies can be made 1 week ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutella
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
(215 g.) packed light brown sugar
(100 g.) granulated sugar
large eggs
milk
pure vanilla extract
(240 g.) all-purpose flour
unsweetened dark cocoa powder
baking soda
kosher salt
Flaky sea salt
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