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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Eshal
Can I use any other thing instead of baking powder and baking soda
Sugar Spun Run
Unfortunately, no. They are needed in this recipe.
Fiona
These were delicious! I stuffed them with milk chocolate chips instead of Nutella because that’s what I had, and they were still excellent! Thanks for sharing.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies so much, Fiona! 🙂
Maya Kharel
Hey is browning the butter same thing as using ghee? I would love to make these cookies today 🙂
Also instead of nutella can I use lindt dark chocolate spread 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Maya! No difference at all – other than flavor. Brown butter has a different flavor profile than ghee. As far as your center filling, I have not tried it using Lindt dark chocolate spread, but should be fine. Keep me posted on how your cookies turn out. Enjoy! 🙂
Paola
Hi!! I can’t wait to mane these! Is the cornstarch absolutely necessary? Or can I sub it with something else? I don’t have any currently 🙁
Sam
Hi Paola! The cornstarch helps with the texture in these cookies, you could use a little bit of extra flour to substitute the cornstarch. Enjoy! 🙂
Aisha H.
Love love this recipe ! Was a bit skeptical to try the browning of the butter and all but oh my when I smelt how good it was I wanted to eat it all up!!
Just one question , if I freeze them how Long csn they stay ? And do I need any preservatives if I plan on keeping them for about a month or 2?
Thanks
Sam
Hi Aisha! I have frozen them uncooked for a month and they were still good. I scoop the cookie dough, roll it into balls, wrap each individual ball of dough and then stick them in a gallon sized freezer bag. 🙂
Zoya
Hi! I tried this recipe today. But after baking for 12 minutes the Nutella in the centre of the cookies got cooked too….it wasn’t gooey. I was hoping for a molten centre like yours. Could you tell what I should do to retain the Nutella in its original form?
Sugar Spun Run
Oh no, Zoya! I haven’t had anyone else have this issue. I am wondering if there was enough cookie dough around the frozen Nutella ball? Did you also freeze cookie dough balls (with Nutella inside) for 15 minutes? The Nutella baked into the cookie so it could also be that they may have baked too long or that your oven temperature was running hotter than what was indicated. It’s hard to pinpoint the issue. I would suggest freezing the Nutella longer, making sure the dough is wrapped around the Nutella well, and lower oven temperature some next time. I hope that helps. Regardless, I hope that they still tasted delicious.
Zoya
They were delicious! I’ll keep in mind your suggestions and try again soon. Thanks!
Zoya
Hi! I tried the recipe again and this time the cookies turned out perfect with a gooey centre! Thanks for the tips 😊
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear they turned out so well the second time around. Thanks for letting me know, Zoya! Enjoy! 🙂
M
One of the best recipes I’ve tried!
Sugar Spun Run
What a compliment! Thank you so much, M! I am so glad that you loved the cookies. 🙂
Yeka
I was having second thoughts about following this recipe because i thought its complicated, i am not good at baking (the last cookies i baked were as hard as a rock LOL) but seeing the video changed my mind and i summoned my courage to do this recipe. And it was a success. My family loved it! Thank you.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the video provided you with the confidence to move forward to try this recipe, Yeka. I am glad that you found the video helpful, that your cookies turned out well and that your family loved them! Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
bhavya
hey, can i use more of white powder sugar in place of brown sugar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi! You can use all granulated sugar however it will alter the flavor of the cookie. The combination of the two sugar enhances the flavor of the cookie. 🙂
Justin
Hi, i couldn’t find all-purpose flour at my grocery stores, any other types of flour that can be used as substitution?
Sugar Spun Run
Oh no, Justin! Flour has been hard to find anywhere. Unfortunately, all-purpose four it is needed in this recipe. You could try substituting with another however, I have not certain how others will do having not tried it myself. I do have a flourless peanut butter cookie recipe you could try. 🙂
Gayatri Bhonsale
Thank you for replying so promptly! One more question- Can I refrigerate the dough overnight and make it in the morning. I am a fairly amateur baker so excuse the silly questions!!
Thanks
Sugar Spun Run
No need to apologize, I am happy to help! You will want to make the dough, allow it to rise completely, then store it in an airtight container and in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. It will stay fresh if stored properly for up to one week. When you take it out of the refrigerator, you will knead the dough and shape it. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Gayatri Bhonsale
Hey does the sugar have to melt when you mic it with the cooled butter??
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Gayatri! No, you do not want your sugar to dissolve. You will make your brown butter, then you will allow it cool for 25-30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe. 🙂
Claire Russell
Can you leave them in the freezer and cook as needed?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Claire! Yes, that will be fine. 🙂
Niki
Can I reduce the amount of sugar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Niki! I have developed this recipe after testing and found that the current amount creates the perfect level of sweetness. You are welcome to adjust it as you see fit however, I am not certain by how much without altering the texture and taste.
Dawn
Just the recipe to brighten up these awful lock down days. We loved them and will definitely make them again. As a guide, I found that using 50g of dough for each cookie worked out to be just right. These are not the days to worry about dieting and these are not the cookies for diet days!
Sugar Spun Run
I am glad that you have enjoyed the recipe, Dawn, and the cookies have brightened your day during these challenging times. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Juan
Can i just chop up choco chips or is the bar crucial
Ashley
I chopped up chocolate chips; I’m sure the bar would be slightly better depending upon the quality, but they were still AMAZING!
Sugar Spun Run
I am glad that it worked out and you enjoyed them, Ashley! 🙂