Nutella Stuffed Cookies. Yes, they are as naughty and indulgent as they look. But so much easier to make than you think! No electric beater, just a wooden spoon. That moment when the melty Nutella floods in your mouth…. send help!
Nutella Stuffed Cookies
This is no ordinary cookie.
This is a cookie that is sinfully decadent, and makes no apology for it.
I feel like the photos tell you everything you need to know to do a run to the grocery shop so you can make these immediately…
But just in case you’re one of those sensible people who thinks before they act (what is life like that, I wonder? 🤔), this is what you’re in for: a soft baked, buttery chocolate chip cookie with beautiful caramel undertones that’s chewy on the inside and just the right amount of crispiness on the edges.
Oh, and it’s stuffed with Nutella. In case you missed that part!! 😂
I love how it looks so innocent when you pull it out of the oven. Just another chocolate chip cookie…
…then you break it open and BOOM! In-your-face-melty decadence!
Are you ready to be shocked how straightforward this is to make? Let’s do this!
SPOILER: It involves frozen discs of Nutella that are buried inside cookie dough.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make these Nutella Stuffed Cookies.
1. Nutella
Shocking. I know. 😂
In theory, this recipe will work with any spread that you want to see oozing out of a chocolate chip cookie as long as it will freeze so it can be wrapped with the cookie dough. Immediate thoughts that come to mind:
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Nut-free and other chocolate spreads
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Non Nutella-brand hazelnut spread
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Peanut butter
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Biscoff spread (I know Biscoff is having a moment!)
2. EVERYTHING ELSE
The ingredients are simple. But there’s some chatter below for fellow baking nerds, interested in things like why are you using baking soda instead of baking powder? What’s with that smidge of honey? There is logic behind everything!
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Flour – Just regular plain / all-purpose flour. Don’t use self-raising flour for this cookie, the amount of built in baking powder is too much.
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Brown sugar rather than white sugar, for better flavour and colour.
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Unsalted butter, melted – This is the fat in this recipe, to give these cookies a lovely buttery flavour. If you only have salted, leave out the salt.
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Baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) – This is the leavening agent that makes the cookies rise a bit so they aren’t dense and hard. I use baking soda rather than baking powder for these cookies because baking soda makes things brown faster in the oven which we need for these cookies to have an appealing golden colour and lovely crisp edges in the short 12 minute baking time.
Baking powder will work, if that’s all you’ve got, and they will still be delicious (I mean, Nutella! Choc chips! Butter!). But expect your cookies to be paler and a little less chewy, and they lose the chewy texture over the next few days. You’ll need to use 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder.
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Honey – Baking science at work here! Just 1 teaspoon of honey keeps these cookies moist and chewy inside rather than becoming “cakey” or dry. The honey also makes the cookies colour faster so they aren’t pale (same point above for baking soda).
Because we only need so little, you can’t taste it at all. Substitute with corn syrup (it serves the same purpose). Maple syrup and other sweet liquids won’t work. It’s fine to leave it out (it’s not a big deal), just expect the cookies to be a little paler and they will lose freshness faster in the days to come.
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Large egg at room temperature – An egg around 55 grams / 2 ounces that has been out of the fridge for around 30 minutes so it is not fridge cold.
If your egg is a bit larger than 60g / 2.1 oz in the shell, I would feel better if you cracked, whisked, then measured out 2 1/2 tablespoons of egg. Note: Normally I am not so pedantic, even in most cake recipes. But cookies can be a little temperamental and these ones spread a fair bit (you’ll see below), and I worry if your egg is too big then your cookies might spread too much. See here for more information about why the size and temperature of eggs for baking matters.
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Chocolate chips – Because it didn’t feel right not having choc chips as well as Nutella. 😂 I would’ve used Nutella chips if such a thing existed!
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Vanilla extract – For flavour. Vanilla extract is better than vanilla essence which is imitation.
