Nutella Cookies

I was looking for cookies to make and I came across the traditional peanut butter cookie. Those are good, but I wondered if I could make them with Nutella. This chocolate-hazelnut spread has the same consistency as peanut butter, so why wouldn’t it work? My husband and I were talking about it and I figured I would give it a try.

I took the recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours and made a couple of changes. I used Nutella instead of the peanut butter, I increased the salt since I wouldn’t be getting the salt from the peanut butter and I added a little bit of vegetable oil to the dough since the Nutella is a little less oily than peanut butter. The first batch I flattened the cookies like you would with a traditional peanut butter cookie, but the dough was a lot softer, so I decided to not flatten the second batch and they turned out great.

This made a lot of cookies (something like 7 dozen) which wasn’t a problem since they were SO GOOD that we couldn’t stop eating them. They are nice and crispy crunchy and have a great chocolate hazelnut flavor. The chocolate isn’t super pronounced, like it would be in a chocolate chip cookie, but it blends well with the hazelnut flavor. (Hmm, another chocolate hazelnut creation!) I’ve now made these a second time within a week, and I will certainly be making them again.

2-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup Nutella

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat until smooth. Add the Nutella and beat until combined. Add the sugars and mix about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating one minute after each addition. Stir in the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add the vegetable oil and the hazelnuts.

Drop by tablespoons (or a little smaller) onto the cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Cookies will look a little undone. Cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool.

Adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan