Four Ingredient Nutella Sandwich Cookies

Yep, you got it.  Four.  That’s one more than 3 and one less than 5.  I won’t lie, usually I’m skeptical about recipes that brag about their lack of ingredients, but this one had me at Nutella.  We have another yummy cookie recipe that involves Nutella, but they’re more of a sweet little chocolate cookie with a hint of Nutella.  In fact, you might not know there was Nutella in there unless someone told you.  They’re perfectly delicious, but if you’re looking for a cookie that undoubtedly tastes like the heavenly hazelnut spread, this is for you.  These little guys come out soft and almost brownie-like in the center with a slightly crunchy crumb around the edges.  The fact that they take only 3 additional ingredients (besides the Nutella), about 90 seconds to prep, and can be in your mouth in about 15 minutes start to finish, is like a gift from above.

You’ll need four things for this recipe.  A 13 ounce jar of Nutella (that’s the small jar), a large or extra large egg, a couple tablespoons of butter, and flour.  Totally random un-sponsored side-note:  I really like the new branding on Gold Medal flours.  Have you guys noticed those?  They’re all in different colored bags with cute fonts and graphics.  If they had a marketing meeting and tried to design packaging to woo middle-aged female consumers to buy their product because of aesthetics, it totally worked.  I’ve bought who-knows-which-kind twice now simply because the bag is Tiffany-Blue and I can’t resist it.  Anyway…more on flour in a minute.

We’ll use most of the jar of Nutella in the dough, but save a little for the filling.

I love that it perfectly uses one whole jar.

Just mix up the Nutella, 2 tablespoons softened butter, and a large or extra large egg.

Beat it up till it’s nice and creamy-smooth

And then add the flour.  This recipe calls for self-rising cake flour.  If you have some, or see it at the store, use it.  Sometimes however, it’s hard to find cake flour in self-rising.  So if you’re stuck with the choice of either buying plain cake flour, or regular self-rising flour, pick the self-rising.  It’s working double (or actually triple) duty here since it has both baking powder and salt in it.  *If you want to make your own self-rising flour, see the proportions at the very end of this post all about flour.

Beat the flour in until you have a soft sticky dough.  Don’t add more flour, it’s supposed to be sticky.

If you have a cookie scoop, definitely use it.  Otherwise, roll balls by the tablespoon and keep hands dough free by giving them a spritz of non-stick spray or a light dusting of flour.  Place balls on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.  They should look puffed up and set all over, but still soft in the center if you touch them.  10 minutes exactly was perfect for mine.

After they’ve cooled, use a sharp knife to gently cut them in half.  The outside edge will be crumbly so you do have to use a light hand.  I find it easiest to take a sharp serrated knife and gently cut all the way around the circumference of the cookie first and then slice right through.

Then you’ll slather a little Nutella right in the middle there.  Since these cookies are so soft and Nutella is kind of sticky, it can help to heat it up just a tiny bit.  Make sure you removed any remnants of the metal covering on your jar and then you can heat the jar for about 10 seconds in the microwave.

Sandwich those babies together and start popping them in your mouth.

I love how the centers are so soft, but you get a little crunch on the outside.  The extra little kick of Nutella in the center is perfecto.

The only downside is that the recipe only makes 16-18 cookies.

So you should definitely make them when no one else is at home and you can destroy all of the evidence.

 


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Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. I just made these and added a half cup of Hershey’s milk chocolate chips to the dough. Oh. My. Chocolate! Delicious!

  2. Had to try these this weekend because my sweet daughter (a huge nutella fan) was home for the weekend. Definitely a hit!

  3. I just made these because, well, why not. Who doesn’t have nutella in their pantry?! Delicious. I added a tad of vanilla to the batter & then made small cookies…sandwiched with nutella & yum! Thanks for sharing.

  4. I made your first nutella cookies and used the small cookie scoop size. then I sandwiched them together with nutella in the middle. I freeze the mini scoops of dough and then I can bake them whenever I want! fast and easy (after all the initial hard work) and my kids beg for them! they are sooo good. Thanks for sharing this recipe too. Heating the nutella is a smart idea! And removing the foil…microwave foil fires are not cool. I found that out the hard way!

  5. Have you noticed that Jif is now making a chocolate hazelnut spread? I have been wondering if it is just like Nutella or different. I fell in love with Nutella when we lived in Munich, Germany. So glad we can get it in the USA now.

  6. Oh my YUM! I just made these with my little girl. I was worried they wouldn’t be as good because my dough wasn’t sticky, maybe I should have left out some flour, but they are delicious! Thank you for another yummy recipe!

  7. Oh, Sara, I’m so glad there’s somebody else out there that falls for pretty packaging, even if the product isn’t very exciting. I totally fall for cute rebranding all the time. 🙂 And these cookies look amazing, by the way. Thanks for being an inspiration in kitchen and at home!

  8. I have a somewhat unrelated question… What kind of mixer do you have? If its a kitchenaid, I have never seen that attachment!!

