Nutella Filled Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
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Nutella Filled Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies are crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and topped with creamy Nutella. They’re delicious and easy to make.
We love Nutella, and our Peanut Butter Coffee Cake and Hazelnut Cookie Bars are amazing!
Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies transform the classic Thumbprint cookie to gourmet status.
These Nutella Thumbprint cookies are soft and tender in the middle with a delightful crunch on the outside.
The creamy Nutella filling has you anticipating that creamy chocolate hazelnut bite in the center.
This Nutella Filled Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies with nuts is so versatile, can be made ahead. Make plenty because they disappear quickly.
My daughter first discovered Nutella while studying in France. When she came home, she would buy her own jar and it was off limits!
I don’t think the rest of us really cared. What you don’t know won’t hurt you and all of that gibberish. Well, her mamma raised no fool!
I had some hazelnuts left over and in the freezer from the Esterhazy Torte that I made. They would stare me in the face every time I opened the door (yes, I channel food. It talks to me).
I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to use some of those nuts.
A thumbprint cookie is quite simply a cookie dough that has an indentation in the center that’s filled after baking. It’s like a cookie with benefits!
How to make Thumbprint Cookies
We used an electric stand mixer for this recipe but you can just as easily mix it by hand.
Also, we preheated our oven before we even got started. Ovens vary but you want it well heated before the cookies are ready to bake.
- Add the wet ingredients including butter, egg yolks, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and almond milk.
- Beat on a medium speed until ingredients are well combined and fluffy.
- Add flour and salt to the wet ingredients.
As you can see, the batter will be thick.
- Shape dough into 2-tablespoon balls.
- Roll the balls of dough in egg whites.
- Roll balls of dough in the chopped hazelnuts.
- Press the top of the dough ball to make an indent. You can also use the back of a wooden spoon or any utensil with a round handle.
- Bake and allow the cookies to cool completely before adding the Nutella. If cookies are warm the Nutella filling will not keep its piped shape.
Thumbprint tips and variations
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- Hazelnuts can be hard to find, can be expensive, or not your favorite nut.
- Exchange them for walnuts, almonds, macadamias, pecans, or peanuts.
- We used dry-roasted unsalted hazelnuts.
- We love the combination of Nutella and hazelnuts. But you can use other fillings such as these.
- Jam
- Chocolate kisses
- We bake our cookies on parchment paper or on a silicone matt. Putting the cookies on a greased baking sheet can cause the cookies to spread.
- We used a piping bag with a star tip.
- If you don’t have a piping bag, you can snip the corner of a plastic bag or just spoon it in.
Storage and Make Ahead Tips
- This recipe makes approximately 22 cookies which is great for sharing. These cookies can also be frozen after they’ve been baked but before they’re filled in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Nutella has a good shelf life but it isn’t recommended that it be frozen because the texture can change. So, fill them after you’ve removed them from the freezer and allowed them to thaw.
- Note Nutella can go rancid so pay attention to the use-by date.
- Nutella has a good shelf life but it isn’t recommended that it be frozen because the texture can change. So, fill them after you’ve removed them from the freezer and allowed them to thaw.
- Baked and filled Hazelnut Baked Cookies should be stored at room temperature, preferably in a cooler area. Refrigerating Nutella can also change its consistency.
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I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.
Nutella Filled Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond milk (any milk, or cream will work)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs Separate the yolks from the whites.
- 12 teaspoons unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks, softened)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup hazelnuts chopped, (I used dry-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts)
- Nutella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F.
- In the bowl of a standing, electric mixer, combine the butter, combine egg yolks, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add milk, vanilla extract, flour, and salt. Beat until combined.
- Chop nuts and put them on a plate large enough to roll your cookies.
- Beat egg whites with a fork in a small bowl until airy (2 minutes).
- Scoop two tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball. Coat the ball in egg whites and then roll in chopped hazelnuts. Gently press your thumb into the center of the cookie until indented. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges. If indentation has disappeared, press gently with the end or a wooden spoon while hot. Cool completely.
