Nutella Fudge Cookies

Nutella Fudge Cookies - made dough May 12, 2018 from Tutti Dolci

This is a good chocolate cookie. It's meant to be a Nutella cookie but the chocolate tends to overwhelm the Nutella so you only really get a Nutella taste by swirling Nutella into the cookie dough without fully blending it into the dough.

The dough mixes easily and handles well. It doesn't spread much so if you want domed cookies, make into a ball, freeze for a few hours, then bake. If you want your cookies of uniform thickness, then shape dough into thick discs, freeze for a few hours and bake.

As I usually do when I want swirls of Nutella in the cookie, I dollop spoonfuls of Nutella over the mixed cookie dough, scoop into golf-ball-size balls, being careful to keep the Nutella dollops mostly intact (you can pat bits of dough over the exposed Nutella to make the dough balls easier to handle), freeze until firm then bake.

When baked, you can still see the Nutella dollops intact in the cookie.

If you want a fudgy cookie with Nutella swirled into it, this is the recipe for you. If you want more of a Nutella flavor in the cookie itself, I recommend the Nutella Swirl Cookies.

1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Nutella, plus more for swirling into dough
1/4 cup almond butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
flaky salt, for topping, optional

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Beat Nutella, almond butter, and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until smooth. Add egg, instant espresso powder and vanilla; mix until combined. 
3. On low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Dollop spoonfuls of Nutella atop dough and scoop cooking dough into golf-ball size dough balls, leaving swirls of Nutella distinct in each dough ball. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space frozen dough balls. Bake for 10-11 minutes until tops are set and crackly. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets then transfer to wire rack. Sprinkle with flaky salt and let cool completely.