Soft vanilla sugar cookies with a hidden chocolate-hazelnut center revealed when broken open.
The feature to preserve is the shaping: Divide dough into eighteen equal portions about 47 g each. Enclose one frozen teaspoon of spread in each portion, pinch seams tightly and roll smooth. Coat with optional sugar and place 3 inches apart.
Before mixing, measure without packing the flour. Frozen filling is easier to seal without smearing into the seam. Use only a teaspoon per cookie; too much filling can split the dough. Keep spare dollops frozen while shaping.
Use the observable baking cues as well as the timer. Allow the crumb to cool before packing; the texture continues to settle after the tray leaves the oven.
Nutella-Stuffed Sugar Cookies
Per tray: 8–12 minutes · 3 batches, about 6 pieces per 13 × 18-inch half-sheet pan.
Allow about 126 minutes: 35 hands-on, 30 required chilling, 36 baking all batches sequentially, 25 cooling including pan rest, and 0 finishing/set time. Preheat during preparation or final chilling. Extra trays and optional decoration add time.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- Kitchen scale or US measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl and silicone spatula
- Electric hand mixer
- 13 × 18-inch baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
- 1-tablespoon cookie scoop
Soft vanilla sugar cookies with a hidden chocolate-hazelnut center revealed when broken open.
Ingredients
Scale ingredients and US equivalents, including eggs; weigh beaten egg for fractional batches. Keep piece size, thickness, oven temperature and baking time per tray unchanged. Extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Filling
Cookie dough
Optional coating
Instructions
Mixing
- Make the doughPortion eighteen teaspoons of spread onto parchment and freeze firm. Cream butter and dough sugar, beat in egg, yolk and vanilla, then mix in flour whisked with salt and leaveners.
Thermal management
- Prepare for shapingFreeze the eighteen spread dollops for about 30 minutes, until firm. Make the dough during that wait. Dough chilling is not otherwise required.
Shaping
- Shape the batchDivide dough into eighteen equal portions about 47 g each. Enclose one frozen teaspoon of spread in each portion, pinch seams tightly and roll smooth. Coat with optional sugar and place 3 inches apart.
Baking
- Bake to the right textureHeat a conventional oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake on the center rack for 8–12 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers have lost their wet shine. Keep the tops lightly colored. Use cool pans for later trays.
Cooling
- Cool before servingRest on the pan 5 minutes, then move carefully to a rack. Allow 25 minutes total cooling, including pan rest; the crumb firms as it cools.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Keep the filling frozen
Frozen filling is easier to seal without smearing into the seam. Use only a teaspoon per cookie; too much filling can split the dough. Keep spare dollops frozen while shaping.
Shape with purpose
Divide dough into eighteen equal portions about 47 g each. Enclose one frozen teaspoon of spread in each portion, pinch seams tightly and roll smooth. Coat with optional sugar and place 3 inches apart. Bake similar-sized pieces together.
Serving and texture
Soft vanilla sugar cookies with a hidden chocolate-hazelnut center revealed when broken open. Let the crumb cool fully before judging texture; pack only once the finish has set.
Storage & Make-Ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 3–4 days | Cool completely and seal in an airtight container. Keep unfrosted cookies separate from moist or strongly flavored treats. |
| Refrigeration | Raw dough: up to 2 days | Cover raw dough tightly. Refrigerating plain baked cookies is unnecessary and can dry them; let chilled dough become workable before shaping. |
| Freeze raw | Up to 2 months | Freeze portioned dough balls on a tray, then seal in a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, allowing extra time and checking for a set center. |
| Freeze baked | Up to 2 months | Freeze fully cooled, plain cookies in a sealed container with parchment between layers. |
| Restore | 30–60 minutes | Thaw baked cookies in their closed container at room temperature. For a freshly warmed plain cookie, use a 300°F oven for 2–3 minutes; cool briefly before serving. |
Notes
- US measures are shown first; gram weights help avoid packed flour. Spice weights are approximate: use measuring spoons for small quantities. Egg weights exclude shells. Temperatures are for a conventional oven. The spread quantity allows extra; nutrition conservatively includes the full measured amount. Actual nutrition varies with unused filling.
Nutrition
Approximate nutrition per serving calculated from ingredient weights divided by 18; required fillings and toppings included, optional decorations excluded. Brands, unused coating and actual serving size affect the estimate.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A few helpful answers before you bake.
Can I spoon warm spread into the dough?
Frozen filling is easier to seal without smearing into the seam. Use only a teaspoon per cookie; too much filling can split the dough. Keep spare dollops frozen while shaping.
What makes nutella-stuffed sugar cookies different?
Soft vanilla sugar cookies with a hidden chocolate-hazelnut center revealed when broken open. Keep the filling frozen. Follow the specified technique rather than substituting the shaping method from a different sugar-cookie recipe.
Can I make nutella-stuffed sugar cookies ahead?
Prepare with the storage instructions below. Cool completely before sealing, and keep the stated piece size when baking refrigerated or frozen dough.
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