Nutella Snickerdoodle Bars

My friend occasionally sends me video recipes of items that she thinks I will like. Snickerdoodles are my favorite, and I love hazelnuts, so I can see why she thought I would like these. I thought that for certain I had already made these, but I checked, and I had not! I sometimes can’t follow a video that well, so I wrote down the recipe and instructions and knew that I wanted to make these right away.

I was intrigued by this recipe, as the first thing you do is create a layer of Nutella by spreading it in a pan and freezing it. This is brilliant, as it helps the Nutella keep its shape while baking. Some folks commented that the Nutella needs to be thoroughly frozen; I froze mine for about 2 hours, but I honestly didn’t track it specifically. Don’t skip on this step.

The frozen Nutella is one part and classic snickerdoodle dough is the other. The dough is exactly as expected. You place half of the dough in the pan and then top with the Nutella. The top layer is a little more tricky, as you want an even layer. I took pieces of dough, flattened them and put together the top layer. That way, you didn’t have to attempt to spread the dough, which likely wouldn’t work. These cookies are so good! They have the lovely snickerdoodle flavor with the added decadence of Nutella. 

Nutella Snickerdoodle Bars
1 cup Nutella
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon sugar

Line a 9” square pan with foil. Spread the Nutella in the pan in an even layer. Freeze the Nutella for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an additional 9” square pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until well combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix again on medium to incorporate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, cream of tartar, and baking powder. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until the dough just comes together. 

Divide the dough into two halves. Press one half evenly into the prepared pan. Place the frozen layer of Nutella on top of the dough. Top with an even layer of the remaining dough. I found it best to flatten the dough slightly and then piece together the top layer. Press down to seal the dough. Sprinkle the top of the cookies with about 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 23-25 minutes, until browned along the edges. Allow the bars to cool completely. Once cool, remove from the pan, peel away the foil, and cut into bars. 

Recipe from A Little Calm

Peanut Butter and Jelly and Nutella Cookies

At work, my friend recently moved from a temporary position to a permanent one, which is reason to celebrate! We all have the favorites that we love to eat, and one day I noticed that she was having peanut butter and jelly. She corrected me and said it was peanut butter and jelly and Nutella. I knew immediately that I wanted to recreate those three items together in a cookie. 

I found a couple of PB&J recipes that I felt I could alter to include Nutella as well. I chose the recipe you see below, but I made a ganache with Nutella, instead of using peanut butter ganache. I also used the Nutella ganache as a drizzle to finish the cookies. I had thought about adding chopped hazelnuts to garnish as well, but perhaps that would have been too much.

These cookies are quite large, and they are a little fussy. The dough is sticky, but I could work with that. The cookies came out of the oven really flat, so I had to shape them a bit (using this method). Make sure the ganache cools a bit before using it, or it will be too runny. I used seedless raspberry jam, but you have lots of options, and heating the jam slightly helps a lot. These cookies, while huge and a bit delicate, are fantastic. They were so enjoyed and I had several people come to me and say they were just the best!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly and Nutella Cookies
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

1 cup Nutella
¾ cup heavy cream
Raspberry Jam

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix again on medium to combine. Mix in the peanut butter. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, until the soft dough comes together. 

Separate the dough into 24 portions. Shape each portion into a flattened bowl, and then make an indentation in each cookies. The dough is quite sticky, so it may help to wet your hands or use nonstick spray . Place on a parchment covered plate or baking sheet and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until set.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, reshape the cookies as needed, and press the center of the cookies to make a deeper indentation. Allow the cookies to set and cool. 

Make the ganache: place the Nutella in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour the hot cream over the Nutella and allow it to sit for two minutes. Slowly whisk the mixture until the ganache is smooth and shiny. Allow to cool slightly before assembling the cookies. 

Assemble the cookies: fill the indentation in the cookie with the cooled Nutella ganache, and then top with a dallop of raspberry jam (heated to make it more viscous). Abstractly drizzle some additional Nutella ganache to finish the cookies. 

Recipe inspired by In Bloom Bakery
Ganache recipe from Sugar & Sparrow

Nutella Pumpkin Spice Bars

I find most of the recipes I use online, and that is always the first place that I look when I am finding a recipe to use up an ingredient. My husband and I often visit my Mom to help her with things around the house. Recently when we were there, I came across a Better Homes & Gardens magazine that had a fantastic muffin pictured on the cover. There were other great recipes in the magazine, and my mom said she had read it already, so I brought it home.

