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 (226 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (280 g) Nutella
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar
- ⅔ cup (135 g) white sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups + 2 Tbsp (362 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch cornflour in UK
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz (113 g) semisweet chocolate bar very finely chopped
- sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
Portion the Nutella
- 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.1 cup (280 g) Nutella
Brown the Butter:
- Cut your butter into Tablespoon-sized pieces and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 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, until no longer warm to the touch, 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.1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, ⅔ cup (135 g) white sugar
- Stir in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.2 eggs room temperature preferred
- Add vanilla extract and stir.1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.2 ¾ cups + 2 Tbsp (362 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until ingredients are completely combined.
- Add your finely chopped chocolate bar and stir well.4 oz (113 g) semisweet chocolate bar
- 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 ½ 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).sea salt
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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Maham Chaudhry
Can I make them a little smaller? I need to make about 25 cookies and I was wondering if I can make the balls smaller and cut the baking time accordingly?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Maham! Yes, you can! I recommend just keeping an eye on the bake time. I hope that you enjoy the Nutella Stuffed Cookies. 🙂
Rup
Hi. Is it important to use only unsalted butter? Can I use salted butter( more easily available where I live) and omit the 3/4 tsp salt? Will it alter the flavour while browning the butter?
And would whole wheat flour be too dense for this cookie?
Thanks
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Rup! Yes, you can use salted butter. If you do, I would just omit the salt or cut back. It should not alter the flavor. In reference to flour, I do not recommend using whole wheat flour for this recipe, as the cookies may end up too dense or crumbly. Let me know how your Nutella Cookies turn out! I hope that you enjoy! 🙂
Megan
First time making this recipe today. The smell during baking is just mouth-watering! I’m not sure about the amount of sea salt to sprinkle so I’m being conservative til I can taste one. The Nutella softens very quickly once out of the freezer, so I cut the wax paper into three strips and pulled one at a time out of the freezer to roll the dough balls. That made it a bit easier to work with the Nutella. I got 18 cookies not 20 so I know next time what to do!
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for sharing your helpful tips, Megan! I am so glad that you enjoyed the Nutella Stuffed Cookies! 🙂
Steph
These are literally the beat cookies I’ve ever had. No joke. But when she puts 6,500,000 calories, she’s not kidding! Oof, I found this recipe right after I had my baby, I actually think I gained 5 lbs just from these cookies. YUMMMM!!
Steph
These are literally the best cookies I’ve ever had!! No joke. But when she says they are 6,500,000 calories, she’s not kidding! Oof, I found this recipe right after I had my baby, I actually think I gained 5 lbs just from these cookies. YUMMMM!!
Sugar Spun Run
Congrats on the baby, Steph! Thank you so much for your review. I am so happy that enjoyed the Nutella Stuffed Cookies. 🙂
Zaakiy
Hi how are you ?can I skip the browning butter stage ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Zaakiy! You can skip this step, however, it really helps intensify the flavor. Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Megan
Please brown the butter- it’s easy and SSR is totally right, it gives a much richer, more intense flavor! The most important step is to make sure the butter has cooled before you continue. Have fun, these are awesome!
Jane
It’s so easy and delicious !!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you! I am happy that you enjoyed the Nutella Stuffed Cookies, Jane!
B.V.
Dear Sam,
These cookies are awesome! Wife and kids loved it!
Suggest if you can switch up the instructions to brown the butter first before making the nutella dollops. This way the brown butter has more time to cool.
Sugar Spun Run
B.V., Thank you! I appreciate the suggestion! I am so happy that your wife and kids loved the cookies. 🙂
Kripa Vyas
I have a quick question! Would I need a stand mixer for this or could I just use a bowl and whisk?
Sam
Hi Kripa! Since we use browned butter here you should be able to stir it together with just a spoon. 🙂
Maria
This is the best cookie I have ever had… I just wanted to say thank you for blessing us.
Sam
Thank you so much, Maria! I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies so much. 🙂
ella
i loved this recepie! but i couldnt find the video…… is it on youtube?
Sam
Hi Ella! I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies! There is a video on youtube, but it is also embedded in the post shortly below the first picture. 🙂
Fahima Hyder
Hi, really excited to make these! Can I make the cookie dough ahead of time and just keep it chilled to use the next day?
Sam
Yes that will be fine. They made need an extra minute in the oven if they are really cold. Enjoy! 🙂
Chubpup
Hi! Really looking forward to trying this recipe. I have a quick question. I’m looking to make this a day or two ahead for a road trip. Are these cookies good for making ahead or would you suggest against it? I’m nervous that the gooey center won’t be gooey and nice a day later. Im hoping I’m wrong! If they are good for making ahead, what would be the best way to you suggest to store them? And how long can they stay? Thanks so much!!!
Sam
Hi! These stay fresh for about a week if stored properly. I would wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. I hope that helps!
Chicken queen
Yayayayayayyaayyayayayayayayayayayayyaayyayayayayay I love it
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies. 🙂
Chicken lover
Very good but to much salt ew. But delicious at the same time
Thank you for this recipe
I love it
Mariam
I came across your recipe about 2 years ago when it was published. I must say that I have made these cookies more times than I can remember. They are my brother’s favorite. He always wants them when he comes home from college and takes a batch back with him. I have even mailed these multiple times for him and his friends. BEST COOKIES EVER!
Sam
Thank you so much, Mariam! I am so glad everyone enjoys the cookies so much! 🙂