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Salt – To bring out the flavours. Standard baking practice these days, to add a bit of salt. It doesn’t taste salty at all, we only use a very small amount.
How to make Nutella Stuffed Cookies
1. Cookie dough
The cookie dough takes about 1 1/2 hours to firm up in the fridge while the Nutella discs take 1 hour. So we’ll make the cookie dough first.
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Mix dry – Put the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
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Barely melted butter – Microwave the butter in a heatproof bowl for 30 seconds on high or until it is not quite melted. Then mix with a rubber spatula to finish melting the butter. It will be “milky” / cloudy rather than clear yellow oil (ie when butter is fully melted) which is what we want. It makes the cookies taste a little more buttery.
Don’t fret if you don’t quite hit the mark here, it is not the end of the world, it’s just one of those extra little touches the slightly improves a recipe. 🙂
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Cookie dough – Add the sugar, vanilla and honey, and mix to combine. Then mix the egg in. It should look like a thick caramel! Lastly, add the flour and mix it in.
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Chill to firm – The cookie dough will be quite loose at this stage, too sticky to roll into balls. And probably a bit warm. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours until it is firm enough to roll into a log.
2. frozen nutella discs
While the cookie dough is chilling, move onto the frozen Nutella discs.
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Dollop 1 slightly heaped tablespoon of Nutella on a paper lined tray. Spread into ~8mm/ 1/3″thick rounds. Don’t make it too thin, else it seems to disappear when it melts inside the cookie!
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Freeze for 1 hour or until they are firm enough to pick up.
3. cut
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Log – Once chilled, the cookie dough should be firm enough to roll in your hands. Roll it out into a 18cm / 7″ log.
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Then cut into 10 equal pieces.
Why a log? Because I find it faster to cut into equal pieces, plus once cut the pieces are ready-made for wrapping around the Nutella discs. Not need to fiddle with scooping and rolling balls, and pinching a bit of dough from here and there to make them all the same size!
4. stuff
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Flatten the dough until it is about 5mm / 0.2″ thin (I do this on the lined tray).
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Press a frozen Nutella disc in upside down (upside down = flat side ends up down when we flip the cookie).
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Bundle and seal – Gather the cookie dough around the Nutella disc, then seal to enclose the Nutella.
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Flip and shape – Turn the cookie upside down (so the gathered side is down and smooth side now faces up). Then shape the cookie into 1.5cm/ 3/5″ thick rounds.
Nutella sealing – It’s ok for Nutella to poke out on the surface but make sure the underside and sides are sealed else the Nutella will run out when baking.
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Top with chocolate chips and lightly press them in. Do the sides as well, else you’ll end up with a naked ring around the border of the cookie!
PS Mixing chocolate into the dough makes it more difficult to enclose the Nutella disc with dough as the choc chips get in the way.
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Ready for baking! Make sure the cookies are 8cm / 3″ apart, to allow sufficient room for spreading and air flow circulation.
5. BAKE & COOL
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Bake both the trays at the same time for 12 minutes in a 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) oven. The cookies are done when the edges are golden and the surface is pale golden. The middle might look a little undercooked which is ok because they will finish cooking in the next step.
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Cool the cookies for 10 minutes on the tray. They will finish cooking with the residual heat. Then transfer onto a cooling rack (so the underside doesn’t steam and go soggy) and let them cool for at least 5 minutes before you grab one!
15 Minute Molten Moment
I’ll let you in on a little secret. There is a small window at which these cookies are at their absolute peak.
The moment in question is the 15 minute mark out of the oven. This is the split second when the cookies have had just enough time for the edges to set so you can pick it up without collapsing into a warm gooey-mess (albeit a delicious one), the Nutella has cooled enough so you won’t get third degree burns on your chin but it’s still at melty perfection.
If you can sink your teeth into one of these cookies at that moment, it is an unmatched cookie experience.