I can’t think of the last time I found a recipe in a magazine, but this recipe was one that I knew would be good. While pumpkin isn’t my favorite ingredient, I tried to make at least one pumpkin recipe per year. These, with Nutella, sounded fantastic. The recipe was pretty easy to assemble, although swirling chocolate/Nutella into batter can be a challenge. This time it went fairly well, as you heat up the Nutella in advance to make it more supple.

The batter for these bars is nice and smooth. Canned pumpkin is difficult to measure, so I measured it by weight. That’s a good tip for anything difficult to measure or is super sticky (peanut butter, etc.). Pour the batter in the pan, swirl with Nutella, then bake. I wasn’t sure how long to bake the bars; I opted for the longer time. Still, these bars are soft and cake-like, which is what I expect for most recipes with pumpkin. I do like the spice flavor of these, and combined with Nutella, make a very tasty bar cookie!

Nutella Pumpkin Spice Bars
1-1/3 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup Nutella

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat together the pumpkin, vegetable oil, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium until smooth. With the mixer running on low, gradually add flour mixture, until the mixture is not lumpy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top. Place the Nutella in a bowl and microwave for 30-60 seconds to soften. Drizzle the Nutella over the batter and then using a thin knife, swirl the Nutella into the pumpkin batter. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the batter comes out clean. Cool for at least an hour before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, October 2025

Nutella Crumb Bars

Summer is great and I have time, and I want to bake, but then the house is warm, and it really drains all the energy that I have. Sometimes I will go to work, as even my office with big sunny windows (but with air conditioning) is more comfortable that home. At least we have portable air conditioners at home, which helps somewhat. It makes me long for rainy weather, which makes my California friends shake their heads. What can I say?

When I do go to work, I can take treats for folks, which I love to do. Sometimes there is enough for everyone to share, and other times I just bring in a couple of treats for different individuals. I had these bars on my radar for a while. I regularly have all of the ingredients on hand, although I will say I get a bit nervous when my butter supply is low! I also checked my Nutella supply, and I was good.

While the house is warm, I hoped that having the oven on for a short while would be ok, and it was. I think I get warm when I am up and about, doing things. I baked these in the morning, and that helped a lot. These cookies have a shortbread base, you par-bake that and then top with Nutella and a crumb topping. There are several steps, but they are all very simple. I refrigerated the bars before cutting, and I would advise you not to skip that step. These bars are a bit crumbly, with the perfect flavor of Nutella shining through.

Nutella Crumb Bars
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light. Stir in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix until the dough forms, which may be a bit crumbly. Press the dough into the prepared pan.

Bake the base for 20-25 minutes, until set. Remove the pan from the oven but keep the oven at temperature.

Spread the Nutella (carefully) over the partially based base. 

Make the crumb topping: in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add the melted butter and mix until the topping looks like wet sand. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the Nutella. 

Bake for 15-18 additional minutes, until golden. 

Cool the bars completely before cutting them into bars. I placed the bars in the refrigerator in order to make sure that the bars were as cool as possible.

Recipe from Just So Tasty

Chocolate Hazelnut Tassies

If you have followed my blog for a long time, you will know that I adore hazelnuts and I love making cookies in mini muffin cups. They look so perfect, and I think hazelnut is one of the best flavors out there. I hadn’t made anything with Nutella recently, and it was time to do so. I had taken a photograph of this recipe in a magazine, which typically means I will forget about it. This time, I wrote up the recipe right away, so it’s been waiting to be made.

I halved this recipe. The quantities given here are the original, and said it made about seven dozen cookies. These cookies are small but that is still a lot of cookies! I ended up making two dozen with the half recipe. I did have some dough left over, but two dozen was plenty. I didn’t change anything else otherwise, but I didn’t have hazelnuts to use as a garnish. They really didn’t need anything extra.

Since you shape the cookies and roll them in sugar, I was able to use my tart tamper to spread the dough up the sides of the cup. After baking, I reshaped the cookies with the tart tamper dipped in sugar. It worked great. I was afraid the cookies would be brittle, but they were fine! For the filling, I think I could have added slightly more liqueur, as the filling was a challenge to pipe. These cookies are SO GOOD. I don’t know how you could beat the fantastic flavor of Nutella, but in this tassie is the best.

Chocolate Hazelnut Tassies
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup Nutella
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
Sugar

¾ cup Nutella
3 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Have several (4 dozen+) mini muffin cups ready.

