Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened, I used salted
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 jar of Nutella
• Sea salt for sprinkling tops, if desired

Directions

1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl for 30 seconds, then put the bowl aside. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture looks lighter and fluffy, about 3 – 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, letting each one blend in before adding the next, and add the vanilla with the second egg. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the dry mixture, and mix only until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips. Move the dough to an airtight container and chill it for 2 hours.
2. While the dough chills, cover a baking sheet with wax paper. Drop the Nutella onto the prepared sheet in 1 1/2 tsp portions, making separate small mounds, and continue until you have 30. Place the sheet in the freezer for 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. When you are ready to shape the cookies, take the dough from the refrigerator and portion it into about 2 Tbsp pieces, then roll them into balls. Take about 4 Nutella mounds from the freezer at a time, leaving the rest cold so they stay firm and easy to handle. Press your thumbs into the middle of each dough ball to make a deep hollow large enough for a Nutella mound. Set the frozen Nutella into the hollow, then bring the dough up and around it, pinching and pressing until the Nutella is fully enclosed so it cannot escape in the oven. Arrange the filled dough balls on a Silpat-lined or buttered baking sheet and bake for 9 – 12 minutes.
4. Take the cookies out of the oven and, if you like, add a light sprinkle of sea salt over the tops. Let them rest on the baking sheet for several minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store the cookies in an airtight container.
5. For a deeper chocolate flavor, you can add up to an additional 1/4 cup cocoa powder and reduce the flour by the same amount. For example, if you use 2 Tbsp more cocoa powder, use 2 Tbsp less flour.
6. If you want chocolate chips visible on top, reserve some before mixing them into the dough and press them onto the shaped cookies right before baking. About 1/2 cup works well for this, but it is optional; otherwise, simply stir all of the chips into the dough.