Nutella-Stuffed Cookies

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

How To Make Nutella-Stuffed Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• Nutella: This chocolate-hazelnut spread is so intensely delicious, it’s all I can do to keep from eating it straight from the jar. Freezing it until solid is the key to success with these cookies. The Nutella needs to be firm enough to hold its shape while you mold cookie dough around it.
• Butter: Make sure to use unsalted butter so you know just how much salt is going into the cookies.
• Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar helps the cookies spread and acquire a lovely cracked top, while brown sugar helps them bake up moist and chewy.
• Eggs: The eggs do a bit of everything here: binding, adding moisture, and even leavening. Do be sure to stick to large eggs to keep the ratios on point.
• Vanilla: Nothing enhances the taste of chocolate like vanilla.
• Flour: All-purpose flour provides the structural support for these cookies. I go with all-purpose flour, as it’s got the right protein content to give cookies structure without making them tough or crumbly.
• Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder delivers deep color, rich chocolate flavor, and an almost fudgy texture.
• Baking Soda: Gives the cookies enough lift to allow them to bake up soft and tender.
• Flaky Sea Salt: For a final flourish I love to top these cookies with a bit of flaky sea salt (Maldon is my fave), which adds texture and balances the sweetness of the Nutella.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

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.

Recipe Tips

• Freeze the Nutella fully: The Nutella should be ooey-gooey when you’re eating the cookies, not when you’re stuffing them. Give the portioned out Nutella as much time as it needs to become frozen solid. Thirty minutes is the bare minimum; 2 hours or more is a much safer bet. In fact, freezing the Nutella is an excellent way to get ahead of the game. You can freeze the portioned out disks up to 1 week ahead. I recommend transferring them to a resealable plastic bag once they’re fully frozen.
• How to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands: Temperature is everything in this recipe and as the dough warms up it’ll become increasingly sticky. When you sense that beginning to happen, sock the dough back in the freezer for 10 minutes or so; do the same with the Nutella so it stays frozen.

Storage

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.