In a large mixer bowl beat the butter and Nutella until smooth. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir on medium to incorporate. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, mixing until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into 48-72 balls and roll in sugar. Place each ball into a mini muffin cup and press into the bottom and up the sides of the mini muffin cups.

Bake for 8-9 minutes, until firm. Reshape with a teaspoon if necessary. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Make the filling: in a large mixer bowl, beat the Nutella, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light. Gradually add the powdered sugar and then enough hazelnut liqueur to reach piping consistency. Place the filling in a piping bag and fill each cookie cup.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies

Ferrero Rocher Brownies

I have been planning to make these brownies for some time! I love the combination of chocolate and hazelnut, so these can’t be beat. I wanted to make sure that I had good quality chocolate, and I visited a newer chocolate place near me, Fortunato Chocolate, to pick up some chocolate. I ended up getting 68% dark chocolate, which has a good chocolate taste and isn’t too sweet. Looking at the ingredients in these brownies, I knew that they would be sweet enough as is!

This recipe was originally published in Dutch, so I had to translate it to English. I was able to figure out some of the ingredients and also used Google translate for the items I couldn’t figure out. Some ingredients were still challenging. I tablespoon of syrup? Maple syrup or what? I ended up using Golden Syrup, often used in British baking, and it’s similar to honey or corn syrup. The original recipe called for “pure chocolate” which isn’t 100% cacao/unsweetened chocolate. It’s dark chocolate, according to Google translate. Good to know!

You start these brownies by melting the sugar, butter, and chocolate together. My mixture was slightly grainy, and I wasn’t sure, so I ended up making a second batch. That batch was also grainy but was absolutely fine once the brownies were baked. I baked mine as the instructions stated, but they were still really gooey. Which is great for a brownie! I topped mine with a simple topping of Nutella, which was perfect. Yes, they are topped with Ferrero Rocher, which are not essential, but they make this awesome brownie even better.

Ferrero Rocher Brownies
60 grams butter
150 grams sugar
75 grams brown sugar
125 grams dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon Golden Syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
100 grams flour
20 grams cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
75 grams chopped hazelnuts
75 grams milk chocolate chips

150 grams Nutella
Ferrero Rocher, for decoration

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, dark chocolate, and Golden Syrup. Heat on medium-low until the butter and chocolate is melted, stirring often. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla until light. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and stir on low to combine. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder and again mix on low to combine. Fold in the chopped hazelnuts and milk chocolate chips. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top looks dry and a toothpick inserted into the brownies may still come out with a small crumb. Allow the brownies to cool completely.

Stir the Nutella to thin it slightly and spread on top of the brownie. Top with half of a Ferrero Rocher candy. Refrigerate before cutting into brownies.

Recipe from Laura’s Bakery

Chewy Hazelnut Cookies

It has been ages since I have done a traditional week where I bake on Thursday evening and then take cookies to work on Friday. This is the week! We were having visitors at the library, and I wanted to make something great. I also wanted to take into consideration dietary restrictions. While I didn’t know anything about the dietary needs of our visitors, I knew that I wanted to make cookies that are both gluten and dairy free.

I have talked about this a little, but some items are easy to replace. Vegan butter works well in most recipes. Milk is usually used in very small quantities, and there are multiple soy/almond/oat milk options out there. Gluten free flour works well, but you need to be thoughtful, as a cookie that is expected to rise significantly isn’t the right choice. The hardest for this recipe was that the recipe called for Nutella, which contains dairy. I could make my own or buy one of the dairy free versions out on the market. I ended up using Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut and Almond Butter, which is dairy free.

I try to be as careful as possible when doing dairy or gluten free baking. I have specific measuring cups I use for gluten free flour, and I wear gloves to help with any allergens. As careful as I am, I do bake with gluten and dairy, so it helps to be careful. Cookies with dairy and gluten free ingredients tend to be softer and act a little differently, so it’s ok to adapt. I ended up flattening the cookies as they didn’t change while they baked, but that was fine. They are soft but have a good chocolate/hazelnut flavor without being too sweet.

