These peanut butter Nutella cookies are large, chewy, and packed full of sweet peanut butter and mouthwatering Nutella! The Nutella is both swirled into the dough itself and melted on top of the cookie when it is fresh out of the oven! It's a perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter!
Help Us Out!If you love a recipe, be sure to come back and share your ratings. This helps future users, and allows me to continue sharing free recipes! Angela
Instructions
Prepare the Cookie Dough
Using your stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on high speed for 2 minutes, or until the color has lightened and the mixture is nice and fluffy.
Add in the creamy peanut butter, vanilla extract, and room-temperature eggs. Beat on high speed for another minute. *Note that the mixture will be very creamy.
Add the sifted all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt and mix using low speed. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Only mix until the batter is just combined, making sure to avoid over-mixing the dough.
Fold the optional mini chocolate chips into the dough if using. Use a spoon to drop dollops of Nutella on top of the cookie dough (using ½ cup of Nutella in total). Then, use a butter knife to swirl the Nutella into the dough.
Transfer the bowl of cookie dough to the fridge and let it chill for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Then, using the remaining Nutella, use a half teaspoon to scoop out Nutella and drop it onto the prepared baking sheet (you'll want to have at least 24 dollops of Nutella). Place the baking sheet into the freezer.
Bake The Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
Once the cookies are done chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with some parchment paper.
Use a large ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough and place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to space them out. Place the tray into the fridge while you scoop the remaining cookie dough.
Bake one sheet at a time in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden.
Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately top them with the frozen dollops of Nutella. Let the cookies sit on the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
When baking, you should always measure your flour out using the spoon and level method. This prevents over-packing the measuring cup, which leads to dry and crumbly cookies.
When swirling the Nutella into the cookie dough, make sure you get it all the way down to the bottom of the mixing bowl!
For best results, don't use natural peanut butter as it won't have as strong of a peanut butter flavor as the standard variety does.
To store: Keep your peanut butter Nutella cookies in an airtight jar or container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To freeze already baked cookies: Place your cookies into a sealed container and freeze them for up to 1 month.
To freeze dough: Go ahead and portion your dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet and flash freeze the dough. Wrap the balls tightly in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer for up to 1 month.
To bake frozen cookie dough: The frozen dough can be baked straight from frozen, there is no need to thaw them out. However, you may need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.