- Pipe or spoon Nutella topping into the indented center. Store in a covered container in a cool place.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
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This post was updated to improve readers’ experience. No changes were made to the recipe.
Now I’m all for a good cookie and for sharing! Tell me what your favorite cookie is in the comments below because we never have enough cookies.
Sweet baby Jesus…. I can’t even tell you how delicious those cookies look!! I’m pretty sure I would devour the entire batch 😛 Cookie Mondays sounds like an awesome thing, I’ll have to check it out 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe with us at Fiesta Friday! Pinned, yummed, and stumbled 🙂
Ha thank you Amanda! I am sure that Emily would love another contributor to her series if you had the time. She has featured some pretty yummy cookies. Thank you for co-hosting Fiesta Friday and sharing my recipe!
Ha! Better late than never! Welcome to being a Nutella fan. 😉 I just had my 750g of Nutella because there are so much amazig recipes with Nutella anc this is just one of them. Thanks for sharing, Julie. Happy FF! 🙂
Thank you Jhuls! I think I will also be graduating to the larger jar. 🙂 Happy FF to you too.
Leading me into luscious sin!
Thank you! I know, there are just to many temptations right?
My lo love nutlla,I should try this
Thank you! It is such a good cookie!
Omg these cookies looks crazy good Julie and nutella on top looks yummmm….
Thank you Chitra! They are every bit as delicious as they look!
I never had Nutella but this cookie is a reason to buy it. Went to retrieve the recipe. Thanks, Julie.
Thank you! It was a first for me too! I was afraid to admit it but found I wasn’t the only one. I am a convert!
I love Nutella – I eat it directly from the jar. I’m sure it goes very well with your cookies.
Thank you Ana! I am afraid to eat it from the jar! I’m afraid I wouldn’t stop until it was gone.
You had me a Nutella! So glad you had it for the first time 😀
You definitely joined the Nutella party with a bang Julie! These look amazing!
Thank you Michelle! They should call that stuff crack! Thanks for stopping by!
They really should! I only allow myself to bake with it now, otherwise the whole jar is gone in one sitting with nothing but a spoon for company haha
I’m the same…weaaaakkkk!
Omg these sound amazing!
Thank you Jewels! They are history unfortunately.
Those cookies left me drooling and I don’t have much of a cookie tooth! Off to reading te recipe. My kids would love it for sure.
Thank you Sonal! No cookie tooth? I can’t even imagine that. The nice thing is they are so quick to make and more shortbread than horribly sweet.
I am sold on these. I like artisan kind cookies than the regular ones… You might see mine soon and totally a shout out for you
Thank you Sonal! You are such a peach! I like chocolate a lot, but too much sweet and I don’t enjoy it a bit.
These are perfection, I wish I could sink my teeth into one right now 🙂
Thank you! We are lucky that we can’t eat everything that we see right?
They look delicious Julie – I have a jar in my pantry waiting for me to make something. I bought it awhile ago for a recipe (can’t remember) and then more recently with Jhuls cheesecake bars. It’s hard to keep up with everything but your cookies are now added to my “nutella” list 🙂
Thank you Judi! I will definitely be making these again. I have those lists of things I want to make but I don’t know where they all go. Trying to come up with dinner tonight and drawing a blank!
I know the feeling – sometimes I would give Gene a cookbook and tell him to pick out some recipes
Cookies are sooooo inviting.
Thank you so much Neela! They are yummy indeed!
WHAT!! I want one right now! Omygoodness!
Thank you! When you have one of these you know you’ve had a good cookie. Some cookies I eat them and wonder where it went and should I have another? This one satisfies….until I want another one. 🙂
What a great looking cookie!! Never too late to join a nutella party. My favorite is making chocolate wafer cookies like oreos, but using nutella for the filling, instead of the white stuff.
OMG Dave what an amazing idea!
Ok – can I just scrape out the white part of an oreo and fill it with nutella!?
I had someone that told me that they make chocolate cookies and fill them with nutella! My horizons are opening up on the nutella band wagon.
