The ultimate gourmet-style cookies, these Nutella stuffed cookies are made with browned butter, flecked with semisweet chocolate, lightly sprinkled with sea salt, and most importantly, bursting with a molten core of Nutella! Despite their gourmet-status and ingredients, they’re actually quite simple to make, and if you’ve never made browned butter before I’ll walk you through all of the steps in detail in the recipe!
I don’t like to think of myself as a bragger (braggart? I’ve thought about this for too long and the word is starting to lose all meaning to me).
I’m proud, sure, of many of my recipes and this little space that I’ve created, and I can get full-on impassioned when talking about egg yolks and butter and the importance of keeping a thermometer (or two) in your oven at all times.
But I don’t really like to boast about my recipes. Sure, here I talk about their best qualities, but in the real world it’s more of a “I thought this was good, and I hope you like it too”, and let the cookie/cake/etc. speak for itself.
But I have been full out bragging about these cookies. Everything short of stopping people in the halls of the hospital where I work and telling them about “these amazing Nutella stuffed cookies that I made”.
Maybe cutting drastically back on the amount of sugar that I’m consuming during Lent has sent my brain into a cookie-obsessed frenzy, but I’m full-on crazy about these Nutella-stuffed cookies, and I want everyone to try them.
They’re actually a Frankenstein of a cookie driven together by my newfound love of browned butter cookie dough (I used nearly the same exact dough in Friday’s recipe, shhh) and merged that with my love of stuffing desserts inside other desserts, and the half-empty jar of Nutella left over after making a video of these Nutella brownies. Rather than finish off the Nutella spoonful by shameful spoonful, I opted to instead stuff it inside my recent favorite cookie dough for these Nutella stuffed cookies.
Part of me wanted to wait a while before sharing this recipe since, as I mentioned, the base cookie dough was just used in my last recipe, but there was no waiting with these. I felt that it was my duty to the universe to release this recipe as soon as humanly possible, and so here we are 😉
Soft cookies flecked with real chocolate, infused with the golden browned butter in every delectable bite, and centers filled with sweet molten Nutella. There was no waiting with this recipe.
I’ve already talked here and here (and about a half dozen other places on the blog) about the joys of baking with browned butter.
If you haven’t browned butter yourself yet, that’s going to have to change because it is essential for the best possible cookie dough and flavor, and ultimate Nutella stuffed cookies. It’s amazing how such a simple technique can take a standard cookie dough and transform it into something amazing, but it can!
For those of you a little leery of toasting your butter, I include detailed notes and a photo in the recipe to make the process as smooth as possible. Just remember to not take your eyes off of it, because the second you turn your back it’s bound to burn.
Rather than use chocolate chips in this recipe, I opted for a single 4-oz bar of semisweet baking chocolate. I chopped it very finely so that there would be a bit in every bite without being overwhelming when paired with the chocolate flavor of the Nutella.
Enjoy!
And P.S.
If you live in my neighborhood you’re more than likely very aware that there’s a giant snowstorm headed our way tomorrow, and the likelihood of a snow day is strong. Do yourself a favor and skip the milk, toilet paper, and bread, and stock up on butter, Nutella and sea salt.
I can’t think of a better way to pass a snow day than with a batch of Nutella stuffed cookies (sure beats shoveling!).
Nutella Stuffed Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226g
- 1 cup Nutella 280g
- 1 cup brown sugar 200g
- 2/3 cup white sugar 135g
- 2 eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 362g
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch cornflour in UK
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate bar very finely chopped 113g
- sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
To Brown the Butter (It's easy, I promise!)
- Prepare your Nutella filling first by lining a cookie sheet with wax paper and dropping Nutella by 2 teaspoon-sized dollops onto cookie sheet. Place in freezer to harden while you prepare your cookie dough.
- Cut your butter into Tablespoon-sized pieces and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat.
- Once butter has melted, increase heat to just above medium heat.
- Swirl and scrape the sides of the pan frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula - the butter will bubble and pop. Once the bubbling/popping slows, the butter will begin to turn brown, it will look like this once it's finished:
- Watch the butter very carefully at this point, and once it begins to brown and you smell the nutty aroma of browned butter, remove from heat quickly and pour into a large, heatproof bowl.
- Allow butter to cool for 25-30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
For the Cookie Dough
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add sugars into cooled browned butter, stir well.
- Stir in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and stir.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until ingredients are completely combined.
- Add your finely chopped chocolate bar and stir well.
- Chill dough in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove frozen Nutella from freezer and cookie dough from refrigerator (if at any point the Nutella becomes too sticky and hard to work with, return to freezer for at least 5-10 minutes)
- Scoop dough by heaping 1 1/2 Tbsp-sized spoonful and press frozen Nutella dollop into the center. Form around Nutella until it is completely concealed (add more dough as needed).
- Roll into an even ball and place on a wax-paper lined sheet. Repeat until all Nutella dollops are concealed in cookie dough, and freeze cookie dough balls for 15 minutes.
