peanut butter cookies stuffed with nutella
Every time I bake cookies, I think about this one story that my mom tells about me baking cookies with her at almost two-years-old when she was pregnant with my little sister. I mean, younger sister, as she is already 23 years old! How time flies. So it was an afternoon back in Taipei, my birth city, and I was watching the cookies bake in the oven. At two, 10 minutes can seem like a long, long time, so I asked my mom every minute “When will the cookies be ready?” Sweet as my mom is, she answered with a smile each time without losing patience, “Soon, mi vida, soon…” After seven minutes I couldn’t wait any longer and explained in baby talk, “Oh, I see, it’s just like baby. Baby takes a long time to make too. We have to wait!”
At 24, waiting for cookies to bake still seems like a long time, and every time I put them in the oven I just can’t wait to see the result. Will they be soft? Crunchy? Gooey? What if I left them one minute too long, will I have ruined it all? Tastewise, I know they’ll be great, given that I try the batter—and fight with my sister over who gets to wipe out the bowl with the spatula—before baking them. And if the batter isn’t right, I’ll tweak it until perfect.
Last night I wanted to bake a new batch of cookies for my husband Jon. Something different from my usual chocolate chip cookies recipe, which he and my best friend love so much that they never want to try anything new. Before even mentioning that I was going to bake cookies—so as to avoid the “Oh yay chocolate chip cookies please!”—I decided to try out something that I’ve wanted to do for a while—chocolate and peanut butter cookies.
Is there truly anything better than the mix between chocolate and peanut butter? Salt and sweet? Reese’s peanut butter cups, anyone? Instead of including chocolate chips in regular peanut butter cookies, I sought inspiration in one of The Tough Cookie‘s recipes and decided to enhance the nutty taste with dollops of Nutella concealed inside each cookie, so that only the baker knows the true secret behind each bite…
Needless to say that Jon loved them, and they’ve become a regular in my cookie jar at home. I hope they’ll become one of yours too! I’ll get back to my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe in a future post, but for now, indulge in the sweetness below. Happy baking!
- ⅓ cup + 2 teaspoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) creamy peanut butter
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (110g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- 7 tablespoons Nutella
- Prepare the batter by mixing the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix well until creamy and well combined. Add the peanut butter to the mixture and continue mixing until smooth. Add the vanilla and egg and slightly mix together.
- In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix the ingredients until well combined and add, in batches, to the large mixing bowl, mixing well with a spatula after each addition. If you’re like me, taste the batter and adjust with more peanut butter for a nuttier taste.
- Take 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter cookie batter, roll it in a ball and flatten it to form a circle. Add ½ tablespoon of Nutella at the center of each cookie circle and roll it up nicely again in the shape of a ball. Don’t worry if any Nutella oozes from the cookie dough—it will only contribute to a fantastic cookie design.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place all the cookie dough balls. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and press each cookie down slightly with a fork. Return the cookies to the oven for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before moving to a wire rack.
How did your peanut butter Nutella cookies come out? Share photos of your recipe on Instagram by tagging #savormania