Nutella Cookies

These are some of the most delicious cookies I've baked in awhile - and that's saying a lot because there have been some fantastic cookie recipes prepared in the test kitchen recently! They are just the perfect chewy texture, lightly studded with tasty dark chocolate chips for texture, and the right amount of sweet (which in our house is just barely sweet!) and that wonderful unique cocoa flavor from the Nutella. They are wonderful - and easy to whip up. Just make sure to give yourself time to allow the dough to chill before baking - one of my favorite things about cookie dough recipes is it's easy to break up the work load by prepping the dough the day before you want to bake and stashing in the fridge and then the next day you just roll everything out and bake the chilled dough. This dough definitely needs the time in the refrigerator to keep the cookies from spreading too much.

We hosted a Hallmark viewing party recently and these cookies were part of the menu for the day - they were a hit and not very many "survived" the afternoon. And I may have had 1 or 2 with my coffee the next day... at breakfast... but I mean, it's like eating Nutella on toast, right?! I had bought a Sam's Club sized container of Nutella and honestly it's just been taking up space in my pantry - it's one of those ingredients that for some reason I feel like I should have on hand, but it's not something we eat really ever. I think it stems from my time in Africa as a teenager - fresh baguettes we'd go and pick up from the little stand down the road slathered in Nutella were pretty much an after school snack staple at our house the whole time we lived in Senegal, and I have many fond memories of my time there. These cookies may have me going through the Nutella a little more frequently now, and justifying my purchase of the Sam's Club sized containers!

Nutella Cookies from Sugar Spun Run
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Nutella
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Cream the softened butter together with the sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, starting low and increasing to high speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the Nutella, and blend in. Blend in the egg and vanilla until well incorporated and smooth; scrape down the sides as needed.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
3. On low speed, and in batches, add in the dry ingredients to the wet and allow to blend just until combined.
4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Place dough in a 3-cup tupperware (or cover the bowl with plastic wrap) and chill at least 2-3 hours to allow dough to firm up.
6. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat.
7. Roll out 12 tablespoon sized dough balls and place evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Return unused dough to the refrigerator between batches (only bake 1 sheet at a time). Bake about 8 minutes - the edges should be light browned and start to appear dry. Allow cookies to cool about 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat with remaining dough.