My sister puts a tablespoon in milk and puts it in the microwave for a minute for instant hazlenut hot chocolate. It’s too rich for me and not quite smooth.
Oh my goodness you’ve never had Nutella, you’re going to want to bake with it all the time now!! Its definitely one of my faves 🙂
I know Jenna! Only the big jar for me from now on! Thanks for stopping!
Julie, I am new to Nutella, too! I have only had it once. Your cookies look so delicious with all of those nuts, and then the Nutella in the middle. The way you piped it is so pretty! I saw you said you only allow yourself one a day. I don’t know how you have such self control. I don’t think I could do that. But I would like to try…. 🙂
Ha! It’s because my jeans are tight and we are going to the Dominican Republic next month! I don’t even want to think about swim suits! 🙂 Now you have the truth. If it was December, they would be gone.
I feel better now, knowing I’m not alone in not being able to resist cookies! 🙂 How exciting about your trip! You have to do a post on your travels. I would love to see pictures of the Dominican Republic.
Nutella is great! 🙂 Lovely on toast for a quick and easy “hit” but the cooked looks great 🙂
Ah thank you Petra! I don’t think I could be trusted to have a bit just for breakfast! I’d be sneaking a spoon here and there all day.
JULIE!!! I’ve never had Nutella either!!! We’re twins!! Except, now you have, and now you’ve made these delicious cookies, which I would REALLY like to make. Maybe I’ll have to joint the nutella band wagon.. I think it’s time. Wonder if I’ll literally be the last one…..
Ha! I don’t know that I recommend you start. I have a cake challenge due and I almost made nutella stuffed hazelnut cake. I may have to rename the blog.
HAHA! Julie- I’m with you. The last thing I need in my life is another unhealthy love affair, I’m quite set as it is! I’ll just take everyone’s word for it!:)
Oh gosh Julie….. you tease!!!!!! These are lip-smacking delicious, I can only dream of what this would taste like. Oh how I wish I had joined the blogging world when my kids lived at home. I dare not tempt myself by making these, as I have no self-control and could very easily down a batch on my own. Or perhaps if we’d lived closer, I’d have visited you for tea one afternoon. 🙂 Great job, loved the picture too and the piping job! Splendid! You are amazing, flitting from being a “bread queen” and now a “cookie queen”? Great stuff Julie!
Oh Loretta, I would just love to make these and have tea with you! I don’t know how I could have blogged when my kids were home and I worked too! I know lots of ladies do it and some put in lots of hours. The photography is starting to make sense. Of course we are always at the mercy of that darned daylight!
Julie, Yes, you’re right about those who blog and work and have families to look after too. Quite amazing! But I guess what I meant by “I wish my kids were still at home with me now when blogging”, was because there are so many wonderful recipes out there, like your nutella cookies, and if I were to make them, I would have absolutely no self-control. If my girls were still living at home, at least they would have helped me -my husband does not have a sweet tooth like me, and even if I were to freeze them, I’d eat them out of the freezer in their frozen state :).
Gotcha! A lot of mine go to my young neighbors or to John’s office. They gobble up anything that crosses their doors!
Julie! This is bad! I now have to make these for my daughter who loves Nutella…Or at least give her the recipe. 🙂
Thank you! I would love to hear what she thinks! Make sure if you make them to move them out as quickly as possible or she wont get a chance to try them!
There could only be one way to improve beloved thumprint cookies…fill them with beautifully piped Nutella!!!! Magnifique, Julie!
Thank you Johanne! I am converted. I agree and will have to move up to the big jar next time! 🙂
These cookies look just wonderful, Julie! I discovered Nutella on my very first visit to Germany many years ago. It is often served at breakfast there. What a lovely way to begin the day! I had to make a little ‘rule’ ~ I only eat Nutella while traveling abroad! Wishing you a sweet week! ♡
Thank you Dawn! That is a VERY good rule. If I had Nutella for breakfast, it would be all own hill from there!
Oh my god! These cookies look soo good, Julie! Especially that Nutella!
Andrea I have never been this excited about a cookie. I allow myself one a day and boy are they good! Thank you for visiting!