  9. as a nutella fan, you would probably love 2 ingredient nutella ice cream…on chocolateandzucchini.com

    1. For a variety of reasons I did not sandwich them with more nutella and they were still rich and delicious.

      1. Ok, I had some cookies left and decided I better try them the way the recipe was written so I cut them apart and smeared a little more nutella on. They were great that way, too. I really think they can go either way.

    2. You could certainly eat them alone, but I thought they were way, way better with Nutella in the middle.

      1. I made them… I doubled the recipe and added 1 tsp of vanilla. I agree they were much better sandwiched. Still yummy alone though. Next time I will probably do 1 tsp of vanilla per batch. I also used the self rising flour substitue with all purpose flour and it was fine. Only issue was I used salted butter so they were a bit salty for me (my own fault, should have cut back on the additional salt to make the self rising flour).

  10. Only 4 ingredients–genius! Love the taste of Nutella. Now if they could just figure out how to make it without palm oil.

  11. I hope someone reports back when they make these ’cause they look delicious, but I could see them being a huge pain to split and fill if they are very soft inside. I might try them, but until then I’ll just keep eating my Nutella straight up on a spoon!

    1. Hey now, *I* just reported back, haha! They’re not a pain, like I said, just use a serrated knife and warm up the nutella before spreading and it’s no biggie. As long as you use a sharp knife and a light hand they should be fine. I did the whole batch in about 5 mins. Easy peasy!

      1. It might work best to use a plastic serrated knife to cut through, like you would for brownies – I’ll report back if I make these, which would be dangerous because I tried Nutella for the first time last week and now can’t resist it and would have to eat the entire batch because my husband doesn’t like Nutella… = )

      2. Sorry Sara, I didn’t mean that you didn’t count. 🙂 I just like to read some reviews of new recipes before I try them. Thanks for the recipe; I’m sure I’ll try it soon!

    2. Not going to lie, I just made these and I do think it was kind of a pain to cut them open. I think next time I would make then smaller and sandwich two together or just put some Nutella on top. I just want to eat a cookie once it is done baking I don’t like having to sit there and cut them all opn (besides the mess it made.)

  12. I have gone over the recipe several times…I see to bake them for 10 minutes, but @ what tempature? thanks.

  13. What if I only have regular flour? Any idea how much salt and baking powder I would need to add?

  14. Of to google substitutions for self-rising cake flour so I can make these without dragging the kids to the store today. Thanks!

  15. These look great! I think this might be one I try on Saturday for my Utah State football party! Go Aggies! 🙂

  16. How are you not 500 pounds!?! These look amazing….and yeah…..I’m not sharing! lol

  17. these look delicious…and can i just say, as the mom of a nut-allergic kid, that IF you were to take these to a church supper or other potluck, it would be SUPER AWESOME if you also put a little card on the plate to let people know they contain nuts. these kids of recipes, where the end product doesn’t look like it contains nuts, totally terrify me. i know that probably no one will read this comment so it won’t make any difference anyway, but i had to say it anyway :).

    1. That’s a great reminder Amelia, you’re right- no one would know these have nuts in them since they’re disguised as chocolate cookies! I have a couple of nephews that have severe nut allergies so I think about those things too, especially at family gatherings. A little label is a great idea!

    2. Thanks for the reminder Amelia, I never think about that since we don’t have nut allergies in our home.

      1. I usually send baked goods to work with my hubby after i’ve “sampled” them and he always, always, always will put a little note “contains nutella” or “contains peanut butter” on them so if someone grabs one when he’s not around nobody will have any issues. It’s a great reminder for adults too!

    3. I agree with you Amelia. My daughter and granddaughter are both allergic to nuts and they do not look like they have nuts in them. I wish every potluck, that people would identify the item and on the back of the card list the ingredients. I am gluten free and it is hard to go eat at these kind of events. Thanks for letting me put thoughts out there!

  18. It’s like you knew it was Monday and gloomy and everyone at my house was sick or something! Thanks for the chocolate boost!

  19. I’m pretty sure today is a perfect day to make these cookies! But I only have the big jar of Nutella. Based on the serving size and number of servings I calculated that a small jar should have about 1 1/4 cup of Nutella. So if I use 1 cup for the cookies and 1/4 cup for the filling does that sound about right?

    1. You don’t need to change anything Ellie- the recipe calls for 3/4 cup of Nutella in the dough so just use that. Unless you want to double it and have enough for 1 1/2 cups for the dough. The filling doesn’t really need to be measured, so just use what you have left to spread a little (or a lot, haha) on the cookies!

      1. I read through the ingredient list looking for the nutella measurement but not the instructions. Sorry! I’m going to make them right now and my kids will be so happy when they get home from school. Thanks!

  20. I tried the other recipe you guys have and its great but I thought it would have more Nutella flavor, this one sounds perfect! Now I just need to pick up some Nutella.