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    Vanilla Cookies with Nutella Filling

    Published: Aug 22, 2012 · Modified: Sep 2, 2020 · by Jess Smith · Jump to Recipe · 21 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links.

    These Nutella stuffed cookies are simple and use a soft cookie dough which requires just a few steps to grace its center with rich, creamy Nutella. Use my secret ingredient to ensure a gooey center long after they finish cooling. A delicious (and buttery) vanilla cookie worthy of all of us Nutella-loving bakers. 


    Nutella stuffed cookies

    A Delicious Buttery Base

    The testing that went into this tender vanilla cookie with creamy Nutella filling involved a good bit of butter.  I was feeling fairly indulgent about all the butter passing through my kitchen (and the number of not-quite-“it” cookies being pawned off on friends and co-workers) until Frank sent me the New York Times’ slideshow on the Iowa State Fair, featuring Deep-Fried Butter.

    These addictive cookies that do, admittedly, include some butter, could never compete with an entire stick of the stuff, deep-fried and doled out as a single-serving snack.

    Just sayin’.

    Making Nutella chips for Nutella stuffed cookies

    When this (this!) batch of Nutella stuffed cookies emerged from the oven, it was everything I could do not to shout “TA-DAAAA” with jazz hands flailing.  I have been on a mission, several weeks in-the-making, to create a cookie worthy of all of us Nutella-loving bakers.  And this, I am happy to say, is it.

    I went some much more complicated routes before settling on this extremely simple, soft cookie dough which requires just a few steps to grace its center with rich, creamy Nutella.

    Nutella chips for Nutella stuffed cookies

    The Secret Ingredient: Nutella Chips

    The key to these amazing Nutella stuffed cookies is the Nutella “chips” which, now that I’ve made them several times, may be a frequent find in my freezer. The secret to getting the Nutella to stay creamy after baking, is a bit of coconut oil.  Nutella has a tendency to dry out when baked, so I took a hint from the chocolate hard shell and added coconut oil.

    The Nutella/coconut oil combo is squeezed out onto wax paper in “chip” shape and placed in the freezer while the cookie dough comes together.

    After 30 minutes, the Nutella chips are easy to handle (and very tasty).

    A bowl of Nutella chips for Nutella stuffed cookies

    They are also incredibly easy to roll into the center of a ball of vanilla cookie dough.

    Nutella stuffed cookies ready on a sheet pan

    Creamy Nutella Center

    In the finished product, there’s not a hint of flavor from the coconut oil that gives the Nutella filling its magic.

    But, even at room temperature, the day after baking, one bite of this cookie yields easily to the creamy Nutella inside.

    Nutella stuffed cookies with a delicious gooey center

    Make these Nutella stuffed cookies this weekend.  They’ll be long gone by Monday.

    Looking for other Nutella Recipes?  Try these:

    Nutella Granola

    Sour Cream Fudge Cupcakes (gluten free) with Nutella Frosting

    Nutella Swirl Bread

    Print Recipe
    4.25 from 4 votes

    Vanilla Cookies with Nutella Filling

    These Nutella stuffed cookies are simple and use a soft cookie dough which requires just a few steps to grace its center with rich, creamy Nutella. Use my secret ingredient to ensure a gooey center long after they finish cooling. A delicious (and buttery) vanilla cookie worthy of all of us Nutella-loving bakers.
    Prep Time45 mins
    Cook Time8 mins
    Total Time53 mins
    Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup (220g) nutella
    • 3 tsp. pure coconut oil
    • 10 Tbsp. (140g) unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 cup (220g) granulated sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
    • 2 cup (250g) all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp. salt

    Instructions

    • Line a small baking sheet with wax paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the nutella and coconut oil. Transfer the nutella to a small plastic bag. Cut off one corner of the plastic bag and gently squeeze the nutella out onto the wax paper into 24 evenly-sized chips. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the nutella is firm, 30 minutes.
    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Grease a baking sheet with butter or cooking spray. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Divide the dough into 24 even balls and flatten each into a disk. Remove the frozen nutella chips from the freezer. Working quickly, press each chip into one ball of dough and roll the dough into a ball around the nutella.
    • Place the cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake, just until the edges start to turn slightly golden, 6-8 minutes (keep an eye on them towards the end - do NOT overbake these). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

     

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    Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Recipes

    About Jess

    Hi, I'm Jess, an amateur cook turned professional recipe developer, food stylist, and photographer specializing in quick and easy meals that make weeknights a bit more fun. I love sharing my kitchen and my journey as a chef with other home cooks on this blog. Learn more about me here.

    Previous Post: « Tortellini, Basil, and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup
    Next Post: Honey-Roasted Carrots with Poppy Seeds »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Claire @ Claire K Creations

      August 22, 2012 at 11:56 am

      Oh my goodness look at the nutella oozing out. How delicious!

      Reply
    2. Leanne

      August 26, 2012 at 3:31 am

      These look … absolutely stunning. I mean, I’m speechless!! I’ll definitely give them a go, soon. Worth buying my very first jar of nutella!

      Reply
    3. Karista

      August 29, 2012 at 9:20 am

      Not sure how I missed this post! Decadent! Definitely posting this to my facebook page. My readers love cookies! I don’t think I’m getting your posts in my inbox. Looks like you moved to wordpress.org? I will re-subscribe so I don’t miss anymore posts. 🙂

      Reply
      • Jess

        August 29, 2012 at 10:43 am

        Karista – I’m so glad you caught the problem with the subscriptions! I’ve heard from a few people that they stopped getting updates when I switched over to WordPress.org, even though it appeared that the subscription list transferred over. Now I’m using feedburner, so I’m hoping it never happens again.

