Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Nutella cookies: a recipe

Chewy yet crunchy Nutella cookies will quickly become your family's favorite.

Nutella cookies
Nutella cookies
I use the expression "comfort food" a lot, as I'm sure you do, too.

Usually when I say it, I mean food that is delicious and filling, is probably not very good for you and evokes some sort of safe-as-houses feeling inside. Food that offers comfort to you.

But, over the past year or so, I think I understand its other meaning -- perhaps its primary meaning.

Food can be a way of offering comfort to others, of saying what we don't quite have the words to say.

There's a reason why, in a time of crisis or sadness, the standard response is to whip up a casserole for the family in need. We want to show we care, to offer comfort, and we do so with our favorite recipes.

It's definitely what I do. I've experienced the loss of two loved ones recently and both times, for lack of knowing quite what else to do, I baked a batch of my salted oatmeal cookies. In fact, one of my friends has started calling them my "funeral cookies."

Similarly, since my dad passed away nearly a year ago, every time I visit my mom I bring her a whole load of individually frozen homemade meals, to try to make things a little easier for her.

In my way, I'm offering what comfort I can by offering food made from the heart.

An old friend recently hit a pretty rough patch on the road of life, and, given that I live too far away to drop by and offer a hug, I baked these cookies for her instead (casseroles don't ship very well!).

Apparently, my comfort foods of choice are primarily baked goods.

I know I don't need to sell you on the awesomesauciness of Nutella, so I won't. Suffice it to say that you can really taste it in these cookies, which, in addition to being huge, have lovely crunchy edges and a slightly softer center (if you don't overcook them which, if you do, doesn't change the excellent flavor, just the texture).

Nutella cookies

Nutella cookies

Nutella cookies

So whether you need to offer a little comfort or just receive some, I think these cookies will probably do the trick.

(PS: If you like Nutella, you'll also like my recipe for homemade Nutella poptarts -- and learn how to make your own chocolate hazelnut spread!)



Nutella Cookies

(adapted from Cuisine At Home magazine)
Note: The dough must be chilled, so these are not a make-on-a-whim cookie.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the first four ingredients and set aside.

With or in a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until very creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly in between. Next, add the Nutella and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Lastly, beat in the flour mixture. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least four hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scoop the dough by approximately 2 tablespoons full each (a heaping #40 scoop is perfect) onto prepared baking sheets (I like lining mine with parchment paper) -- they spread quite a bit, so give them lots of room.

Bake cookies until the edges are set but the centers still seem soft, approximately 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack.


www.yankeekitchenninja.com
-- print recipe --

32 comments:

  1. Yummy!!! I think I might need some comfort soon, feel free to send me some of these.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, given that I'm the one currently being shafted by the family, maybe YOU need to make ME some. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't know how you expect me to make cookies with a whole cup of Nutella when I eat it straight out of the jar the minute I get home from the grocery store. ;) Yummm...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Apparently there is a run on Nutella in the Portland Or metro area. I tried to stop my wife from sharing her test batch with friends but alas, and now look what has happened!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really enjoyed these~
    I added some powdered sugar on top!
    and some brown sugar to the mix ^_^

    awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What do you mean "one stick of butter?" How much does your stick of butter measure?

    ReplyDelete
  7. My wife and son are going to make some. thanks for the recipe..

    ReplyDelete
  8. Is it okay to prepare the dough at night and bake in the morning? I'm afraid the dough will get to hard if I leave it in the fridge for so long.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think it would be fine to chill the dough overnight. Just make sure you've got a nice tight cover on the bowl.

    ReplyDelete
  10. They're amazing I cooked mine for 12 mins but they were freaking amazing!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. How many cookies does this recipe make?

    ReplyDelete
  12. About 2 dozen, but the yield could be less, depending on the amount of dough you use for each cookie.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Does it have to be unsalted butter??

    ReplyDelete
  14. No, but it's generally better to cook with unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt involved.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Do you flatten the cookie while they are cooking in the oven?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nope, you don't flatten them -- as I noted in the cooking directions, they spread quite a bit as they bake.

    ReplyDelete
  17. holy awesome. thank you for the recipe! i can't wait to try them.


    i literally just sat here and ate half a jar of nutella, which is why i googled "nutella cookies"

    ReplyDelete
  18. D:
    I don't really know what happened, but the dough got really hard and when I tried to use it, it fell apart. I'm sad.
    I made sure that the cover was tight when I chilled it. I'm positive this happened with a different Nutella recipe (also involved chilling).
    Buuuuuttttt I added milk to it and it turned out pretty delicious. Saving this recipe. c: Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  19. this recipe looks awesome!

    do you know if the cookies are more likely to turn out hard or soft? :))

    ReplyDelete
  20. If you cook them a little less, they'll be softer -- a little more, they'll be harder. At 15 minutes, they are soft in the middle with mostly crunchy edges. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Holy CRAP. These are fantastic. Like another user I refrigerated them overnight, BUT instead of adding liquid I let them sit at room temp for about two hours before use. I also cut down the sugar to one cup, and upped the vanilla to 1 tbsp. Fan-flippin-tastic.

    I reblogged this recipe at the link below, with a link to your bog and with my modifications. Thank you!

    http://nataliescooknook.com/2012/08/28/nearly-narcotic-nutella-cookies/

    (I'm very confused about how commenting from wordpress works, so sorry if I submit more than once!)

    ReplyDelete
  22. this is the perfect chewy cookie recipe!
    i want to make regular choco chip cookies. so im gonna have to omit the cocoa powder. so do you think i should add an additional 1/4 cups of AP Flour?

    Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Have you heard of any decent substitutions for Gluten free folks?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Erin: I checked Nutella's web site and they say that Nutella "does not contain any ingredients derived from gluten containing cereals: wheat, barley, rye, oats or triticale." And when I made these cookies for my GF sister-in-law, I used a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix that I buy from a local GF bakery and regular Nutella -- she had no issues with them. That being said, if you google "gluten free Nutella", you'll find a few different recipes for how to make your own, too! Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I just finished making a double batch of these. Your recipe worked perfectly and the cookies are addictively good... and I am not even a Nutella fan. But my niece is, and she will be thrilled with them. Highest praise from my chocolate loving hubby. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I'm so glad you liked them, Judith!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Will it be okay if I don't chill them?

    ReplyDelete
  28. No, it won't, because the dough is way too sticky to deal with without the chilling.

    ReplyDelete
  29. These are fantastic, we just ate the entire first pan, while the others are baking. I only chilled the dough for about 2 hours, then scooped my cookies (12 per pan, I made them smaller), and then chilled the pans for about 30 minutes. That worked great, I always chill cookies before baking them. 14 minutes, and they are crisp and delicious...almost taste like coco puffs cereal!

    ReplyDelete