I remember a few years a decade ago all the hubbub on the Internet was the million dollar cookie recipe which was basically just peanut putter wrapped in pre-packaged cookie dough. Some lucky lady won $1,000,000 for coming up with it in the Pillsbury Bake-off.
Some people were upset because her recipe had just a few ingredients (Peanut butter, cookie dough, peanuts). Is that really worth a million bucks? I say more power to her. If she beat out everybody else then that’s really great.
These Nutella Stuffed Cookies would have beaten her though. Not that I could’ve entered these cookies because they don’t use the right ingredients and also I’m for some reason considered a food professional. (HA!)
Also, I probably wouldn’t have thought of this without seeing the original. So, for a number of reasons these cookies will not win me a million clams, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make them immediately.
Nutella Surprise Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Nutella
- ⅓ Cup powdered sugar
- ½ Cup 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 Cup sugar
- 1 Large egg
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Cups all-purpose flour
- ½ Teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ Cup milk
- 2 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate
- 1 cup peanuts, finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix Nutella and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Then form 18 Teaspoon-sized balls of Nutella and store them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
- Either in the microwave or in a double boiler, melt chocolate and milk together and set aside for later. If you use the microwave, be careful not to burn the chocolate. Let chocolate cool a bit.
- In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix for a few minutes.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate mixture to dough.
- Next add all the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Try not to over-mix the dough.
- Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Scoop out a large tablespoon-sized ball of dough and roll it around a Nutella ball. Make sure Nutella is completely covered by cookie dough.
- Dunk dough ball in peanuts and then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon baking sheet.
- Once all the cookies are formed, use a measuring cup (or your hands) to smash down each ball of dough until it’s flat.
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. Let cool before eating.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
The Filling
I was really worried about filling cookies. I mean, it seems like it shouldn’t work. It seems like the filling should just flow out and make a big mess all over the place.
But that doesn’t happen. The cookie dough seals it in and completely conceals the hidden fruits.
In a small bowl, combine the Nutella and powdered sugar and stir to combine. Then form 18 small balls of Nutella. They should be about Teaspoon sized. Go a bit bigger if you like to live on the edge.
Just roll the balls quickly to make them roundish. They don’t have to be perfect obviously. Lay them out on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
Making the Cookie dough
This cookie dough is pretty straightforward to make. Start by creaming your butter and sugar together just like any cookie dough recipe. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Then in a separate bowl, melt the chocolate and milk together. You can either do this in the microwave (be careful not to burn it) or over a double boiler. This seems weird for a cookie recipe, but it works.
Let chocolate mixture cool to room temperature and then add it to dough.
Finally, mix in all the dry ingredients (flour, etc.) Try not to over-mix the dough.
Once you have it all combined, let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes before trying to make the cookies.
Making the Cookies
When the dough is chilled, scoop out a tablespoon-sized ball of the dough.
Using your hands, form the chocolate dough around the Nutella ball. It shouldn’t be that hard to do. Then just roll the dough into a ball and dunk it into the chopped peanuts.
Roll that around until the ball of dough is completely covered. Then store the ball of dough on a baking sheet lined with either a Silicon mat or parchment paper.
You should be able to fit 8 cookies on a standard baking sheet.
Once you have all the cookies formed, use a measuring cup to slightly smash each ball down until it’s flat. You can also just use your hands to lightly smash them if that’s easier.
Baking the cookies
Bake these guys at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. They should be slightly soft when you take them out, but they’ll harden a bit as they cool.
Let them cool before biting into one if you can help it.
There should be a nice layer of Nutella right in the middle of each cookie!
The peanut topping is kind of optional with these cookies. You could also use hazelnuts which is what Nutella is made from. I couldn’t find any hazelnuts though so peanuts won the day.
Want a more classic chocolate cookie? Try my brown butter chocolate chip cookies or these zucchini chocolate chip cookies for a completely different flavor twist!
I guess nobody wants to pay me a cool million for these right? Anybody?
