These Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Cookies are every bit as good as they look. With crisp, golden edges and a forever gooey center, the combination of textures makes each bite even more satisfying than the last.
Crisp Meets Gooey in these Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Cookies:
Did we have to stuff already great oatmeal cookies with Nutella? Probably not, but this is not a decision or extra step that you will soon regret. Chocolate, hazelnut, and crispy oats go so well together. The end result is a a cookie that is slightly nutty and earthy with hints of salt and lots of melty chocolate.
Stop me if I’m wrong, but a cookie with both crispy edges and soft, chewy centers is still baking goals, right? In these cookies, the oats amp up the crisp factor, and the Nutella in the middle stays soft long after cooling.
Tips for Making Nutella-Stuffed Cookies
Chilling scoops of Nutella in the freezer will make them easier to cover in cookie dough. A small, mechanical cookie scoop works well and keeps the mess to a minimum.
Freeze Nutella balls on parchment paper for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
The rest of the recipe for these drop-style cookies comes together easy and quickly. Ensure that the cookie dough completely covers the Nutella before baking.
Ingredients at a Glance
Here are the ingredients needed beyond basic pantry staples:
Rolled Oats: For added texture, use rolled or old fashioned oats, not instant or quick-cooking. I reduced the amount slightly from a standard oatmeal cookie recipe and they turned out perfect.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread: Nutella works great, but so do many other chocolate-hazelnut spreads - just make sure to stir well before using. Scoop and freeze generous tablespoons of the spread for easier handling.
Chocolate Chips: Chopped chocolate is typically responsible for melty puddles, but we have out Nutella pocket for that. Regular chocolate chips work great in these cookies - reduced slightly to make more room for the Nutella. I prefer Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips.
Cookie Scoop(s): Mechanical cookie or ice scoops come in hand twice with the this recipe. I used my smallest scoop for the Nutella and a medium cookie scoop for the cookies themselves. The spring-release make working with sticky doughs and messy batters a breeze.
How to Make Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Cookies:
Scoop and Chill tablespoons of Nutella or chocolate-hazelnut paste. Use a small cookie scoop or two spoons to scoop then place on a piece of the parchment paper. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Measure and Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Doing this first means no interruptions during the mixing process.
Cream the butter and sugar together. With a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the softened butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Depending on the temperature of your butter, this will take between 2 to 4 minutes. You may mix by hand, but it will be a bit of a workout.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until combined into the butter-sugar mixture. Scraped down the bottom and sides of the bowl once incorporated.
Mix in the dry ingredients. Dump in all of the dry ingredients from before and mix until just incorporated - meaning that the dry streaks of flour just disappeared (or a few streak still remain visible).
Add the oats and chocolate. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips until combined.
Scoop and Chill. Portion out the dough into 1 ½ to 2 tablespoon balls while it is still soft and chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours. Do you have to rest the dough? No, you don’t have to. The dough should still be firm enough that it doesn’t spread too much, but I did find that the texture significantly improved when I baked them the following day and less messy when stuffing with the Nutella.
If you can’t wait, bake some now and some the next day!
Stuff the Cookies. Flatten one portion of dough and place a chilled Nutella dollop on top. Garb a second portion of dough and form it around the top of the Nutella, encasing it in the middle. I find it easiest to work with a few cookies at a time so that the Nutella stays firm and cold.
Bake and Enjoy. Bake the cookies on parchment line baking sheets for 13 to 16 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. They are done with the edges feel slightly firm to the touch and start to brown while the centers remain soft. They will set further as they cool.
Recipe
Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tea baking powder
- 1 tea baking soda
- 1 tea kosher salt
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (218g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoon (78g) rolled or old fashioned oats
- 2 cups (340g) semi or bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (240ml) Nutella or chocolate-hazelnut spread
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla then mix until thoroughly combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Dump in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. It is okay if some dry streaks of flour remain.
- Add the oats and chocolate chips and mix briefly until combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to measure out 1 ½ to 2 tablespoon portions and place them on a cookie sheet or cutting board. You should have 30 to 34 balls of dough. Wrap with plastic and chill for 2 to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, use a small cookie scoop or two spoons to create dollops of Nutella and place them on a piece of parchment paper. They should be about 1 tablespoon each. Scoop half as many dollops as cookie balls (15 scoops of Nutella for 30 balls of dough). Freeze the Nutella for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking pans with parchment paper.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Flatten half of the dough balls and place chilled Nutella dollops on top. Take the remaining dough and place on top of the Nutella. Form the dough around the Nutella so that it is incased in dough (it may be easier to work with one cookie at a time so that the Nutella stays cold).
- Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. When done, the cookies with be slightly brown and firm around the edges and soft in the center.
- Cool cookies on their baking sheets set over wire cooling racks for 5 to 10 minutes before removing them with a large offset spatula. Continue to cool cookies on a wire rack for another 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
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