Nutella Cookies

When figuring out what I should make for my little sister, Claire, for her 14th birthday celebration, I was struck by the idea of Nutella. Yes, that is a hint of what is to come (possibly a cake with nutella filling? who knows?!) Seeing as how Nutella was my primary source of nutrition while living in Italy, and slowly but surely became an everyday food item when I moved back to the States, Nutella spread on saltines is and forever will be a staple in my life. I can't describe how much I love the oooey goooey chocolate & hazelnut spread, but just trust me, it's an unhealthy amount. Whatever. It makes me happy and that's all that matters right? On occasion though, I will eat too much of the stuff and my tongue won't have working taste buds because of the acid. Hmmm, I should probably monitor myself...

 

 So it just so happens, I had a jar of nutella at home. Why not make a recipe that uses the yummy stuff? I really wanted cookies to dip in milk so I settled on chocolate cookies made with cocoa powder and nutella spread combined, leaving me with a wonderfully delicious, chewy midnight snack. You won't be disappointed if you make this. I know I wasn't. I think the recipe yielded around 3 dozen cookies and they were all gone by the next day. No exaggeration here. Oooops!

 How can anyone resist this stuff? I sort of hate Europe for bringing this into my life.

 Is anyone else noticing their chocolate craving increasing with age? At this rate, I'll be eating a whole bag of chocolate every night.

Oh, fun fact! I just came across a new item while shopping at Trader Joe's. Buy the dark chocolate almonds with rock salt because they are the best thing since sliced bread! I run to them if I am in dire need of some good chocolate and don't have these wonderful chewy nutella cookies on hand. I wish I made a double batch!

oooooh la la. chocolate and milk. the ultimate combo.

 Yep, we all know what that looks like! My sister could not let it go...

 

 After refrigerating the cookie dough for 15 minutes, scoop 1 tbsp. and roll into a ball, placing on lined parchment paper. Press down in the middle of the cookie because these cookies don't really rise when they bake.

 Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Recipe slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2/3 cup of cocoa powder

1/2 cup of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of dark brown sugar

2 tsp. of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of Nutella

1/3 cup of milk

Directions:

Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder) and set aside. With a stand mixer, combine unsalted butter with both types of sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the vanilla extract, and if you want for a little more punch add some hazelnut extract (I did not have this one hand). Add the nutella until completely mixed together.

Into the creamed mixture, add the dry ingredients in increments, alternating with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes because the cookie dough is very sticky and hard to deal with. You can even make the dough a few days in advance! Just wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator. 

When ready to bake the cookies, take the batter out from the fridge and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and begin scooping 1 tbs. balls, rolling the dough to be placed on the sheets. Gently press down on the cookie dough balls to flatten slightly (like shown above in the last picture). Continue making dough balls until you fill the cooking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes, or until soft and chewy. Remove cookies from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes to set. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely. Go grab a glass of milk cause you are DONE and ready to eat!