K guys so I have two big things to announce! First, I got a camera. AHHH!! Second, I found a recipe for Nutella-filled cookies. OMG. Saw these babies re-posted by Bridget at Bake at 350 and had to try them. Nutella? And sea salt? All melty and gooey inside a warm sugar cookie?! You have to try these. Now.

I know Bridget insists the recipe is perfect as written, but I ran into problems with the dough…it’s probably just me. My dough turned out extremely wet and gooey, so working with it was no fun. By the time I finished shaping the last cookie, I was grumpy and irritable (having gooey hands for that long makes me grumpy). What’s worse is they spread like pancakes the minute they got into the hot oven. *big sigh* I ended up dumping the first batch and starting all over, with a few tweaks this time.

First, to avoid making a mess with the Nutella (it wants to stick to the spoon and your fingers), I simply piped little dollops of Nutella directly onto the tray before freezing them. Much easier! I may have gotten carried away and “accidentally” piped more dollops than I needed. Then I accidentally ate some of the extras. Semi-frozen Nutella dollop = deliciousness. Try it, I won’t tell anyone.

Next, to make the dough easier to work with, I divided it into half, wrapped each half in plastic wrap, and chilled the dough for 30 minutes. Since each batch bakes separately, I could assemble one half and leave the other half chilling in the fridge to prevent it from softening. When they went into the oven, they stayed nice and puffy. Success!

I broke into one of these bad boys while it was still hot and was rewarded with a warm, gooey Nutella center. What are you waiting for? Go grab a cookie, a glass of cold milk, and come look at the pictures I took with my new camera  :)

Nutella & Sea Salt Stuffed Cookies

Makes approximately 24 cookies

• 1/2 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 14 Tbsp. (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. sea salt

1. Scoop out Nutella into a small ziploc bag, snip off one corner, and pipe Nutella into small mounds, about 1 teaspoon each, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill in freezer for at least 15 minutes.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, mixing after each until well incorporated. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Divide dough in half and wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Using 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, split the piece of dough in half and slightly flatten the bottom half. Sprinkle 5 or 6 grains of sea salt on the flattened dough and place one mound of Nutella on top of the salt. If the Nutella starts to soften, place back in the freezer for a few minutes. Cover Nutella with the other piece of cookie dough and seal the edges with your fingers. Roll the ball in sugar to coat and place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, about 10 to 13 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Cookies are done when edges are set and beginning to brown. The center of the cookies should still be soft and puffy. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely or serve warm if you’d like. Repeat with remaining dough.

 Source: Recipe adapted from Cooking Canuck, as seen on Bake at 350

As promised, here are pictures of holiday treats I made to bring home to my family. This year, I only wanted to make recipes I hadn’t tried before, so there was a bit a lot of trial and error. Probably not the smartest thing to do when you only have one night to get it right – no pressure! I ended up making four different recipes (it was a busy night), but these bars were the best recipe by far.

These bars are essentially just a holiday twist on old-school rice krispie treats and, just like the original, there’s no baking involved! This makes it a great recipe to work on if your oven is otherwise occupied. The recipe calls for dried cherries, but I think you could also use dried cranberries to make it more festive! The dried fruit gives it this great zing that balances out the sweet gooey-ness of the treats (and I’m obsessed with the color).

The original recipe tells you to melt the white chocolate chips and the marshmallows together, but I think it’s kind of sad to melt away the chocolate. If you melt it away, it just disappears into the bars and you might not notice it at all. Instead, I add the white chocolate chips in off the heat, while you’re adding the cereal and the cherries. That way, you’ll actually be able to see (and bite into!) white chocolate chips.

The cooled treats get a quick drizzle of melted chocolate, and this is what makes them a showstopper. The recipe calls for milk chocolate, but I’m sure you could use dark chocolate if you wanted. My melted chocolate was a bit too thick to “drizzle” so I quickly scooped it into a small ziploc bag, snipped off the corner, and piped the chocolate over the tops instead. The treats were crispy, chewy, chocolatey, and tart from the dried cherries. It was so easy to make and the final product was pretty enough to show off at parties – definitely a keeper. Enjoy!

White Chocolate and Cherry Crispy Treats

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 (10 1/2-ounce) bag marshmallows
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Grease foil. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is melted and smooth, about 8 minutes; stir in vanilla.
2. Off heat, add cereal, white chocolate chips, and cherries and mix until incorporated. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and press into bottom and corners with greased spatula. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. Drizzle melted chocolate over cooled treats. You can also transfer melted chocolate to small piping bag and pipe the chocolate over cooled treats. Allow chocolate to cool, about 15 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift treats from pan and transfer to cutting board. Grease knife and cut into squares.

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies Special Issue 2010