Hey there! So, what could make my all time best cookie recipe ” Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies ” taste even better?? There’s only one way – Nutella!
Right now, there’s a little Nutella craze going on. It’s been around for ages but suddenly all over the country, Tim Hortons’ doughnut shops have just introduced their new Nutella cookies, pastries and doughnuts and everyone everywhere it seems, are jumping on the bandwagon. At work, someone brought homemade Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies and everyone went bonkers.
You mean… we don’t have to eat it on toast or with a spoon anymore?
We could…put it in a cookie??!
People are hella’ excited about this rebirth. So, I decided to try making them with my chocolate chip cookie recipe and I immediately knew that I had just made the ultimate Nutella cookie. The results yielded a variety of facial expressions, wide eyes, closed eyes, and lots of “OMGs”.
These cookies taste a lot like Chips Ahoy but softer; add a Nutella molten centre and they become unbeatable like they’ve been given super powers. Bring them to your next get-together and you will be forever revered for your talent.
Looks aren’t everything but they sure help.
When I first started making chocolate chip cookies I found that they didn’t look very professional. All of the chocolate chips were covered in dough making them look too “homey”. Here’s the trick. When there’s about 6-7 minutes left of cooking time , I pull the cookies out of the oven and working quickly, I carefully place the additional chocolate chips onto each cookie, pressing down ever so slightly and then pop the cookies back into the oven. They’re sure to come out looking picture-worthy!
Good to know beforehand:
- Chilling your dough produces a better cookie: There is at least one hour of chilling time before you can assemble and bake your cookies.
- (optional) Chill your Nutella jar for no longer than 20 min, it’ll be easier to handle. Don’t chill for too long because it’ll be too hard to scoop.
- Frozen Nutella Centres. Not every recipe calls for this but it will make your life easier. While the cookie dough is in the fridge, the nutella centres must be placed in the freezer for minimum 1 hour. Its way easier to form your dough around a frozen centre, trust me. See instructions below.
- Let it rest: Once dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and allow time for dough to soften a little. The softening time not only made the dough easier to scoop but it made a better cookie in the end. When I used very cold dough, my cookies came out flat and a little pale. By the time I got to my second and third trays of cookies, made with slightly warmer dough, they rose properly and were a lovely golden colour.
This may seem tedious but I thought you wanted to make the best cookies 😉
Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: aprox 2 DOZEN ( I got 22 )
Prep: 2 HOURS (INCLUDES CHILLING)
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs (or extra large)
1+1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the flour mixture, beating to combine, then stir in the chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours (although dough keeps up to 3 days in the fridge)
Nutella Centers
INGREDIENTS/TOOLS
1 large jar of Nutella (725g)
1 rounded tablespoon
DIRECTIONS
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Using your rounded tablespoon, spoon about 22-24 dollops of Nutella onto the sheet.
Freeze for 1-2 hours.
They need to be frozen solid because working with soft, melted centres is a messy job.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 375.
Remove dough from the fridge and allow to sit and soften a little 20-30 min.
Then take the frozen Nutella centres out of the freezer. Now the magic can happen!
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
You will need to work quickly because if the Nutella starts to melt, it will be messy.
Take 2 tablespoons of dough, flatten it in the palm of your hand and place frozen Nutella in the centre. Fold dough around it, adding dough where needed, sealing it and patching holes. You want the Nutella to remain contained.
Be sure to place cookies 2 inches apart onto your cookie sheet.
Repeat until all ingredients are used.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until they’ve achieved a light golden colour. Remove from the oven and let them sit. They will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.
Once they are solid enough to move, remove to a wire rack. (Don’t rush it like I ALWAYS do)
Cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.
I just love how the centres always remain gloriously molten, even when completely cooled.
DO THEY FREEZE WELL? Hell yeah, they do! Make a few batches , freeze them and take them out a couple of hours before you want to serve them. 🙂