Vittoria
I posted about a recipe for a dessert pizza with Nutella on my blog yesterday, it must be Nutella week! I am so excited about these cookies, I can't wait to make some!
meUno
Alright, I'm confused. I recognize your countertop but is this your blog? (I printed the cookie recipe….looks awesome!) Thanks
Claire
These look amazing! We've been looking for a good use for our Costco-sized tubs of Nutella, and this looks like a great one!
sara
Awesome idea! These look SO yummy!! :)
Daktari
I have to say, I don't get the nutella thing. I have friends wax poetic and look positively orgasmic when they discuss the heavenly flavor that is nutella. I mean, I like hazelnuts and all, but…really? And this stuff is all over the place this holiday season. Today's Food Porn Daily photo includes nutella. A recent cookie on David Lebowitz blog features nutella. Are these people paying you guys or something? LOL
Nick
HA! I wish. At least I'm not getting paid anything… I know that much! :)
Ellen
Nutella's been a European standard for decades. Maybe the fact of more Americans having it there has caused it to be more widespread here, and for anyone who likes (loves?) chocolate, it really is a delight. When I lived in Portugal, we toasted bread and spread on Nutella … something I would NEVER even consider doing before I tried it. Now I have to refrain from buying the stuff — I can't afford the weight!
Jean Gogolin
Oh, okay. These look good enough that I'll put your check in the mail this afternoon.
Debbie B.
I love nutella .. these look so good and easy!
Rebecca S.
I had to make these tonight! Especially since I just bought Nutella at Costco and have tons of it. They are definitely yum! I rolled them in chopped hazelnuts. Very good!
Lauren
Love the idea of using crushed hazelnuts on these! I'm a sucker for anything nutella.
Jessica
Do you think these would work without the powdered sugar mixed into the Nutella? I love N. and can't wait to make these, but I fear N. + more sugar would be overkill.
Nick
Yea. I think it would work okay. The only purpose for it is to stiffen the Nutella a bit so it holds its shape. Try rolling just the Nutella in a ball and if it stays ballish then you don't need it.
You could maybe also try mixing in a small amount of flour… like maybe 1 Tablespoon.
Heather
You could also try non-fat dry milk instead of the powdered sugar..
Foodie2Shoes
Oh dear — first gingersnaps and now nutella cookies!!! I think I might gain a couple of pounds this week. I am so making both of these.
GretchenJoanna
I gave this link to a young friend of mine and she made the cookies that very evening, "with some tweaking"–I wonder what that was–and raved over them.
I also wondered about all that sugar in the middle…but the rest of the dough doesn't appear to be overly sweet, so the sweetness must kind of even out?
GretchenJoanna
I checked with my friend and she said she used a plain sugar cookie dough instead of your chocolate dough, and rolled them in pecans.
Nick
Awesome. Yea that would work just fine.
annanehl
hey macheesmo, I just made them and they look exactly like yours. whohooo :) Your step by step guide is excellent! I love the creamy surprise in the middle, didn't know that was possible. I might add a little less sugar next time…but that's just a question of taste. Thanks for the recipe!
olive
If I wanted to pre-make this and freeze it (I'm planning on making a mixed cookie tin for the future in-laws!) so I can bake it later, would you recommend freezing the cookie dough alone? Or wrapping it around the nutella first and freezing it in little blobs?
Nick
Hmm… I'm not sure that it matters actually. I think it might be a bit easier to form the balls and then freeze them. Good luck!
olive
I made these last night. Unfortunately, the cookie part of it first turned out to be terribly undercooked, and the second batch came out very crumbly. I'm not sure where I went wrong. I did notice that when I was wrapping the batter around the nutella balls that it didn't have good shape/firmness to it. I couldn't cut it and wrap it up the way you did as it didn't hold together well. I still have some frozen in the freezer – may try to bake it again to get it right.
Nick
Sorry you had problems with the recipe! I can't think of anything in the recipe that would make one batch undercooked and the next one crumbly…
If you weren't able to get the dough wrapped around the nutella, maybe you need to up the flour a bit. The only thing I can think of that would cause that would be maybe a really large egg? That would make the cookie dough really wet and you might need a bit more flour to compensate.
Monica
These were fabulous. Thank you. I did find we needed a bit more flour than the recipe said – to get a texture we could roll out. But once we did that – they were fantastic. One of the best uses of Nutella I have found (other than spooning out of the jar!)
Linda
Agree with a couple of other posts. The dough was definitely much "wetter" than your picture appeared to be. Will up the flour next time to get a stiffer dough – maybe could add after the chocolate if needed. I used a large egg, so that shouldn't be the issue – same eggs I used in a different batch of cookies earlier in the day.
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Marianne
My daughter LOVES nutella, she will love these! Thanks for sharing.