Nutella-Stuffed Cookies with Chocolate Chunks Recipe
Delight in these decadent Nutella-Stuffed Cookies with rich semisweet chocolate chunks. Soft, chewy cookies with a molten Nutella center, perfect for chocolate lovers seeking a homemade treat. The dough is carefully chilled and shaped to encase creamy Nutella discs, creating a luxurious surprise inside each bite.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 28 minutes
- Yield: 14 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Nutella Filling
- ¾ cup Nutella (about 180 g)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup salted butter, melted and cooled (about 170 g)
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed (about 150 g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Chunks
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate (55% cacao), chopped into chunks (about 115 g)
Instructions
- Prepare Nutella Filling: Line a tray with parchment paper. Scoop 1 tablespoon (20 g) of Nutella per cookie and form into 1¼-inch (3.2 cm) discs. Place the discs on the tray and freeze for at least 45 minutes until solid.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk melted and cooled butter with both brown and granulated sugars for about one minute until the mixture looks glossy and thickened, resembling damp sand that clumps slightly when lifted. Add the egg and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth, thick, and lighter in color.
- Combine Dough: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until no streaks remain. Gently fold in the chopped semisweet chocolate chunks to distribute evenly.
- Chill Dough (First Chill): Flatten the dough into an 8 × 7 inch (21 × 18 cm) block, wrap tightly with cling film, and freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 1 hour until firm but not rock-hard—should feel like cold clay, firm enough to cut cleanly.
- Portion Dough: Cut the chilled dough into 7 strips, then cut each strip into 4 pieces for a total of 28 pieces. Each cookie uses two pieces (one for the base and one for the top).
- Shape Dough Bases: Take one piece, flatten it into a 2-inch (5 cm) round, pressing the center thinner and leaving edges thicker to create a shallow bowl shape. Place on parchment-lined tray. Repeat until you have 14 bottom pieces.
- Shape Dough Tops: Flatten another piece into a round, leaving the sides slightly thicker, and place on parchment. Repeat to make 14 top pieces. If dough feels too soft or sticky, freeze for 5 minutes.
- Assemble Cookies: Place one frozen Nutella disc into each bottom bowl. Cover each with a top piece and pinch the seams closed, pulling some dough upward at the side seam.
- Shape Cookies: Gently cup the dough into a “proud puck” shape that is slightly taller than wide, approximately a 1.1:1 height to width ratio. Texture the top by lightly pressing with fingertips to achieve a rustic, uneven look.
- Chill Assembled Cookies (Second Chill): Freeze or refrigerate the shaped pucks for 15–20 minutes (or 1 hour in fridge) until firm like cold clay—should give slightly when pressed but not flatten or break.
- Prepare to Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking tray(s) with parchment paper. Arrange the cookie pucks with 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm) space between them.
- Bake: Bake for 11-13 minutes on the center oven rack until edges are golden and centers are set but still soft. Early baking indicators: edges just softening (0–4 min), edges spreading and tops dulling (5–7 min), edges golden and fine cracks appear (8–9 min), centers puffed and glossy with deepening ripples (10–12 min), edges firm and centers chewy at 13 min max.
- Rest Cookies: Let cookies rest on the baking tray for 10 minutes to cool and settle, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will puff then sink slightly and develop ripples and cracks as they cool.
Notes
- Freezing the Nutella discs is essential to prevent the filling from melting too quickly during baking.
- Chilling the dough and assembled pucks ensures proper shape retention and texture in the baked cookies.
- If dough becomes too soft to handle, briefly freeze it to make shaping easier.
- Spacing cookies adequately allows for spreading without merging.
- Monitor oven closely near final baking minutes since cookies can go from perfect to overbaked quickly.
- For sharp shaping, handle dough gently and avoid overmixing after adding dry ingredients.
- Use good quality semisweet chocolate chunks for best texture contrast.
