We’re taking the beloved classic chocolate crinkle cookie and going a little nuts—in the best possible way!—with these Nutella crinkle cookies. Chocolatey and packed with crunchy hazelnuts, they’re thick and soft-baked, and stuffed with a little extra Nutella in the middle for good measure!
I love baking with Nutella, as evidenced by recipes like Nutella chocolate chip cookies and caramel-stuffed Nutella cookies. But with these cookies, I think I may have reached Peak Nutella Cookie (PNC). These are the most Nutella-y of all the Nutella cookies. We’re making the dough with Nutella, of course, but then also stuffing each cookie dough ball with more Nutella, because, let’s be honest, why wouldn’t we??
Warm from the oven, the centers of these Nutella crinkle cookies are deliciously gooey. After about a day, the Nutella centers set into a soft and fudge-y texture, like the inside of a truffle. They are equally delicious both ways.
Why You’ll Love These Nutella Crinkle Cookies:
- Most of the chocolate flavor comes from the Nutella, just like these Nutella brownies
- Extra soft centers, crisp crackly edges
- Crunchy hazelnuts add texture
- Rolled in confectioners’ sugar, for that classic crinkle cookie look
- Double the Nutella: it’s going in both the cookie dough AND the filling
- Taste like the cookie version of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate hazelnut truffle!
By the way, if you love crinkle cookies as much as I do, you’ll want to try chocolate raspberry crinkle cookies and lemon crinkle cookies, too!
Best Ingredients to Use & Why:
I use a stand mixer for these cookies, but an electric hand mixer works too. This Nutella cookie dough is extra soft, so chilling is necessary—2 hours is the minimum. Chilled cookie dough is not only easier to handle and roll into balls, it also bakes thicker cookies.
After refrigerating the dough, it will be quite crumbly and that’s ok. You want a thick, crumbly dough because you’re going to be handling it so much when filling and rolling it.
How to Shape & Fill Nutella Crinkle Cookies
To fill and shape the cookies, take 1 scant Tablespoon (about 17g) of crumbly cookie dough:
Roll it in your hands to make a ball. Press your thumb into the ball as if you were making a thumbprint cookie, and pinch and mold the dough into a shallow bowl shape. Repeat steps 1 & 2 to make a second cookie “bowl.”
We use a similar process to stuff these peanut butter-filled brownie cookies. You may find it’s easier to roll and shape ALL the cookie dough “bowls” first, before filling half with Nutella.
Coat the Dough Balls
Now that all of the dough balls are filled and rolled, you can coat them in confectioners’ sugar. Like with these chocolate crinkle cookies, roll the cookie dough balls into granulated sugar first, then give them a heavy coating of confectioners’ sugar.
Why both sugars? These Nutella crinkle cookies are extra moist, so the confectioners’ sugar always ends up melting a bit and/or turns yellow-ish as a result from melting. Not a problem when it comes to taste, but if you want the snowy look of stark-white confectioners’ sugar on top, coat the cookie dough balls in a little granulated sugar first. Just a light layer, then go heavy on that confectioners’ sugar topping.
Bake the cookies until they begin to crack/crinkle, about 11–12 minutes.
As the cookies bake, the confectioners’ sugar coating crinkles and cracks as the cookies take their shape. Hence, the cute crinkle name. I love these.
The Cookies Absorb the Confectioners’ Sugar
Nutella Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- This first step is optional, but I highly recommend it for best hazelnut flavor. Spread the chopped hazelnuts on a lined baking sheet. Bake in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 5–7 minutes, or until slightly darkened. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before using in the dough in step 4.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, and beat until incorporated. Add the Nutella, then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined. Add the chopped hazelnuts and beat on low until incorporated. The cookie dough will be very thick, soft, and sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this soft cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl and the confectioners’ sugar in another bowl, for rolling. Set aside.
- After chilling in the refrigerator, the cookie dough will be very crumbly and that’s ok. The warmth of your hands quickly makes the dough workable. Scoop dough and roll into balls, a very scant Tablespoon (17g) of dough each. Make an indent with your finger or thumb in the center of each dough ball, and pinch and mold until they resemble small “bowls.” Add a scant 1/2 teaspoon of Nutella into the indent of half of the dough “bowls.” Place the other (empty) bowl-shaped pieces of dough over the top of the Nutella-filled pieces, and gently pinch the sides together to seal. Gently roll each of the stuffed dough balls in your hands to smooth out into a nice round ball.
- Roll the cookie dough ball first in the granulated sugar, then very generously in the confectioners’ sugar. (Altogether, each filled and sugared dough ball should weigh about 40g.) Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 11–12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft.
- Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. You’ll notice the confectioners’ sugar coating is quite sticky while the cookies are warm, and it may absorb into the cookie a bit. The coating may take on a yellow tint because of this. You can use a sieve to sift a little more confectioners’ sugar on top once the cookies have cooled, for a fresh white coating.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! Filling the crinkle cookies with Nutella is completely optional. If you don't want to take the time for this extra shaping step, you can make these Nutella crinkle cookies without filling. There's still plenty of Nutella flavor in there! After chilling the dough, roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35–40g) of dough per cookie, and then continue with rolling the dough balls in the sugars.
There needs to be an add-in in this cookie dough, or else they will spread too much. Instead of chopped hazelnuts, you can use chocolate chips.
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