Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nutella, Brown Butter and Sea Salt

Well, that right there? That’s about all you need to know. I rest my case.

Haha, just kidding…sort of. Seeing a title and picture of these cookies was all I needed to know they should be in my life. Chocolate chip cookies may just be my favorite dessert of all. They are so classic, comforting…they are the thing I crave. For me after the kids are finally in bed, my happy place is on the couch with a cookie, small glass of milk and a good book. Normally this is a classic that, in my opinion, needs no improving. But…it’s just so hard to argue against brown butter, Nutella and a sprinkling of sea salt. I mean, really.

I used a technique suggested by a reader for the filling of the pumpkin cream cheese muffins, freezing the little dollops of Nutella so that the cookies would be easier to assemble. This was definitely a good way to go (I love the technique for the muffins too!) Enjoy them this weekend in your happy place!

Yield about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

Chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella), about ½ cup
1 cup (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. coarse sea salt, plus more sprinkling
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. greek yogurt or sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

01
Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Place chocolate hazelnut spread in a plastic bag toward one corner of the bag. Twist so that it does not squeeze out of the top. Snip one corner off the end of the bag. Pipe small dollops of the spread onto the wax paper, about 1-1½ teaspoons each. You will need about 2 dozen. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and let sit until firm, about 2 hours.
02
Place the butter in a medium to large skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter completely. Continue to cook, whisking frequently, until the butter foams, bubbles slightly, and begins to brown. Continue whisking until the butter is evenly browned, being careful not to burn. Remove from the heat and let cool.
03
Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugars and the brown butter. Mix on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Blend in the egg and egg yolk, scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and greek yogurt. With the mixer on low speed, blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough briefly, about 30 minutes.
04
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Use a medium dough scoop (about 2 tablespoons) to scoop a portion of cookie dough. Press an indentation into the center of the dough ball to create a bowl shape. Place a dollop of the frozen Nutella in the indentation and pinch together the edges of the cookie dough over the top to completely seal it in the center. (I then like to sort of “rough up” the surface of my cookies by making tiny pinches in the top part of the dough. It yields a more irregular, visually appealing finished product.)
05
Place the shaped cookies on the prepared baking sheets, 2-3 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and set, rotating the pans halfway through, about 14 minutes total. When the cookies are finished baking, sprinkle lightly with additional sea salt. Let sit a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough as needed (if you can resist eating it.) Be sure to replace the remaining Nutella dollops in the freezer while waiting for cookies to bake. It softens fairly quickly otherwise.

Source

slightly adapted from Ambitious Kitchen