These soft, chewy chocolate-hazelnut cookies have crisp edges, tender centers, and pockets of molten spread. The best Nutella Cookies depend on controlling three things: butter temperature, dough chilling, and baking time. Slightly cool butter keeps the cookies thick, chilling prevents excessive spreading, and pulling them from the oven while the centers still look soft gives them the texture of a bakery-style cookie rather than a dry biscuit.
Ingredients
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened but not greasy
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 70 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120 g Nutella, plus extra for filling or topping
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 20 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 80 g semisweet or dark chocolate chips, optional
- Flaky sea salt, optional
How to Make Nutella Cookies
Step 1
Beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes, until creamy and slightly lighter in texture. Add the egg and vanilla and mix just until smooth.
Beat in the 120 g Nutella. Stop once the mixture looks evenly chocolate-colored. Excessive mixing at this stage can warm the butter and encourage the cookies to spread too much.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the Nutella mixture and fold or mix on low speed until only a few flour streaks remain. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using.
Step 2
Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 30 to 60 minutes. The chilled dough should feel firm enough to scoop without sticking heavily to your hands.
For filled cookies, scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and flatten it slightly. Place ½ to 1 teaspoon of chilled Nutella in the center, then fold the dough around it and seal completely. Roll gently into a ball.
Arrange the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 5 cm between them. For thicker cookies, return the shaped dough to the refrigerator for another 10 minutes while the oven heats.
Step 3
Heat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. The edges should look set, but the centers should still appear slightly underbaked. That soft center is intentional; residual heat finishes the cookies as they rest on the hot tray.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack. For a glossy finish, press a small spoonful of Nutella onto the warm centers or add a few chocolate chips while the cookies are still soft.
A tiny pinch of flaky sea salt works especially well with Nutella Cookies because the salt cuts through the sweetness and sharpens the roasted hazelnut and cocoa flavors.
What to Serve With Nutella Cookies
Serve them slightly warm with cold milk, espresso, cappuccino, or strong black coffee. Their rich chocolate-hazelnut flavor also pairs well with vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, raspberries, or sliced bananas.
For dessert, sandwich vanilla or coffee ice cream between two cooled cookies. If serving them after a large meal, fresh berries make a better accompaniment than another rich chocolate dessert.
Nutella Cookies Nutrition Information
Approximate nutrition per cookie, based on a batch of 14 cookies without additional filling or toppings:
- Calories: 210
- Protein: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Sugars: 17 g
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
Actual values vary according to cookie size, chocolate used, and the amount of spread added to each cookie.
FAQs
Why did my cookies spread too much?
The butter was probably too warm, the dough was not chilled long enough, or the baking sheet was warm before the dough went onto it. Chill the dough until firm and place it on a completely cool baking sheet.
Can I use melted butter?
You can, but the cookies will usually spread more and develop a denser, chewier texture. Softened butter gives better control over thickness and produces a more balanced crisp-edge, soft-center result.
Can I skip chilling the dough?
You can bake it immediately, but the cookies will generally be flatter. A 30-minute chill gives the flour time to hydrate and allows the fat to firm up, which improves both texture and shape.
How do I keep the centers soft?
Remove the cookies while the centers still look slightly underdone. Waiting until the entire surface looks fully baked usually produces dry cookies after cooling.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes. Shape the dough into balls and freeze them on a tray until firm, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding roughly 1 to 3 minutes to the baking time.
How should I store the baked cookies?
Keep completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. A piece of bread placed in the container can help maintain softness because the cookies absorb some of its moisture.
Can I make them without cocoa powder?
Yes. Replace the cocoa powder with the same weight of all-purpose flour. The cookies will taste milder and more strongly of hazelnut rather than deep chocolate.
Why should Nutella filling be chilled before stuffing the cookies?
Cold filling is firmer and easier to enclose inside the dough. Room-temperature spread can leak through seams during shaping and escape onto the baking sheet while the cookies bake.