Salty Chocolate Nutella Thumbprints – Cookie Trials 2011

By Kelly Claggett,

If you are a chocolate lover look no further than these cookies. They will make your knees buckle. The texture is dense with rich cocoa flavors. The nutella does a wonderful job of blending all the taste in each bite. This recipe is from the Washington Post with the original source of recipe being Huntsberger and Willis, of Whisked! in Washington D.C.

I usually don’t bake real things unless it comes in a tube of already made dough. If prep time takes more than 5 min I won’t be making it. I have realized that baking requires precision and patience, both are definitely not my speciality. But this recipe actually wasn’t hard at all and surprisingly came out amazing. The reason I know it was actually amazing is because our family’s biggest critic (my step-mom Elaine) said she loved it… and meant it. She’s not a very good liar so I know it was actually good. We will definitely be keeping this recipe and most likely be making another batch or two before Christmas. Yum!

We are giving this cookie trial 5 snowflakes. Excellent!

Makes 30 to 35 cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (10 ounces) flour
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (3.2 ounces) natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 teaspoons kosher salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at a very soft room temperature (see headnote)
1 1/3 cups (9.3 ounces) sugar, plus 1 cup for finishing the cookies
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a small bowl.

Combine the butter and 1 1/3 cups of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat for about 2 minutes on low speed, until fluffy, then add the egg yolks, cream and vanilla extract; beat on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.

Place the remaining cup of sugar in a shallow bowl.

Scoop 30 to 35 heaping tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets. Shape each mound of dough into a ball, then roll it in the remaining sugar to coat evenly. Space the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, then use your thumb to make an indentation in the top of each cookie, gently flattening the cookies a bit as you work.

Bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes or until the edges are just set; the tops of the cookies will be soft. (If the indentations have lost definition, press the centers again immediately after you remove the cookies from the oven.) Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. Pipe or spoon the Nutella into the center of each cookie while the cookies are still slightly warm.

Serve or store once the Nutella centers have slightly set; if in layers use wax paper. These do not freeze well.

MAKE AHEAD: Unbaked, scooped cookies stored in an airtight container will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 1 month in the freezer. Baked and filled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.