Nutella Stuffed Cookies...

"You can't make everyone happy. You aren't a jar of Nutella." - unknown

It's hard to find anyone who doesn't seem to like Nutella, that European chocolate-hazelnut spread. It was popular in Europe long before it came here and it has really taken the US by storm. Now grocer shelves are lined with the real deal and plenty of knock-offs, too. Have you noticed?

Recently, I was going through my Facebook feed and came across a post from King Arthur Flour company for a cookie that turned out to be a prize-winner in their office (imagine the competition there). It looked so good I thought I should try it. They call them Nutella Sea Salt Stuffies, and you can find the recipe here. I adapted it just a tiny bit and made a second variation which was even more well-received by my family. They reported back that the ratio of crispy to fudgy/chewy was better with the caramel filled version.Try both and see what you think. The recipe is super simple and requires just a few ingredients. So grab everything you need and let's get baking!

Stuffed Nutella Cookies

For the filling:
1/2 cup (5 1/2 ounces) Nutella 

For the Dough:
1  cup (10 1/2 ounces ) Nutella
1  cup (4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour*
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup Hazelnuts, toasted and skinned, chopped fine

1. For the filling: Scoop out 2 teaspoons of Nutella into  12 mounds on a tray lined with plastic or parchment and freeze until firm, a few hours or over-night

2. For the dough: Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees F. In a stand mixer or by hand, mix together  the remaining 1 cup of Nutella, flour, sea salt, egg and espresso powder. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed.

3. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough  and wrap the dough around a mound of Nutella. Enclosing it completely. Place the  dough bundles on parchment-Lined cookie sheet, about 2" apart, and sprinkle each with the chopped hazelnuts. Pat down lightly on the nuts to adhere.

 4. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8- 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Take a bite!

Variation: Chocolate-Caramel Filled Nutella Cookies
1. Use the same dough as above. Substitute Caramel filled chocolate , such as Rolos, or Cadbury caramel filled chocolate squares for the Nutella filling
2. Form the cookies the same way, patting down on the dough so they aren't completely ball shaped before baking. 
3.  Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with mini chocolate chips.

4. Bake as directed above.
5. Swoon with delight when you bite into one. ♥

* I used Einkorn flour for my gluten sensitive daughter. You can find out more about Einkorn here.