Cookies with Attitude

I've dreamed about these cookies and finally made them this morning. They're really simple and quick and made with one of my favorite ingredients- Nutella. And when you take your first bite, the chocolatey chewiness, crunchy hazelnuts and ooey-gooey marshmallows put you in a place that says, "One is not enough". Plus the recipe works beautifully if you want to make a double batch. And I recommend you do just that.

Nutella Rocky Road Cookies

1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats gound in spice grinder
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
1 egg
1 tsp hazelnut flavored ground coffee
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/3 cup mini marshmallows

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
In medium size bowl add flours, ground oats, salt and baking soda. Stir with a whisk to incorporate. Set aside.
In large bowl cream butter and sugar with hand mixer about 2-3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and ground coffee and mix another minute more. Add Nutella and continue to mix until all ingredients are combined. Add half of the flour mixture and mix to incorporate. Now add the rest of the flour and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips, nuts and marshmallows and combine with a spatula. Form balls out of the batter that are about ping pong ball size. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake 9 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, and dig in. You won't be disappointed. This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Nutella-filled Chocolate Bites

I have been baking and enjoying Giada's chocolate hazelnut cookies for years. They're rich, chewy and chocolately. But apparently not rich and gooey enough for the mood I was in last weekend. So I did a slight re-mix and came up with a Nutella-filled mini sandwich cookie that gave this all star recipe the oomph I was looking for.



I didn't change the actual recipe too much. I just changed the size and the personality of the little darlings. Instead of getting thirty 3 inch cookies, I got about seventy 1-1/2 inch cookies which would yield 35 sandwiches if you don't carelessly pop too many of these little gems into your mouth. And of course the Nutella filling was the proverbial "icing on the cake".

These are a cinch to make, but I will warn you...they are time consuming. Measuring out and baking 70 or so cookies takes time and patience. But I do believe they are worth it.


Nutella Filled Chocolate Cookies

1 Jar Nutella- Chocolate/Hazelnet Spread to use for the cookies and the filling

Dry Ingredients
1-3/4 cups AP flour- I used my Trinity Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter room temp
1/2 cup sugar- I used Splenda No Calorie Sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar- I used 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend for Baking
1/2 cup Nutella
1 large egg room temp
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (my addition)

Instructions:
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In medium size bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Set aside. In larger bowl combine butter, sugars and Nutella. Mix about 2-3 minutes. I use a hand mixer. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix. Then add the dry ingredients, remembering to scrape the bowl to mix in anything that's sticking around the edges. Fold in the mini chips. You'll notice this is a very light batter. It almost feels like there are marshmallows in it. (An idea for a later date, maybe?)

Now you're ready to make the mini cookies. I discovered the best way to get a uniform size was to use a teaspoon from my measuring spoon set- that way all my cookies would be more or less the same size. (A melon baller might work too, but I couldn't find mine) After scooping out the little teaspoons of dough, roll them into balls about 1/2" to 3/4" and set them on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie ball. Bake 6 minutes and let cool a few minutes before you transfer them to paper towels to finish cooling. You'll literally have dozens of cookies all over your kitchen. When the cookies are cooled, and you hopefully haven't popped too many in your mouth, it's time to get out the rest of the Nutella and start filling the sandwiches. And that's the fun and messy part. Place as little or as much Nutella as you like in between 2 cookies, gently press together and your mission is accomplished.

After eating my fare share, I froze the rest and they are doing very well in the freezer. And they don't take long to defrost.



Nutella: If you're not familiar with this spread, you can find it in the peanut butter aisle of your supermarket. It's simply a smooth mixture of chocolate and hazelnuts. It contains a fair amount of sugar, but supposedly has many nutrients. It's great on toast and super on a warm, grilled, buttered crostini with a little bit of cinnamon. And if you're into easy, over-the-top desserts, try pan frying Nutella, peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff between 2 slices of bread (in butter). Then sprinkle on some powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream. Yeah, that's over-the-top.