“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.” ~Robert Fulghum in 1987 at Middlebury College
Chocolate Nutella Cookies
The name cookie comes from the Dutch work “koekje” which means little cake. Early cooks, in order to test oven temperature, baked a small amount of cake batter before baking the larger cake. These small cakes became known as our modern day cookies.
In the mid 1950′s, the practice of serving cookies and milk after school became very popular. When my siblings and I opened the door and smelled fresh baked cookies, we were happy campers.
The number of cookie recipes continues to grow every year in the attempt to keep up with our love for these delicacies.
These cookies are laced with Nutella, the chocolate hazelnut spread, and are very easy to make. The center is soft and fudgy; which makes it hard to eat only one cookie. Warm from the oven, I couldn’t restrain myself. So let’s get started.
NOTE: The original recipe from King Arthur Flour called for shortening and I substituted butter. It also called for hazelnut flavor and I substituted almond extract, as they suggested, since I did not have the flavor called for.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Gather the dry ingredients.
Gather the wet ingredients.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, espresso powder, hazelnut extract, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and Nutella until smooth.
Add the flour, beating on low, until all the ingredients are combined. If the dough is too stiff and crumbly, drizzle a little bit of water or cold coffee to bring it together.
Since I opted for a smaller cookie, I used a teaspoon sized cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are just set. As recommended, I baked one test cookie to determine the best cooking time for my oven. It turned out that 8 minutes gave me the texture I wanted in the cooled cookie.
These cookies pack beautifully and would make a nice little thank you gift for someone.
NOTE: Going forward, if the post covers a recipe that was created by someone else, I will be linking you to the original recipe. These cookies, with tips, can be found on the King Arthur Flour website.
