Soft, spicy gingerbread cookies stuffed full of Nutella. I could go on, but really I don’t feel like I need too. GINGERBREAD AND NUTELLA. I mean come on.
Growing up, my family had this tradition of cutting down a mammoth Christmas tree straight from the hillside every year. If Christmas trees were Harry Potter characters, ours would be Hagrid. “Simply too big to be allowed.”
Seriously, we’re talkin’ like 12-13 feet. And every year my poor dad risks life and limb by standing tippy-toe on the highest step of the ladder, to lasso the lights and tinsel around the very top.
This week my parents were jet-lagged from vacation, and my Dad was sick, so a trip to The Mountains (what I dubbed any locale with even the slightest altitude as a kid—we are valley-folk, what can I say) had to be foregone this year. Instead we trekked on over to Costco. For a completely normal-sized tree. This is a first, folks.
With my dad out for the count, it was my job to light up that sucker. No big deal, right? How hard can it be? Just throw some lights up and plug it in.
WRONG. That measly little tree DEFEATEDÂ me. I haven’t thrown a tantrum like that since I found out Reese’s shrunk the size of their cups. I mean we are talking foot-stamping, twinkle-light-hucking outrage, complete with girly squeals. Why is it so hard?? It looked like a nest for a bird of prey. And then since things had already gone to pot I let Charlotte do the tinsel All By Herself. This tree’s a winner guys.
Hopefully the rest of you are not as twinkle-light inept as I am. In any case, I have this to make me feel better:
I officially (and retroactively) proclaim it gingerbread week. We started off on Monday with these Frosted Peppermint Gingerbread Bars, and today we are getting in your face with these Nutella Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies. Last year I made this same cookie but with chocolate chunks in them, and they were amaaaazing. The dough recipe is from the lovely Alaina over at Fabtastic Eats, who made these Caramel Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies. Yeah, read that again.
Pretty much any way you embellish this dough, you are going to have a winner. But I have to say I am partial to the Nutella version. Because, HELLO, Nutella. I just don’t feel like I need more words here. I could not get enough of these. You know how cookies are usually kind of ‘eh’ by day 2? Not so with these. They get even softer by day 2. I wouldn’t know about day 3. Because I know what’s good for me.
Do you guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?
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Nutella Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Nutella, or other hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Start by freezing the nutella. Clear out some space in your fridge and line a baking sheet with wax paper. Use 2 spoons to dollop nutella on the sheet. You want them to be about a tablespoon and a half. It doesn't have to be exact.
- Freeze for 2 hours, or until firm. Or 25 minutes like me, and deal with melty nutella oozing out of your cookie dough.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until they are combined. Scrape down the sides, then continue to beat for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the molasses and beat until combined completely.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping sides.
- Add the vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Beat well.
- Add the spooned and leveled flour, but don't mix it in. Make a well in the flour, carefully add the cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix it in with the flour with a small spoon. Then beat in the flour, using 1-second pulses so that you don't shoot flour everywhere.
- Beat until just barely combined. You might need to use a wooden spoon to mix it in.
- Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 45 minutes, or up to 4 days. The longer the better.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Form balls out of the dough that are a little larger than 1 tablespoon. Take 2 balls and smoosh them around a frozen dollop of nutella. Seal it well. Place on the baking sheet and continue until the dough is gone. I lined up 8 cookies per pan.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until they are no longer shiny on top and the edges are set.
- Remove from the oven. Let them set on the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. Eat warm! With milk!
Notes
Nutrition
More Christmas treats! Never enough!!
Chocolate Chunk Gingerbread Cookies <<This is the same cookie, except with chocolate chunks. Also a fabulous choice:
Frosted Peppermint Gingerbread Bars << I know I just posted these 2 days ago, but they deserve another shout out. SO GOOD:
 Nutella Stuffed Browned Butter Blondies. With over 76,000 pins to date, these guys are still hanging out at the 3rd most visited post (ever) on my blog. Let’s give em a hand, huh?
Other recipes from around the blog-o-sphere:
Nutella Chocolate Cake from Life, Love, and Sugar
Nutella Gingerbread Hot Cocoa from Anyonita Nibbles
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Gingerbread Frosting from Roxana’s Home Baking
Karen! You can’t tell us that story and NOT share photos of this hideous tree! Don’t leave us hanging, girl! Thank gawd you had these cookies to comfort you – my mouth dropped open in ravenous hunger at the sight of that first cookie with Nutella oozing out. Sheer perfection!
It’s like you combined my two favorite loves and put them into one gooey cookie! Merry Christmas to me! But really, you had me at nutella. Is there anything it can’t do? Gingerbread and chocolate are one of my favorite combinations!
See you manana!
Good grief I need like a dozen of these NOW Karen! Pinned and sharing on FB on Friday :)
IF people could marry cookies, I would propose to these. Holiday classic with a nutella upgrade! YES!
Haha!! This made me laugh out loud!!
oh my gawd, these cookies are insane!!! all that Nutella . . love love love!!
I am so impressed your family used to cut down your own Christmas tree! We’ve been Costco or Home Depot tree buyers forever. I bet all the hard work of setting up your tree was worth it : )
THESE COOKIES! Oh my yes! Nutella stuffed anything is just perfection.
ohmygosh! nutella stuffed, I bet these were amazing! this gingerbread is one of my favorite cookies too, so glad you’re loving them as welll!!
I am having a hard time picturing a normal tree in your house. I think you and Jan could totally handle cutting down a monster tree, carrying it to the car and lifting it in top to tie it to the car. No big deal! ;)
Also these cookies are so pretty!
I decided it was either the big tree or all 14 grandkids – both might just squeeze some of us out into the yard :)
Gingerbread cookies are always hard and I hate that! So glad to see a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie! And yes, Nutella all the things of course.
These look incredible!!
These cookies look mouth-watering good! Personally I stick to the pre-lit fake tree because I too, have no patience or aptitude for lighting a Christmas tree. I do love decorating it though!
Well if I want to impress at the church Chridtmas potluck I guess this is the way to go huh?
I am 100% on board with melty oozing nutella, especially with gingerbread!! Can I be honest? We are totally fake tree people. I used to be ashamed, but the fact is, I do not have the patience for stringing lights on a real, live, prickly, pine-needle-shedding tree. Nothing gets me out of the Christmas spirit like scratching the heck out of my arms, snapping at my husband, and bursting into tears over a string of lights. ;)
I literally cannot purchase Nutella because I can’t contain myself when it’s in the house. But maybe since the whole jar will be gone after I make these, it’s ok, right? My goodness it sounds like a divine combo. Maybe your lights escapade gave you a whole new appreciation for them? I’ve never been in charge so I give your props!
My dad always does the lights at our hose, so I don’t have to wrestle with them. I would certainly have a breakdown. My OCD brain wouldn’t be able to handle the tangles and burn-out bulbs! These cookies – GAH! Yes more nutella in everything!