- Place cookie dough at least 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined sheet, and bake on 375F (190C) for 12-13 minutes, or until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Sprinkle immediately with sea salt. Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before removing (they'll be quite fragile when warm, but will become more sturdy as they cool).
Video
Nutrition
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Justtryingit says
Like an older comment up there, followed this recipe i thought to a T. Dough turned out dry and crumbly and i couldnt figure out how to fix it. Im by no means an expert baker just trying to make something my daughter would enjoy
Sam says
That is frustrating, I’m sorry to hear it. Most commonly if the dough comes out dry and crumbly it is because the flour was accidentally over-measured. I do have a guide on how to properly measure flour that might be helpful for you.
Reem says
Hi.. I would like to make it today.. is it fine to replace the brown suger with white sugar?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Reem! You can, however, the flavor will be slightly different. Brown sugar leads to a chewier and more flavorful cookie. 🙂
Ashley says
Made 4 different kinds of cookies this Christmas, these were one. The batter very dry when I was making them but I had followed the recipe to the T. They were ok out of the oven but once cooked they turned to rocks very disappointed.
violette says
My nutella centre did not melt. why is that so? 🙁
Sam says
Hi Violette! Once the cookies cool completely the center will be soft and a regular Nutella consistency, it won’t be melty once they cool (but they will still be delicious!) I hope that helps!
Jeri says
These cookies are a LOT of work. THEY ARE TOTALLY WORTH IT! I have never tasted anything like these. The only thing I didn’t do was sprinkle on the sea salt because I forgot. I’ll try that with the next batch.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the Nutella stuffed cookies, Jeri! 🙂
Mary says
Is it 2 cups and 3/4 cup of flour? Or 2 of 3/4 cup of flour?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Mary! You will need 2 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour. This is will be used in step 5 of the recipe directions. 🙂
Brynn says
Hello, I’m not able to find cornstarch in the country that I live. Do you recommend an alternative? Thanks for the recipe!
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Brynn! You can leave it out but the cookies may be flatter/not as soft. Let me know how your cookies turn out. 🙂
Alanna says
I would like to mail these cookies. Do you think, if they are packaged properly, this would work? They would arrive in 2-3 days at their destination. Should I freeze them before shipping, in your opinion?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hello, Alanna! I have never shipped them, but think that if stored in an airtight container and bubble wrapped they should arrive safely. If you’re worried about freshness you could freeze them, but I think they should be fine. Let me know how they do. 🙂
Melissa says
When I mail cookies I put a piece of white bread in the container. it helps keep them fresh. Good luck
Sugar Spun Run says
Good recommendation, Alanna! 🙂
Alanna King says
Great idea! Thanks!
Daina says
I too would like to mail these. I have been trying to find Tiger Cookies from overseas and this is about as close as I’ll get to them since they won’t ship them. I want to surprise a friend that served with me so hoping they mail. Alanna, would you mind updating us on how that goes!
Alanna says
I found this website which had great suggestions. It worked out well!
https://divascancook.com/mailing-baked-goods-tips-for-a-smooth-delivery/
Good luck!
Krista says
Hi There! I’m in the process of making these cookies now. I melted Parkay (hard margarine) instead of butter, but I can’t seem to get it to brown. Was I not patient enough, or does the browning effect just not happen with margarine?
Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Krista! Unfortunately margarine doesn’t brown the same as butter. 🙁
Neal says
My wife basically married me for my chocolate chip cookie recipe and now you’ve more than likely stolen her away from me! These are truly unbelievable!! My only question is how to get the sea salt to stick at the end… I tried sprinkling it on them straight out of the oven but it didn’t stick at all. Can I sprinkle them before baking? Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Sam says
Hi Neal! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies so much! I just sprinkle them with sea salt within a minute of the cookies coming out of the oven. Some of it will inevitably fall off, but it will still impart the flavor onto the cookies. I would not recommend adding it before baking.
Nicole says
Hi! I made these cookies and my family and friends were amazed at how super tasty they were! I was wondering however, can I freeze them? With Christmas coming up it would be nice to freeze a bunch for different occasions.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Nicole! I am glad that you enjoyed the cookies! I don’t think it would be a problem to freeze the cookie dough, I would just wrap each cookie dough ball tightly in cling wrap or store them in an airtight container in the freezer. They may need an extra minute or so just because they’ll be frozen solid, but that shouldn’t be a problem. 🙂
Lisa S says
These are amazing! even for those who dont like nutella. It just tastes like creamy melty chocolate, no matter how long after you make them. Even days! Such a hit. Thank you!!
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Lisa! Nutella is magical in that way, right?! I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies. 🙂
gabrielle says
hello! Just wanted to drop a line and thank you for these cookies. I make them for basically every church function I need to bring a dish to and its the 1st dessert gone! they are now church wide famous 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
I love that! I am so glad that they are such a hit at your gatherings, Gabrielle! Thanks for leaving me a comment. 🙂