I had leftover hazelnuts and Nutella butter cream and wanted to use them up. These cookies are the perfect mix of chocolate, nuts, and more chocolate!
I started with my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and swapped out the walnuts for the toasted, chopped hazelnuts. After the cookies cooled I piped some of the Nutella butter cream on one cookie and sandwiched with another cookie.
To make them over-the-top I melted up a little milk chocolate and dunked half of each sandwich for an extra chocolate hit. These cookies are rich and flavorful with slight toffee hint from the browned butter in the dough.
The hazelnuts are a nice crunchy addition and pair well with the smooth Nutella butter cream filling. Adding a dip of melted milk chocolate to the outside is just gilding the lily.
Here is how you can make your own:
Start by making the cookies. You can find the entire recipe here.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment or a silpat. Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars (make sure to use Dark Brown Sugar) and salt. Set aside.
Melt 10 tablespoons of the butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan constantly until the butter takes on a nutty aroma and a lightly browned color. Immediately remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Add the remaining butter and stir until melted.
Pour the melted butter into the sugar mixture and whisk until well combined. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla to the sugar/butter mixture and whisk until smooth.
Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes then whisk again for 30 seconds. Continue this process two more times until the mixture is thick and shiny then pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
Add the chocolate chunks and the nuts, stirring until combined. Using a medium scoop arrange dough on cookie sheets around 2 inches apart and bake for 10-14 minutes or until the edges start to brown but the tops still look soft. This will ensure that you get a soft, moist cookie with a slightly crunchy edge. Let the cookies cool completely on wire rack before filling with butter cream.
You can find the entire recipe for the Nutella Butter Cream here. Since mine was left over from a previous baking recipe I just re-mixed the butter cream to get it creamy and smooth again and placed it into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
I piped a small amount of filling on one side of a cooled cookie and then placed another cookie on top. After all the sandwiches were made I popped them into the fridge to set while I melted the chocolate for dunking…
Melt some chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Keep stirring until most of the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until all the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Remove the cookies from the fridge and dunk one half of each sandwich into the melted chocolate letting the chocolate drip off before laying the cookie on some parchment paper.
Let the chocolate dry completely or add some chocolate sprinkles for extra decoration. Keep cookies in a airtight container or ziplock baggie.