Chewy Hazelnut Cookies
1 ½ cups flour (or gluten free flour)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
⅔ cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup dairy free chocolate hazelnut spread
Chopped Hazelnuts

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the vegan butter and sugar and beat on medium until light. Add the egg, non-dairy milk, and vanilla and stir on medium to combine. Add the chocolate hazelnut spread and mix on low to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and roll in the chopped hazelnuts. Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Country Cleaver

Chocolate Hazelnut Wafers

I had planned to make a cookie with the spring flavors of lemon, but when I got home and it was time to bake, I didn’t feel it. Our weather here this week has been very cold, rainy, and we have even had snow and hail. I know that spring is known for crazy weather, but it sure has been extreme. In the end I went with these chocolate slice and bake cookies.

The original recipe called for sliced almonds, but I am out of those right now. I looked through my cupboard to see what I could use and identified pistachios or hazelnuts. I used the hazelnuts that I had, which were cinnamon hazelnuts. You could likely use any nuts that you have, and I know I always have pecans. I did have ground almonds for the outer coating, but I honestly almost forgot to use it. I’m sure the cookies would have still been good!

As I was taking these to work, I used vegan butter and gluten free flour. When shaping the dough into logs, it was so soft. I hoped that it would firm up, but after two hours it was still quite pliable. I was curious as to whether it would firm up more with longer refrigeration, or if the softness was because of the ingredients I used. I didn’t have the time to refrigerate longer, so after I cut the cookies, I reshaped them into rounds. I think the cinnamon hazelnuts added a lot to these cookies, and I love the slightly bitter taste that the cocoa brings to these cookies. Perhaps as “wafers” they could have been cut thinner, but I like them just the way they are.

Chocolate Hazelnut Wafers
3/4 cup butter or vegan butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups flour or gluten-free flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup chopped cinnamon hazelnuts
Ground almonds

In a large mixer bowl, add the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. While the mixer is running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts.

Divide the dough into halves and shape each half into a log about -1/2” in diameter. Roll the dough in ground almonds and then wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Heat the oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Unwrap the cookie dough and slice into cookies, each about 1/3” thick. Reshape the cookies into a round shape, if necessary, and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Phyl Broich-Wessling via Taste of Home

Nutella Biscotti

I really love the combination of hazelnut and chocolate! Sometimes that comes in the form of my own combination of ingredients, and sometimes it’s in the form of Nutella. I have made quite a few recipes with Nutella, and I continue to find new and different recipes to try. Now, I will be honest that biscotti aren’t my favorite cookies, but I have learned that make them more to my liking. I’m not a fan of dry cookies, so I tend to shorten the second baking time. They are drier, but not as dry as some biscotti.

The recipe for these biscotti is very simple, and it makes a petite batch. Honestly, 3 tablespoons of Nutella aren’t that much, so they don’t have a strong chocolate flavor. I did make one change to the recipe. The original recipe called for walnuts and it seemed very strange to use anything but chopped hazelnuts in this cookie. I know other nuts would work in a pinch, but hazelnuts are the appropriate choice here.

Biscotti is the cookie you want to make if you don’t have a lot of time. I think I had these started and finished in under an hour. They are simply mix, shape, and bake, and I suppose that chopping the nuts is the most labor-intensive part of this recipe. My dough was sticky, and I did end up adding a little extra flour to reduce the softness/stickiness. I baked mine just a few minutes less the second time, and they are crunchy but not so dry. As I said, they aren’t so sweet, but it doesn’t feel like you are missing anything!

Nutella Biscotti
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Nutella
1 egg +2 yolks
1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the sugar, Nutella, and eggs on medium until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir on low until the dough comes together. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts. If the dough is too liquid, add a small amount of flour and mix until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into halves and shape each half into a log, about 3 inches wide.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the biscotti from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.

Slice the logs into cookies, each about an inch thick. Return the cut biscotti to the baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until dried to your liking. Remove from the oven and cool before serving.

Recipe from Pickled Plum

Brown Sugar Hazelnut Bars

It’s no surprise to folks who follow my blog, but I love chocolate and hazelnut together. In going through older recipes of which I had taken photos, I came across this recipe. Many of the recipes are from Christmas issues of magazines, but they don’t necessarily seem all that Christmassy to me. I think at times when you take things out of the context of the holidays, then cookies just seem like regular cookies. I knew I would have a winner with chocolate and hazelnuts!

This recipe uses a very small amount of ingredients for a 9” x 13” pan. I halved this recipe, and it was even less! I baked the half recipe in an 8” square pan, which has slightly more area, but it’s as close as I could get. There is enough dough to cover the pan in a thin layer, and it really it quite thin. I knew it would bake quickly so I adjusted the baking time to 15 minutes, and then added another 2 minutes for a nice golden brown. If you do make a full recipe, you’ll need to watch the baking time.

