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).
Nutrition
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Kayah says
Hi Sam , this recipe looks AMAZING!!!
I wanna try it but was just wondering will it be ok if I leave out the semi sweet chocolate???
Thanks xxx
Sam says
Yup that will be fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Pat says
Hi! Need to make these for a party on Sunday, if I bake them Friday night how do I store these?
Sam says
They will store well in an air tight container on the counter for about 5 days. ☺️
Jess says
Just made these and they turned out great! It seemed like a lot of Nutella at first but turned out perfect!
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Jess! ☺️
Hareem Attique says
This recipe is just amazing!!! Just want to ask how can we store it uncooked? It should be kept in fridge or freezer in ziplock bag or in tray covered with cling film?
Sam says
It really depends how long you want to store them uncooked. You can make them and wrap them individually and store them in an air tight container in the freezer for longer holding. If you plan to save them until the next day, I would assemble them and put them on a pan for baking later. Hope that helps. ☺️
Heidy says
Mines didn’t turn flat, they stayed round. Was it supposed to be like that?
Sam says
Hmm mine usually spread. Maybe there was too much flour in the mixture? That would be my best guess.
Conor O'Neill says
Oh I see. So the cookies go into the oven in a roundish shape but as the Nutella melts it should flatten the cookies out?
So far, however, the recipe looks amazing and seems to be working out exactly to your instructions 🙂
Sam says
Yes, you fold the dough around the nutella and make it into a ball. They will flatten out as you bake them. 🙂
Gabrielle Becker says
I’ve made these a number of times for my church, bible study and now for my nephew who’s serving in Iraq. Love, love love! A true treat 🙂 ps. The browning of the butter adds a flavor so don’t skip that step. It’s preping, and planning a wee bit but worth it in the end <3
Sam says
These are definitely one of my favorites! I am so glad to hear everyone else enjoys them as well. The browned butter is super amazing. ☺️
Salma says
Maybe i was making the cookies (and nutella circles) too large but i ended up with 9 cookies instead of 20 which is a bit disappointing but the recipe and cookies are amazing!!
Sam says
Hi, Salma! It sounds like they were a little too big. They should have ended up being about 3 inches in diameter, but I am glad you still enjoyed them! ☺️
Bhavika says
My cookies turns out to be the yummiest but Nutella doesn’t ooze out as it seems to be in yours , it just stay firm as a layer of Nutella in my cookies , why so?
Sam says
The nutella is oozing out in mine because the picture was taken when they were warm and just broken into. If you eat them while they are still warm that nutella should be nice and melty. ☺️
Bhavika says
So any secret about the cookies sold in market from which the the chocolate oozes ?
Sam says
My guess is they didn’t use nutella. They must be using something else that doesn’t thicken up.
Toni says
Question – do you put the cookies in the oven on the same pan that you froze them on or move them to a room temp cookie pan? I assume room temp 🙂
Sam says
You don’t actually freeze the cookies, just the nutella filling. You don’t want to put a pan in the oven from the freezer as it will cause it to pop and would ruin your cookies. I suggest freezing the nutella stuffing on one pan and using another for baking the cookies. ☺️
Katrina F says
These were the best cookies I have baked so far! I followed all of the steps exactly as given. It was my first time browning butter and it went off without a hitch. I was surprised how quickly the butter went from yellow to brown, and the smell was amazing! I don’t know if I can go back to regular chocolate chip cookies now. I got 26 cookies out of the recipe by using a bit more of Nutella filling. Next time, I may try making the cookies a bit smaller. Thanks for sharing!
Sam says
That browning butter smell is one of the BEST smells there is… O man now I want to go make some cookies! I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies. 🙂
Sami says
If I were to warm my cookies in the microwave after a day or two once they’ve hardened would it cause the oozing effect again or would it ruin my cookie?
Sam says
They should start oozing nicely after heated in the microwave, just don’t overheat them, and be careful the inside can get pretty hot. 🙂 Enjoy!
Jane says
Yes!!!! I’ve found it!!!! It’s my favourite receipt of cookies for now!!! Thanks!!!
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Jane! They are a super addictive cookie, try not to eat too many at once! 🙂