Crunchy Chocolate Cookies, with chocolate chips and a gorgeous burst of Nutella in the middle. What could possibly be better than these Nutella Cookies? Perfect for baking with the kids!
Baking with the kids has always been something that I’ve enjoyed. We often make cupcakes, cookies, and Victoria sponges. To be honest, the kids help out with most of the things that I bake.
They love mixing and getting a little messy. They probably love licking the bowl out more than anything else if I’m being honest.
If you ask them what their favourite things to bake are, they’ll say chocolate cake and absolutely anything with Nutella.
If I’m desperate to get them off the Xbox or to take a productive break from our new homeschooling venture, all I have to say is “shall we bake?” And they are there.
Little one in her apron and hat, both brandishing their special spoon.
At the moment, we’re baking more than ever. I’ve gained so much weight, but who cares, it’s not like anyone sees us! Nutella Cookies are a fab family bake.
Baking with Kids
Nutella Cookies are perfect for baking with kids. They are easy, they can get their hands dirty, they love the ingredients, and, perhaps most importantly, they don’t take too long, either to prep or to bake.
They don’t have to commit hours, and they don’t have to wait too long until they can eat their creations.
When it comes to baking with kids, my best tip is to not worry about the mess. They will make a mess, and if you stress out about it, no one will have fun, and they won’t want to do it again.
It’s also a good idea to let them make mistakes.
As long as they are safe, and you are there to help and protect, ask yourself if it really matters if there’s a bit of eggshell in the cookie mix? They learn from their mistakes, and it really doesn’t matter.
If you stress out about mess and mistakes, they’ll be that worried about making them, they won’t be able to have fun.
So, chill out, get messy, and encourage them to help tidy up as you go. It can be a really fun family activity, but only if everyone relaxes.
All this, however, means that you are less likely to get a nice neat bake when the kids help out.
My Nutella Cookies are messy, and massive because the kids really like getting their hands in the dough bit.
How Do You Keep The Nutella from Baking?
So, these Nutella Cookies aren’t actually Nutella flavoured. The cookie dough is your standard double chocolate chip.
The Nutella comes in when you take a bite, with a big chunk in the middle. Nutella Stuffed Cookies are amazing!
But, you don’t want your Nutella to spread too much, or to cook. So, I freeze blobs of Nutella on a baking sheet for at least 30 minutes before adding them to the cookies.
Don’t worry too much about these blobs being neat, they will move about as the cookies cook.
They just need to be really cold. I then basically wrap the cookie dough around the frozen Nutella. The kids love this bit!
Are These Nutella Cookies Chewy?
These Nutella Cookies are soft-centred, and the cookie dough itself is fairly chewy. I favour crunchy at the edges, and quite chewy in the middle.
To achieve this, I take them out of the oven when they still seem a little undercooked in the centre, and let them firm up as they cool on the wire rack.
If you prefer your cookies crunchier, bake them for a little longer.
Could These Nutella Cookies Be Smaller?
So, as you can see, my cookies are massive. The kids play a big part in this choice! You could certainly make yours smaller. Our bit of Nutella is quite small, compared to the size of the cookie.
So, if you wanted you could make 16 cookies with the same recipe, just adding 4 more Nutella Blobs.
Alternatives to Nutella
To start, I never use Nutella. I actually use the Aldi own version that tastes exactly the same! You absolutely don’t need the branded version.
Any chocolate spread that you like, even low-fat alternatives or plain chocolate instead of hazelnut would work just as well.
Maybe even peanut butter? Experiment with spreads that you like if Nutella isn’t your thing.
Can You Make Nutella Cookies Without Chocolate?
I’ve gone for chocolate cookie dough with chocolate chips for my Nutella Cookies. But, you can change this up if you’d prefer.
Skip the chocolate chips, or swap them for white or dark chips without changing the recipe in any other way.
You can also skip the cocoa for a vanilla based cookie. Add an extra 50g of flour to compensate.
More Nutella Recipes:
If you like these cookies and love baking with Nutella, you might also want to try:
Nutella Stuffed Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 Heaped teaspoons Nutella
- 150 g Butter or Margarine (melted)
- 150 g Light Brown Soft Sugar
- 100 g Granulated White Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoon Golden Syrup
- 100 g Milk Chocolate Chips
- 275 g Plain Flour
- 50 g Cocoa Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
Instructions
- Cover a large plate or baking sheet with greaseproof paper and roughly spoon on 12 heaped tsp of Nutella.
- Put them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but an hour if possible.
- Grease and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the sugars, and butter for 3 minutes until well mixed.
- Whisk the egg, vanilla, and syrup together in a small bowl.
- Add the egg mix to the butter and sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes until even.
- Stir through the chocolate chips.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa, and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix into a sticky dough, cover, and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan assisted).
- Remove the dough from the fridge.
- Roll into 12 even balls and place on baking trays with plenty of space (I put 6 on a sheet).
- Press down into rounds about 3mm thick.
- Remove the Nutella from the freezer.
- Place one dollop of Nutella in the middle of each round of cookie dough.
- Carefully fold the dough over the Nutella, and use your fingers to shape it back into neat rounds.
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- If you’ve only got one baking sheet, do everything in batches, instead of trying to squeeze more on. Leave the cookie dough in the fridge until you are ready to make your next batch.
- If you prefer a softer cookie, bake for 10 minutes and remove when the middle is still soft and slightly underdone, and if you like them very crunchy bake for 12.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