Since the bars are so thin, you don’t have to wait very long for the bars to cool and proceed to the topping. None the less, I made these bars in stages, which made very quick work of them. I think the dough was ready before the oven got to temperature, and then I topped them with Nutella and chopped hazelnuts right when I finished eating lunch. It may seem like these bars are simple, but they are so tasty. Again, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and hazelnuts!

Brown Sugar Hazelnut Bars
¾ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
½ cup Nutella
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and salt on medium until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, stirring until the dough just comes together. With floured hands, press the dough into the prepared pan in an even layer.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the bars are cool, spread with the Nutella and top with the chopped hazelnuts. Remove from the pan and cut into bars.

Recipe from Good Housekeeping

Nutella Hazelnut Cookies

My workload this week has been very challenging and while everyone at work says it’s ok if I don’t bring cookies, it would be very strange not making cookies. I had planned to make a bar cookie this week, but I didn’t think I would have enough time. I got home from dinner the night I was going to bake, and it was already 6:30 or 7:00 and I still needed to write a letter of recommendation for a student. I decided to go with Plan B, because I always have Nutella.

I knew I had the ingredients for these cookies, but perhaps not enough hazelnuts. I figured that would be ok since only ½ cup of hazelnuts go into the batter. As I was dividing and conquering and make the dough one day and baked the next, I figured I could always pick up more hazelnuts the next day. In the end, I decided to just roll the cookies in powdered sugar, which is less fussy. This dough is so very soft, so it is critical to refrigerate the dough so that it has a chance to set up properly.

The dough came together quickly; the only extra time it took was to toast and chop the hazelnuts. When I was baking these cookies, they reminded me a lot of other cookies I’ve made in the past. I used to make a cookie with raspberry chocolate chips that you would melt down. It was the best cookie, but they stopped making that type of chips several years ago. These cookies, with Nutella, are equally as good. Ok, the powdered sugar is a little messy and you are at risk for having powdered sugar down your shirt. I think it is worth the risk.

Nutella Hazelnut Cookies

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter, room temperature

1-1/3 cups sugar

1-¼ cups Nutella

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/3 cup milk

½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and Nutella on medium until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder and mix on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture alternatively with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. When the dough has almost come together, add the chopped hazelnuts and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be very soft.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and roll in the powdered sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cookies are soft in the middle but set on the edges. Allow the cookies to cook on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Nutella Mousse Cookie Cups

I had selected a different recipe for this week, but sometimes you change at the last minute. A day or two before I make a recipe, I read though the recipe more thoroughly. For the recipe that I had selected, they were cookie cups, but I noticed that you bake them in full size muffin cups. I have done that before, and it makes for huge cookies. I liked the general ideas, but I went looking for a similar recipe that was made in mini muffin cups. I came across this recipe and it fit the bill.

This cookie cup is a simple chocolate chip cookie for the base, and then a Nutella and whipped cream filling. This uses a combination of butter and vegetable shortening, which I suspect gives the flavor of butter but the chewiness of shortening. This uses mini chocolate chips, as regular sized chips would be too big for the mini muffin cups.

Whipping cream is not an ingredient that I always have on hand, but the other cookies that I had planned to make also called for whipping cream, so I was set. This recipe also uses Nutella and I have that available. This recipe calls for ½ cup Nutella and I thought I would have plenty, but I was about 10 grams short. I figured it was close enough and it was, and you end up with so much filling anyway. Don’t put too much cookie dough in each cup, or they will be too big for the cups.

Nutella Mousse Cookie Cups 

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup Nutella

Melted chocolate

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and vegetable shortening on medium until smooth. Add the sugar, brown sugar, and eggs and mix on medium until combined. With the mixer running on low, add half of the flour, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. When the dough starts to come together, then add the remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon into each mini muffin indentation.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes, and then cool in the pan for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, make an indentation in each cookie cup with the handle of a spoon or similar implement. When cool, remove the cookies from the mini muffin pans.

Make the mousse: in a cold mixing bowl, add the cold whipping cream and powdered sugar. Mix on medium-high until the cream holds stiff peaks. Gently spoon the Nutella in the mixture and whip again, just until incorporated. Pipe the mousse into the indentations in the cookies. If desired, drizzle the cookies with melted chocolate.

Store cookies in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Butter with a Side of Bread