Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
One of my most popular flavors when I started my home bakery was a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with Nutella. I improved the recipe over the last few years to include brown butter and smoked sea salt. This is the ultimate chocolate chip cookie and although it does require quite a bit of prep work and chill hours, I can assure you it is worth every minute of waiting. None of the steps to make the cookie are particularly hard, in fact they are quite easy, and can be done well in advance to put together when you are ready. I am here to walk you through the process step by step, are you ready? Let’s bake!
If you came from previous posts of my fun filled frenzy with finding locally sourced Texas cream, then making Cultured Butter , then turning it into Browned Butter , thank you and welcome back to the grand finale of this butter series: Nutella stuffed brown butter chocolate chip cookies! Round of applause cue here. I have included the recipe for browned butter on this post as well to make it easier for you to access.
I found that freezing the Nutella is a necessary step to making these cookies easy to assemble after making the dough. This can be done the day prior or even weeks in advance. You can store the frozen Nutella disks in a plastic sandwich bag or container until ready to stuff the cookie dough.
After the brown butter has been chilled and back into solid form, you wan to take it out 10-15 minutes prior to making the cookies. It will soften slightly but still be cold. The butter is then mixed well with white and brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. You can use a handheld mixer or even mix by hand, just make sure the sugar and butter are mixed well and slightly fluffy.
Next comes the salt and vanilla extract. I have been loving Neilsen Massey vanilla extract recently, but you can use whichever you have on hand. Mix well then get your dry ingredients ready. I prefer to sift my flour, baking powder, baking soda and cornstarch prior to adding to the mixer.
On low speed slowly add in your dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated, do not overmix. If you are using walnuts or pecans, I really do stress you toast them prior to adding to the recipe. You certainly don’t have to, but the flavor and texture is improved significantly in the cookie. Toasting allows the flavor of the nuts to deepen and the texture to crisp up. We want every single ingredient in this batch of cookies to be at their fullest potential.
I use a combination of three types of chocolate chips. This is so extra but I do have reasons for doing so. I use an equal mix of dark chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips. I love the bitterness of dark chocolate and how it adds complexity to the cookie with the salt sprinkled on top. It balances well with the very sweet milk chocolate and semisweet chocolate for a truly over the top chocolate experience. The nutty and toffee like flavor of the brown butter also highlight the flavor of the chocolates used, making it an amazing combination. My focus on creating a complexity of flavors and textures by highlighting, bitter, sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy, creates a cookie experience that you want to relive again and again with every bite. With that being said, you can absolutely use one type of chocolate chip and have an incredible cookie.
Mix on low until the add ins are mixed in well. Turn off mixer, remove paddle attachment and using a spatula make sure to give the dough a few turns, paying special attention to incorporating the bottom of the dough up and folding over to mix the chocolate chips evenly.
The fun part of course is stuffing the cookies! Take the frozen Nutella rounds from the freezer and using a 4oz scoop, scoop out 12 cookie dough balls. Flatten them slightly, place Nutella in center and roll the dough around the filling.
Place the stuffed cookie dough in the freezer for several hours and preferably overnight. This will help our dough relax and firm up so we have tall cookies that don’t spread and leak out Nutella.
Bake these cookies at 375*F, 4 at a time, giving adequate space around each one. I place 4 cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet to allow for some spreading. They will bake for 12-15 minutes. You want to see the edges and top a golden-brown color.
Remove from oven and sprinkle them with Maldon smoked sea salt. This one is my favorite to use, I love the subtle smoky flavor with the chocolate chips, but any flaked sea salt will do. You don’t have to put salt on the cookies, but it really enhances the flavor of the chocolate and brown butter while subduing the sweetness of the cookie. It’s all about balancing and highlighting flavors.
Let them cool on baking tray for at least 10 minutes. They will continue baking even after you pull them out of the oven and you want to give them time to set up and not lose their shape or, God forbid, leak Nutella.
Now sink your teeth into one of my most decadent chocolate chip creations I have ever made. These are THE chocolate chip cookies you need in your life. Crispy edges, melted chocolate, nutty brown butter with a hint of toffee, a wonderfully soft Nutella center and a hint of salt to drive you insane for another bite.
These cookies will last up to a week in your fave cookie jar or a partially cracked open container. Although, I doubt they will make it through one night. Enjoy and happy baking!
Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup browned butter I am using the cultured butter from the last blog post, but you can use your favorite unsalted butter as a substitute.
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tspn vanilla extract I love Neilsen Massey at the moment
- ½ tspn salt
- 1 tspn baking powder
- 1 tspn baking soda
- 2 tbspn cornstarch
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup Nutella
Optional
- 1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans roughly chopped
- Maldon sea salt for sprinkling on top of cookies
Instructions
Day Before Filling Prep
- Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop or tablespoon, place mounds of Nutella on baking tray lined with parchment. Place in freezer overnight. These will be stuffed into the cookie dough and will make it easier to work with.
Browning Butter
- Place 2½ sticks of butter into a medium sauce pan on medium or medium low heat.
- Melt butter slowly. You will notice the butter will get foamy. Keep stirring. This is excess liquid evaporating from the butter.
- After the foam subsides the butter solids that are in the butter will start to caramelize and turn and amber color. Keep stirring occasionally.
- Pay close attention at this stage, you want the butter to be a deep amber color but not burn. If this is your first time making brown butter, turn the heat on low and do not leave the stove. Remove the butter as soon as you see the color deepen. This will happen quickly so pay attention!
- After the butter reaches a deep amber color, pour into glass container and let cool on counter. Leave in fridge overnight to firm up for cookie making the next day. You can do this well in advance (weeks) so that you have brown butter to use when you are ready.
Cookie Time
- Take chilled browned butter and place in mixer with paddle attachment. Add both types of sugar and salt. Mix on medium high until the sugar and butter are creamed.
- Break your eggs in bowl, then add them one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix well after each addition.
- Add vanilla and continue to mix until incorporated.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cornstarch and with the mixer on low gradually add into the butter mixture. Stop the mixer when the flour is just combined.
- Add in your chocolate chips and toasted chopped nuts (if using) and mix on low just until it is incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Using a 4 ounce scoop, scoop out 12 equally portioned out dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Take frozen Nutella filling out of the freezer and carefully and quickly stuff each dough ball with the Nutella. I find it easy to flatten out dough and roll around the filling.
- Place stuffed cookies into freezer for at least an hour to rest and firm up. I usually leave mine overnight. This ensures you have thick cookies that don't flatten while baking.
- Preheat oven to 375*F
- Take dough out and place 4 cookies per baking tray.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes. You want the top and edges brown.
- Sprinkle sea salt on top of each cookie (if using) as they are cooling.
- Enjoy! Please tag me #sunshinetxcookies if you make these delicious cookies!
