Recently, I had the most fun afternoon with my friends where we did a cookie exchange party. It was actually combined with our book club for the month so it was a super fun theme that went along with our theme for the book that month. And oh my goodness was there ever the BEST collection of cookies there! I swear I could do a separate post about all these different cookies we had, and I think I will do a post of the cookies I made for it because I found the most wonderful website chock-full of egg free cookie recipes that I can use for my daughter. Seriously, it is pretty darn crazy how crucial eggs are in pretty much every type of baking, not just cookies. I have tried and failed with many-a-recipe to get a good cookie recipe that I can use for my daughter, and I think I have finally found the right spot with tons of recipes to choose from.

Anyway, let me show you a picture of the star of the cookie party and you will see why she made the headlines!

See what I mean? And they are every bit as good as they look! These are the kind of cookies that are the perfect solution if you are having the best day ever and all you want to do is make a delicious treat to celebrate, but they also couldn't be more perfect for those rough days where all you want to do is crawl up in the fetal position and get your chocolate fix.

The way they are assembled is so genius and easy, I feel embarrassed I never thought of doing this myself. You start by scooping little dollops of Nutella onto wax paper and freezing them.

Then you make up some chocolate cookie dough and form the dough into a ball around a frozen Nutella dollop.

Warning: these cookies do have many freezer steps, so plan ahead. They aren't ones that you can whip up in a hurry unless you already have some dough stashed in the freezer. But trust me, they are worth the wait! They are topped with chocolate chips and a little bit of course sea salt, so you also have a bit of the sweet and salty combo that is so good! I give these cookies 10 out of 5 stars!! They are epic.

I was telling my good friend about this recipe because she is obsessed with Nutella and it's funny because she basically said that her favorite way to eat Nutella is just with a good old fashioned spoon. I realize Nutella is just that good on its own, but in my opinion, I have never loved Nutella more than oozing out of these cookies! What is your favorite Nutella recipe, or are you also just a spoonful of Nutella kinda person?

Let's just talk about the possibilities that you have with these little frozen balls of Nutella for a moment….that is if they stay in the freezer long enough for you to use them! You could make the easiest Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies by buying the refrigerated dough you buy at the store and you could whip those babies up in no time!

NUTELLA THERAPY COOKIES

These feel-good-chocolate-cookies are soft and chewy, studded with chocolate chips, stuffed to the brim with Nutella and sprinkled with sea salt. They have proven to be instant spirit lifters. *Please note that these cookies have several freezing steps, so plan ahead.

Author: Cleobuttera

Serves: 16

INGREDIENTS

· 16 tablespoons Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread),preferably slightly cold

· 1½ cups all-purpose flour (7½oz)

· 2 teaspoons cornstarch

· ½ teaspoon baking soda

· ½ teaspoon table salt

· ¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks/6oz), softened

· 1 cup soft light brown sugar (7oz)

· ½ cup granulated sugar (3½oz)

· 1 large egg, at room temperature

· 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

· 2 teaspoons vanilla

· ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder* (1½oz), sift if lumpy

· 1¼ cup chocolate chips, semisweet or milk or a combination of both*, plus extra for pressing on the cookie dough balls

· Sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Using a tablespoon size ice cream scoop or a round measuring tablespoon measuring, scoop out 16 rounded tablespoons of Nutella onto the prepared baking sheet. Freeze until solid, at least one hour or overnight.

2. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl and using a hand mixer), beat the butter on medium high speed until soft and slightly lightened in color, about 1 minute.

5. Add both sugars and beat together until lightened in both color and texture, about 5 minutes.

6. Mix in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until well blended.

7. On low speed, mix in the cocoa powder.

8. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined, leaving a few streaks of flour behind. Do not over mix.

9. Stir in the chocolate chips, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure that everything is well combined.

10. Using a ¼ cup measure ice cream scoop, scoop out the dough onto the lined baking sheet, forming 16 equal dough balls.

11. Using the back of a wooden spoon handle or your thumb, make deep holes into the dough.

12. Get the Nutella scoops out of the freezer and working quickly, peel the Nutella scoops from the baking sheet and place them in the middle of the dough holes. If you're working in a warm kitchen, you might want to keep them in the freezer, taking only one by one as you work, to avoid them melting.

13. Gather the dough up over the Nutella scoops to completely cover them. Roll the dough into balls and place on the baking sheet.

14. Press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each dough ball then sprinkle with sea salt flakes.

15. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours, then either bake immediately (from frozen) or transfer to a large zipper lock bag and freeze until needed, overnight or up to 1 month.*

16. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and adjust oven rack to middle position.

17. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat. Place 8 cookie balls per sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

18. Bake until the cookies flatten with a slight dome, no longer have a hump in the middle, and the outer edges start to harden yet centers are soft and puffy, 11 to 14 minutes. Start checking at 11 minutes. The centers will feel undone, but they shouldn't be shiny or sticky. DO NOT OVERBAKE or you'll get hard cookies. The cookies will continue to bake after they come out of the oven from the residual heat.

19. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before serving. Or cool completely then store in an airtight container.

NOTES

*Make sure that the brown sugar used here is the soft kind that feels like wet sand and packs to itself, like Dominos brand or Red Path.
*I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa in this recipe for its pleasant milk chocolatey flavor that doesn't overwhelm the Nutella.
*I prefer equal parts semisweet and milk chocolate chips but use what you prefer.
*You don't have to bake all the frozen cookie dough all at once. Keep them in your freezer up to one month and bake only the amount you need even if its just one, or for when a chocolate emergency strikes.

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