An anything-but-ordinary chocolate chip cookie meets a gooey Nutella center in these delectable Nutella-Filled Chocolate Chunk Cookies!
These cookies were a genius idea on my part (if I do say so myself).
I had a hankering for chocolate, which isn’t super frequent but happens every so often (and I always know how to squash it – with my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe). But I also had a jar of Nutella that was approaching its final days and I knew I needed to use it somehow when… ding ding ding! The clouds parted, angels sang, and these Nutella-Filled Chocolate Chunk Cookies were born.
These start as my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie but they have a secret surprise inside that’s bound to delight any chocolate lover. And that fudgy Nutella center? HEAVEN.
So basically you make up the dough which consists of your usual suspects: butter, brown sugar, and sugar. The higher brown sugar count makes for soft & chewy cookies, and the granulated sugar is there for those delightfully crisp outer edges. Beat those all together and add in your egg and egg yolk – the yolk alone makes for a thicker, softer cookie, FYI – and your vanilla.
Then the baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and all-purpose flour get added to the pot and mixed in. But before you add in the dry ingredients, do yourself a flavor and add in some instant espresso powder. TRUST. It enhances the chocolate flavor ten-fold and makes for such a supremely rich and decadent cookie. The cookies will not taste mocha-y or coffee-ish at all, I promise (unless you want them to, in which case, add up to a Tablespoon!).
Lastly, fold in your chocolate chunks. For these cookies, I used Guittard Super Cookie Chips which are VERY large chocolate chips – almost chunk-like. If you don’t want to use chocolate chunks, don’t – I won’t boss you around. Just use regular chocolate chips! But more chocolate > better, no?
While the dough chills (which is a must, btw), make your Nutella filling by simply dropping little teaspoons of Nutella onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freezing it. Ta-da! Want it to be even easier? Spoon the Nutella into a zip-top bag, seal out the air and snip off a corner, and pipe little Hershey Kiss-sized swirls of Nutella onto the baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 1-2 hours.
When it’s time to bake, just roll out a big scoop of cookie dough, place a Nutella swirl in the center, and bake as normal. Salt the bad boys when they get out of the oven – another trust me, but it is SO good. And prepare to swoon.
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & ¼ cups chocolate chunks or chips
- ½ cup Nutella (or similar chocolate-hazelnut spread)
- Coarse sea salt for finishing
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and egg yolk until combined, followed by the vanilla extract. Lastly, beat in the baking soda, cornstarch, instant espresso powder and flour until a soft dough comes together. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Cover and chill in the fridge for at LEAST 2 hours. This is mandatory.
- While dough chills, prepare your Nutella filling. Line a plate or small baking sheet with parchment. Spoon the Nutella into a zip-top bag and seal out the air. Snip off a corner and pipe little Hershey Kisses-size drops of Nutella onto the baking sheet. You should get about 16 drops. Freeze until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Using a Tablespoon or 2-Tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop, scoop out a mound of dough. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of the dough ball and push a Nutella drop inside. Cover the Nutella drop with the dough and place on the cookie sheets about 2" apart.
- Bake for approx. 10-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking time until the tops look just about set. Do not over-bake, as these will continue to cook as they cool. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
The almost molten-like Nutella center of these cookies is dynamite! So gooey, chocolaty and smooth with the slight crunch of the sea salt. Heaven!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Yummy! I can’t wait to try it!