Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies

Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies - made dough July 19, 2014 from Averie Cooks

This is the second cookie with nutella that I've made from Averie's blog and the second one that didn't come out looking like the ones on her blog. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or differently than what she does. I mix it according to the directions, I freeze the dough balls, I even bake with the convection setting on my oven. Comparing the looks of her cookies versus mine where hers are thick and compact while mine are marginally thick but much more spread out, I assume I baked mine longer than she did hers. Which is entirely possible since at the time specified in her recipe, my cookies still looked raw so I let them bake longer.

They were still tasty but I should satisfy my curiosity and make a point of baking a test cookie only for the 9-10 minutes specified in her recipe and see how that turns out. Maybe it would look closer to hers in appearance and once it's cooled, I certainly don't mind a fudgy texture.

Although this tasted fine, I'm not a big enough fan of peanut butter to really love it properly. It's good but I confess, I'm going to stick with my latest cookie crush from her blog instead, namely her amazing chocolate chip cookies.

1 large egg
3/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter or chocolate peanut butter (do not use natural or homemade, it's too runny and cookies could spread)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed (light may be substituted)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
5 to 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the egg, Nutella, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and beat on high power to cream ingredients, about 5 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. 
2. Add the flour, baking soda, optional salt and beat to incorporate. Add the chocolate chunks and beat momentarily to incorporate.
3. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop out golf-sized balls of dough and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Space dough 2 inches apart (8 per tray) and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until top have just set, even if slightly underbaked in the center. 
5. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.