        Reply
    4. Laura

      October 06, 2012 at 2:20 pm

      3 stars
      I made these tonight! Mine didn’t quite turn out the same & I followed your instructions exactly. Mine are on the dry side. I double checked the ingredients and I made them correctly.

      Any thoughts?

      Reply
      • Jess

        October 10, 2012 at 4:33 pm

        Oh no, Laura! Did the Nutella filling come out dry or the cookies themselves? These are definitely a cookie that needs to be pulled out of the oven the instant they start to turn golden. They will seem a bit undercooked when you pull them, but will firm up while they rest on the pan for a few minutes out of the oven. If the Nutella comes out dry, you might want to increase the amount of coconut oil you mix with the nutella by a teaspoon or so (that will keep the Nutella nice and creamy). I’ve made these a number of times and never had any trouble at all, but you make me think I might be due to make another batch. 😉

        Reply
    5. Averie @ Averie Cooks

      November 15, 2012 at 10:34 am

      These remind me of the cookie dough in the cookies you just commented on – except less overall baking soda and mine were half and half with brown and white sugar. But I LOVE the Nutella/magic shell idea. I do it with peanut butter sauce sometimes!

      Reply
      • Jess

        November 15, 2012 at 1:57 pm

        Averie – they are similar and I bet those soft snickerdoodle cookies would be good stuffed with Nutella too! Actually, what wouldn’t be good stuffed with Nutella? 😉

        Reply
    6. Hala

      July 03, 2013 at 11:02 pm

      Hi Jess,

      thank you for the great recipe.. just a question. what kind of coconut oil do you use? I used several and they taste of coconut take over the Nutella 🙁

      Thanks,

      Reply
      • Jess

        July 08, 2013 at 8:59 pm

        Hi Hala – it’s a great question, but I’m not sure that I can be much help as I use a Thai brand that I’m sure is only available locally. From what I’ve read, if you want to limit the flavor of coconut oil, don’t buy “virgin coconut oil” – the flavor is most noticeable in that type. It needs to be more refined to remove the flavor. Hope that helps a bit!

        Reply
    7. littlewii

      October 18, 2013 at 2:52 am

      Hi Jess,
      I just found your recipe and really wanna bake these Cookies! 🙂 I have one question: After rolling the dough into a ball around the nutella and putting them onto the baking sheet, do you press them flat again or just let leave them as a ball? I’m not familiar with these kind of cookies as it is more common here in Germany to bake butter cookies or other sorts, which are ‘hard’ like the butter cookies are. But I’m pretty sure that one has to flaten them, just wanted to ask you to feel certain.

      Thanks! 😉
      ♥

      Reply
      • Jess

        October 18, 2013 at 7:13 am

        Hi there! It’s a great quest – I didn’t even think to note that, but definitely do not flatten them once you put them on the baking sheet. Just leave them in round balls and then put them in the oven – they’ll flatten around the Nutella as they bake. (Make sure to pull the cookies out before they start to turn golden so that they will be nice and soft with soft centers!) Enjoy!

        Reply
    8. Sarah

      December 17, 2013 at 9:28 am

      I wanted to make these right now but I don’t have coconut oil. Can I substitute the coconut oil with something else? If not, will leaving it out make a huge difference?

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
      • Jess

        December 17, 2013 at 12:31 pm

        Oh yes, Sarah – you should be just fine. The Nutella in the center of the cookies may not come out as creamy as it did in mine, but otherwise, they should work great if you make the recipe as listed, just without coconut oil.

        Reply
    9. Beverly

      July 06, 2014 at 11:52 am

      These look great!!! But I hate coconut and can pick the flavor out of anything. Is there a different type of oil you recommend that will provide the same trick to staying moist??

      Reply
    10. Afraa

      November 22, 2015 at 11:23 am

      Hi! Your recipe looks amazing! It’s been on my to-do list for about 3-4 years now!! I think I am going be able to try it soon but I was just wondering, when you make it do you go by volume or weight? I cannot decide and I want mine to be exactly like yours

      Thanks 🙂

      Reply
      • Jess

        November 27, 2015 at 1:30 pm

        I do it by weight to get the exact result shown in the pictures. I find weight is the best for most of my baking recipes. Just be sure not to overcook them – when I’ve had trouble with the result in the past, it’s because I didn’t pull them from the oven early enough. Sometimes they really only do need the 6 minutes to bake so that they don’t turn at all golden on the outside. Hope you like them!!

        Reply
    11. Rachel

      March 29, 2016 at 3:26 pm

      5 stars
      Just found this recipe for these amazing nutella filled cookies! Had a few problems making nutella “chips” and not a sheet of nutella. Found that you needed a big enough hole in the bag and i piped them onto a frozen cookie sheet lined with parchment. Also I chilled the bag with the nutella mixture to help it hold a chip shape.
      They turned out picture perfect! 🙂

      Reply
      • Jess

        March 29, 2016 at 10:20 pm

        Yay – thanks so much for your note Rachel! Glad they came out and that you had success with the “chips” – those are the key!

        Reply

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    Hi there! We're Jess and Frank. We live in Kansas City with our three daughters. Our recipes are made with busy families in mind. We lived in Thailand which inspired us to cook flavorful, fun meals at home and we know you can too. We believe in your inner cook! More...

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