Nutella and Salted Caramel Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cookies

A dark chocolate cookie studded with chocolate chunks, filled with Nutella and caramel, and sprinkled with salt for extra flavor. My idea of perfect. 

Like a batch of cookies, some days are good, some, not so good. Today was a not-so-good kind of day.

Like a batch of cookies, it may not necessarily be a single factor that goes wrong to make it not-so-good. Today was that kind of day.

Like a batch of cookies, a day can be frustrating, infuriating and turbulent all at once. Today was an overwhelming kind of day.

Like a batch of cookies, you can always make the best of a bad situation. Today will be that kind of day.

Unlike a batch of cookies, there isn’t a formula for a good day. There isn’t a step-by-step guide explaining the precise ratios of success, or a list of consecutive methods that explain exactly when each component should consist of. Thank god for that, because though unpleasant days can be difficult, it’s better to go through them than not to. Because you get to learn. You get to experience. Isn’t that what it’s about? Going through things- good or bad?

Cookies on the other hand? There is a method for success, a method that ensures perfection. And sometimes, a dose of perfection is good, though only sometimes. This is one of those times.

I turn my day around by baking. That makes me feel good, and sometimes you just want to make something comforting and utterly delicious, something painless yet effective. Like this recipe for Nutella and salted caramel stuffed dark chocolate cookies.

These are cookies, cookies that are pleasantly enjoyable to make and pleasantly enjoyable to eat. Few can resist a dark chocolate cookie, lightly flavored with coffee, studded with chunks of dark chocolate, filled with a gooey caramel-Nutella center and sprinkled with salt to balance the sweetness. Few can resist. I have made something similar to these in the past, with my Nutella and chocolate chip stuffed cookies, but I must say, these are waaaay better.

These cookies have the addition of caramel, and the cookie dough is tastier partially because I developed it to my own liking, whereas the other cookie dough recipe was created by someone else.

Success is guaranteed, given you follow the instructions I have provided. While it isn’t necessary to be exceptionally precise with the method, make changes wisely. Adjusting the baking time, for instance, is not a wise change. You’re risking a batch of soft, gooey cookies for a batch of rock-solid ones. Like a good day, these Nutella and salted caramel stuffed dark chocolate cookies will make you smile.

So grab an apron, dust off your counters, and prepare to tackle this Nutella and salted caramel stuffed dark chocolate cookies recipe.

Nutella and Salted Caramel Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cookies

A dark chocolate cookie studded with chocolate chunks, filled with Nutella and caramel, and sprinkled with salt for extra flavor. My idea of perfect. 

Yield: 35 cookies

Prep: 30 minutes minutes

Cook: 8 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temp
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water, see notes*
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, see notes*
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt + more for sprinkling
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• 200 g 8oz ish dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• ¾ cup Nutella or any chocolate and hazelnut spread, may need 1 cup
• Between 35-40 caramel stuffed chocolate pieces, see notes*

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 F or 200 C.
• Line a plate or cookie sheet with parchment paper and dollop on top 1 tsp sized mounds of Nutella, spread apart by at least 1 cm.
• Pop the tray into the freezer until ready to use.
• In the meantime, break apart the caramel filled chocolates or unwrap if they are individually sized.
• In a medium to large sized bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until light and creamy.
• Add the coffee, vanilla, eggs and continue beating.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt, cocoa and flour.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture in 3 different intervals – this just makes it a lot easier to work with. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is blended.
• Once all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed, fold in the chocolate chunks.
• Take the Nutella dollops out of the freezer.
• Take 1 tbsp of the dough and flatten it out in your hands. Peel one of the dollops off the parchment and place it on the center of the flattened dough, and place a piece of the chocolate covered caramels on top of the Nutella.
• Take another tbsp of dough and flatten it out. Place it on top of the caramel/Nutella centers and seal the edges of two pieces of dough together, rolling it slightly to form a ball shape. Be careful as the Nutella melts quickly and may ooze out of the dough, which you don’t want.
• Add 2 tbsp more of flour to the cookie dough if you find it is too sticky to work with.
• Place the cookie balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet two inches apart and place into the oven for 8-9 minutes or until the tops are no longer glossy. Keep checking because you want to remove it immediately after the cookies are set.
• Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with some of that salt- sea salt works great, or any slightly coarse salt.
• Cool for 10 minutes before digging in.

Notes

*The coffee- I use Nestlé instant coffee granules but any sort of coffee powder should be fine, you may use less if it is a very strong variety, or omit it if you don’t like coffee – though it enhances the flavor and doesn’t add a strong taste to the cookies.

*Vanilla extract differs from country to country. I know that in Poland you get very high concentrations of vanilla- vanilla essence, in which case you only need a few drops. Using too much vanilla can make these taste gross, so be careful!

*The caramel stuffed chocolate pieces- I used Milka but Rolos work great and so does Cadbury Caramello.
Control recipe for cookie dough adapted from Very Best Baking

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butter cookies, Chocolate, cookie recipes, cookies, Dessert

Enjoy and prepare to dig in to many, many cookies!

Got leftover Nutella? Check out these recipes:

• No-bake Oreo and Nutella cheesecake
• Nutella granola
• Nutella-filled beignets
• Homemade cinnamon-Nutella pop tarts