Enjoy without guilt. Diet starts Monday! – Nagi x
Nutella Stuffed Cookies Testing
Baking recipes are always a pain when you’re creating from scratch! I was after a specific buttery soft-baked texture but I wanted it to be a bit chewy rather than cakey or doughy. I’ve bought stuffed cookies like that which I didn’t really enjoy.
I used a hybrid of my soft chocolate chip cookie dough and the brown butter oatmeal cookies to get the right texture. The technique of stuffing the dough with frozen discs of Nutella is a tried and proven one I came up with when I was on a mission to create Nutella stuffed pancakes.
Really, it was just about tweaking the ingredient quantities so it didn’t spread too much with the Nutella as it melted. But even the ones that didn’t quite turn out as hoped – the edges spread too thin, or the cookie didn’t spread enough – they still disappeared quickly!! 🙂
Oh, the one other thing I was playing with towards the end to finalise the recipe was shelf life. I have a massive hang up about any baked goods – cakes, muffins, cupcakes – that go stale or lose freshness in less than 2 – 3 days.
I wanted these cookies to stay moist and chewy on the inside, and for the edges to stay pretty crispy for at least 3 days. The trick, I found, was a smidge of honey and baking soda rather than baking powder. Baking science. See ingredients section above for an explanation of why these work! 🙂
Anything that can be frozen! See ingredients section above for ideas (eg peanut butter, other chocolate spreads).
Cup sizes differ slightly between the US (1 cup = 236ml) and the rest of the world (250 ml). While the difference is not enough to make a difference in most recipes, for some baking recipes it can mean the difference between success and failure. Especially with cookies that spread, like this one.
I made this recipe using US cups, Australian cups and the weights I’ve provided and there was no difference in the end result. So you can make it as written, wherever you are in the world except Japan because the cups there are smaller (so please use the weights provided).
In fact, the reason why the butter measure in tablespoons (which is the American standard way of measuring butter as their butter comes in “sticks” with tablespoons marked) is so this recipe works for Americans making this recipe with US cups. ie 120 g butter = 8.5 tbsp butter. 8 tbsp = 113g which is the right amount for the flour used using US sized cups.
4 days. Even day 5 they are still good! The edges will stay crispy and the centre stays soft and chewy. The Nutella is molten when the cookies are warm out of the oven, and at room temperature it is not runny but still the texture like it is in the jar ie spreadable.
Watch how to make it
Nutella Stuffed Cookies
Try to eat it exactly 15 minutes out of the oven. It’s still warm but the edges have crisped up just enough so you can hold the cookie without sagging, and the Nutella is still molten inside. That is an unmatched cookie eating experience!
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp (slightly heaped) Nutella or other chocolate-nut spread
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped 70% dark chocolate)
Cookie dough:
- 1 1/3 cups plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate soda, Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 120g/ 8 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1 cm / 1/2″ cubes (fridge cold is fine)
- 2/3 cup (tightly packed) brown sugar (Note 2)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp honey or corn syrup (Note 3)
- 1 large egg (55g / 2 oz), at room temperature (Note 4)
Instructions
Abbreviated recipe (hand-mixed):
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Mix flour, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, barely melt butter, mix to finish melting. Mix in vanilla, honey and sugar, then egg. Mix in flour, fridge 1.5 hrs. Freeze Nutella discs 1 hr. Enclose Nutella with dough, press in choc chips, bake 12 -13 min at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Cool 10 min on tray, then at least 5 min on rack. Attack!
Cookie dough:
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Mix dry – Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
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Barely melt butter – Using a heatproof bowl, microwave the butter for 30 seconds on high until mostly but not fully melted, then stir with a rubber spatula to finish melting it so it’s “milky” rather than clear yellow oil (Note 5).
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Wet mixture – Add the sugar, vanilla and honey, stir until combined. Add the egg and stir until combined, it should look like caramel.
