Ultimate Soft & Chewy Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prepare to be enchanted by these truly delectable Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies. Each bite offers a harmonious blend of subtle chocolate richness and the unmistakable nutty essence of hazelnut, all wrapped in a perfectly soft and delightfully chewy texture. Generous pockets of bittersweet chocolate chips are scattered throughout, providing a welcome contrast to the creamy Nutella base. This isn’t just a cookie; it’s an experience designed to become your new favorite treat.

Why You’ll Love These Nutella Cookies

These mouthwatering and remarkably simple Nutella cookies are the perfect excuse to finally open (or delightfully finish) that coveted jar of Nutella in your pantry! My carefully crafted recipe ensures each cookie delivers a beautiful balance of flavors and textures. The bittersweet chocolate chips burst with rich cocoa notes, providing an exquisite counterpoint to the smooth, creamy, and subtly hazelnut-infused Nutella dough. I’ve meticulously tested and retested the ingredient ratios to guarantee a perfect, easy-to-make cookie every time.

If your heart truly yearns for extra-chocolatey goodness beyond compare, don’t miss my other decadent creations: the rich Quadruple Chocolate Pudding Cookies, the classic Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, or the sophisticated Double Chocolate Biscotti. Each is designed to satisfy even the most intense chocolate cravings!

What Makes This the Best Nutella Cookie Recipe?

• Unforgettable Chewy Texture: Unlike many flat or cakey cookies, these Nutella masterpieces boast an irresistible chewy and thick texture, achieved through a precise ingredient balance and baking method. They are wonderfully tender on the inside with a subtle, delightful crunch on the exterior, making every bite a textural dream.
• Subtle and Nuanced Flavor Profile: The star ingredient, Nutella, infuses these cookies with an unparalleled richness and a delicate hint of hazelnut. This unique flavor elevates them far beyond ordinary chocolate chip cookies, offering a sophisticated and incredibly satisfying taste experience that is both familiar and exciting.
• Expert Guidance from a Professional Pastry Chef: As a professional pastry chef, I’ve broken down every step into clear, actionable advice. My goal is to empower you to create the softest, chewiest, and most flavor-balanced Nutella cookies with ease. This recipe includes practical tips and even a helpful how-to video in the recipe card to guide you every step of the way, ensuring your baking success.

Professional Tips for Baking Success

Achieving the perfect Nutella cookie is simple with these expert insights:

• The Indispensable Role of Brown Sugar: While you can use either light or dark brown sugar, do not completely substitute it with granulated white sugar. Brown sugar is crucial for several reasons: its molasses content adds moisture, contributing to a softer, chewier cookie, and it helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much, ensuring they remain thick and delightful.
• Gradual Flour Incorporation is Key: For cookies that are consistently thick, chewy, and tender, it’s vital to add your dry ingredients slowly to the wet mixture. Overmixing flour develops gluten, which can lead to tough cookies. I recommend adding the flour in small increments and mixing only until it’s just barely incorporated. This gentle approach ensures a perfectly tender crumb every time.
• Don’t Skip the Chill Time for Optimal Flavor and Texture: While not strictly mandatory for structure (as the butter isn’t melted), refrigerating your cookie dough for at least 2 hours, or even overnight, yields superior results. Chilling allows the flavors to meld and deepen, resulting in a more complex taste. More importantly, it firms up the butter, which prevents the cookies from spreading too rapidly in the oven, leading to those coveted thick, chewy centers.

Understanding Nutella: The Magical Hazelnut Spread

Nutella is far more than just a chocolate spread; it’s a global phenomenon! Originating in Italy, Nutella is a beloved brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Its rich, creamy texture and irresistible flavor profile, combining roasted hazelnuts with cocoa and milk, have made it a pantry staple worldwide. While Nutella is the most famous, many similar cocoa hazelnut spreads are available, each with its unique nuances. The “best” one is truly a matter of personal preference, so feel free to experiment! You can readily find Nutella and its counterparts in the spreads aisle of most grocery stores or specialty food shops.