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Chill dough 1 1/2 hours – Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. The mixture should be slightly warm and too soft to roll into balls. Cover and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours to cool and firm up enough to roll into a log.
Frozen Nutella mounds:
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Line a small tray with baking paper / parchment paper. Dollop Nutella on tray and spread to ~8mm/ 1/3″thick rounds. Freeze for 1 hour until firm enough to pick up.
Stuffing and baking:
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Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Lightly grease 2 trays then line with paper.
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Cut dough – Scrape dough out and shape/roll into a ~18cm / 7″ log. Cut into 10 equal pieces.
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Stuff – Flatten cookie dough, press in frozen Nutella, bundle dough up around it to enclose and seal. Flip upside down so the smooth side is facing up. Shape into ~1.5cm/ 3/5″ thick rounds, press choc chips into the surface and sides. Repeat to make 10 cookies, 5 on each tray, 8cm/3″ apart to allow for spreading (Note 6 working tips).
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Bake both trays at the same time for 12 – 13 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden, the centre is pale golden and just set (ie not raw melty dough).
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Cool & swoon – Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for 10 minutes (finish cooking / set). Transfer to a rack, cool for at least another 5 minutes. Grab, bite, swoon. That moment when the melty Nutella floods into your mouth…..
Notes
1. Baking soda substitute – 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, though cookie will be paler and not quite as chewy. See FAQ to geek out on this.
2. Measuring sugar – If using cup measuring, be sure to pack the sugar in fairly tightly and level the surface (if you don’t pack it in, you will be short and cookie texture + flavour will be altered).
3. Smidge of honey = baking trick! Helps the cookie brown faster so it’s a lovely caramel colour, and makes the cookie more moist inside. Corn syrup works the same. Don’t have either? Leave out, cookie will be a bit paler. See FAQ for more information.
4. Egg from a carton labelled “large eggs” which are 600-660g for a dozen, so each egg is around 50 – 55g / 2 oz. Jumbo eggs (800g a dozen) or larger may make the cookie spread too much so crack, whisk, measure out and use 2 1/2 tablespoons (see Ingredients section in post for more information).
5. Barely melted butter has a pale yellow “milky” colour yields more buttery tasting cookies than butter that is fully melted and more glassy clear yellow on top (dairy “milky” part settles on the bottom). But recipe works fine with fully melted butter so don’t stress!
6. Forming cookies – Keep unused Nutella in the freezer and dough in fridge as required, so they don’t melt/get sticky. Or, work fast! 🙂 My method: think, money bags! I gather then flip upside down so the smooth side is up. Some Nutella poking out the top is ok, but ensure it’s fully sealed on the sides and base (else it will leak everywhere).
7. Different measures between countries – There are slight differences in cup and measuring spoon sizes between countries. For most recipes, the difference is not enough to affect the outcome. For baking recipes, it can be the difference between success and failure. This is recipe is fine as written wherever you are except Japan, please use weights only, not cups. See FAQ.
Storage – Still excellent 3 days later, crispy edges and chewy/soft middle. Store in airtight container in the pantry once fully cool.
Nutrition per cookie. I’m shocked. I thought it would be much higher! *Reaches into the cookie jar for another….*
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
Coming to you live from Canberra with Dozer! Canberra is a 3 hour drive from where I live and I’m here for a book signing event. I’m staying in a dog friendly hotel – here we are, making ourselves at ohm in the hotel lounge!
And here is Dozer getting chauffeured to Canberra. To make the trip as comfortable as possible for him, I hauled his bed into the car which is so big, it almost takes up the entire boot with the rear seas folded down. I mean, I don’t need room for a bag. Who needs a change of clothes?! 😂
And the hotel breakfast situation. No dogs allowed!!
More next week! Time to make myself respectable for the book signing today! (Westfield Belconnen, 12-2pm. If you miss out because the line gets cut, don’t worry! Come back at 2pm for a quick photo and a signed book plate to stick in your book! – N x ❤️)
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