In baking, Nutella brings a unique quality. Its fat content adds incredible moisture and tenderness to baked goods, while its distinctive hazelnut flavor elevates any recipe. It’s a versatile ingredient that transforms simple cookies into something truly extraordinary, adding depth and a gourmet touch.

Key Ingredients for Perfect Nutella Cookies

Every ingredient in this recipe plays a vital role in achieving the perfect soft, chewy, and flavorful Nutella cookie. Here’s a closer look:

• Unsalted Butter: I exclusively use unsalted butter for baking. This allows precise control over the overall salt content in the recipe, as salt levels can vary significantly between different butter brands. Softened butter is key for proper creaming with sugars, creating air pockets that contribute to the cookie’s texture.
• Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread): While I have a strong preference for the classic Nutella flavor, you are welcome to use any high-quality chocolate hazelnut spread of your choice. Nutella provides not only its iconic flavor but also adds essential moisture and fat, contributing to the cookies’ softness and chewiness. Got extra Nutella? Try my wildly popular and super easy Nutella Truffles!
• Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar is fundamental for both sweetness and moisture. Its molasses content reacts with baking soda to help the cookies rise, and it also imparts a subtle caramel-like flavor, enhancing the overall depth of taste and keeping the cookies wonderfully soft.
• Granulated Sugar: Plain granulated sugar provides essential sweetness and helps with the spread and crisping of the cookie edges. However, maintaining the correct ratio is crucial; too much granulated sugar in proportion to the Nutella and brown sugar can cause the cookies to spread too thin, losing their desired thick and chewy texture.
• Whole Egg: The single large egg in this recipe serves multiple purposes: it binds the ingredients, adds moisture, and contributes to the cookie’s structure and leavening. The fat from the yolk adds richness and helps maintain that desired chewy texture, while beating the egg sufficiently can incorporate air for a lighter crumb, depending on the desired outcome.
• Cornstarch: A secret ingredient for ultimate chewiness and thickness! Adding cornstarch to these Nutella cookies helps create a tender, soft interior that resists drying out. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can simply omit it, or substitute it with an equal amount of tapioca starch for similar results.
• Baking Soda: This leavening agent works by reacting with the acid present in the brown sugar (molasses). Baking soda creates carbon dioxide gas, which helps the cookies rise and achieve a light, airy texture while maintaining chewiness. It provides a more dramatic initial rise compared to baking powder.
• Bittersweet Chocolate Chips: I prefer Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips for these Nutella cookies. The bittersweet notes provide a delightful contrast to the sweetness of the Nutella and sugars, adding complexity and preventing the cookies from being overly sweet. Their rich flavor complements the hazelnut beautifully.
• All-Purpose Flour: The structural backbone of our cookies. All-purpose flour provides the necessary framework for the dough, ensuring the cookies hold their shape and texture. Measuring it correctly (preferably by weight) is important to avoid dense or dry cookies.
• Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is essential for balancing the sweetness and enhancing all the other flavors in the cookie. It brings out the depth of the chocolate and hazelnut, preventing the cookies from tasting one-dimensional.
• Vanilla Extract: A touch of vanilla extract is a flavor enhancer that adds warmth and depth to nearly all baked goods, complementing the chocolate and hazelnut notes beautifully without overpowering them.

For precise measurements and detailed instructions, please refer to the complete recipe card below.

Creative Variations & Serving Suggestions

While these Nutella cookies are utterly perfect as they are, there’s always room for a little culinary creativity! Here are some exciting ways to adapt and serve them:

• Decadent Ice Cream Sandwiches: Elevate your cookie experience by transforming them into glorious ice cream sandwiches. These Nutella cookies pair exquisitely with a scoop of creamy chocolate ice cream or classic vanilla bean ice cream nestled between two soft, chewy cookies. It’s a match made in dessert heaven!
• Endless Mix-in Possibilities: The beauty of this Nutella cookie dough lies in its versatility. Feel free to experiment with a variety of mix-ins to create your signature treat! Consider adding rolled oats for a chewier texture, finely chopped toasted hazelnuts to intensify the hazelnut flavor, or even a sprinkle of vibrant candied citrus peel for a bright, zesty contrast. You could also swap out the chocolate chips for chopped chocolate bars, similar to how I do in my Salted Chocolate Cherry Pistachio Pecan Bark. Don’t forget to share your favorite mix-ins in the comments – I’d love to try them!
• Indulgent Nutella Stuffed Cookies: For an extra layer of gooey indulgence, turn these into stuffed cookies. Simply flatten each portion of cookie dough into a disc. Then, wrap this disc around a frozen scoop of peanut butter, a soft caramel candy, or even more Nutella! The frozen center helps it stay intact during baking, resulting in a molten core of deliciousness.
• Salty-Sweet Finish: To achieve an elevated gourmet touch, sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt or Fleur de Sel over the tops of the cookie dough balls just before baking. This simple addition beautifully enhances the chocolate and hazelnut flavors, creating a sophisticated salty-sweet contrast that’s absolutely irresistible.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Nutella Cookies

Crafting these delicious Nutella cookies is a straightforward and rewarding process. Follow these detailed steps to ensure perfect results:

Further details and precise measurements can be found in the comprehensive recipe card below!

Make the cookie dough:

Step 1: Prepare Dry Ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and kosher salt. Ensure these ingredients are thoroughly combined to guarantee even leavening and seasoning throughout your cookies. Set this mixture aside.

Step 2: Cream Wet Ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream together the softened unsalted butter, Nutella, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed. Continue mixing until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and lightened in color, usually taking about 2-3 minutes. Next, add the large egg and vanilla extract. Continue mixing for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and well-aerated. Remember to stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula at least once during this process to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Step 3: Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures. Reduce your stand mixer’s speed to low. Gradually add the whisked flour mixture to the wet ingredients in small additions. This slow incorporation prevents flour from scattering and helps develop the perfect cookie texture. I typically add the flour in 5-7 small batches, mixing each addition only until it’s just incorporated into the dough. Overmixing at this stage can lead to tough cookies. Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times during this process to ensure all dry ingredients are fully mixed in. Finally, add the bittersweet chocolate chips and briefly mix on low speed, just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Step 4: Scoop the Dough (and Chill, if Desired). Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, portion the dough into even balls. Place these dough balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, plate, or tray. While optional, chilling your cookie dough is highly recommended as it greatly enhances the flavors and contributes to a chewier, thicker cookie. Cover the scooped dough balls well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. This chilling period allows the ingredients to fully meld and prevents excessive spreading during baking.

Bake:

Step 5: Preheat Oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Ensure the oven reaches the correct temperature before baking for consistent results.

Step 6: Bake the Cookies. Arrange the chilled (or unchilled) dough balls on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading. Bake in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges appear set and slightly golden brown, while the centers still look soft and slightly underbaked. For even baking, I recommend rotating your cookie sheet halfway through the baking time, around the 6-minute mark.

Step 7: Cool and Enjoy. Once baked, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Allow the Nutella cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a crucial 5 minutes. This allows them to firm up slightly before you attempt to move them. After 5 minutes, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cooling on a rack promotes air circulation, preventing soggy bottoms. Once cooled to your liking, savor every delightful bite!

Frequently Asked Questions About Nutella Cookies

If you tried this wonderful recipe and loved it, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I truly love hearing from you; your feedback and comments always make my day!

Before You Go: Explore More Deliciousness!

I genuinely hope you enjoyed baking and tasting these professional chef-tested Nutella cookies. This recipe is a true testament to how simple ingredients can create extraordinary flavors. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting your culinary journey, these cookies are sure to impress.

If you’re eager to continue your baking adventures, I invite you to explore our collection of other delicious cookie recipes. Or, if the delightful hazelnut flavor has captured your heart, keep that trend going with my elegant Flourless Chocolate Torte, a rich and sophisticated dessert that perfectly showcases the magic of hazelnuts. Happy baking!