Nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies...'Tis the season!

It's the holiday season!  It's cookie season!  It's the season for treats and indulgence, and quality time with family!  Can you tell I'm excited?  I have a feeling there's a good chance you're just as excited as I am.   

Chewy nutella-hazelnut crinkle (crackle) cookies perfect for the season

I just love December and Christmastime.  I try to get as much done as possible - as far as Christmas shopping and other to-do's - so I'll have time to savor the season.  

Aside from the twinkling lights and general goodwill floating in the air, one of the best part of the holiday season has to be all the good eats - the cookies and treats, all being washed down with cups of hot cocoa!  I made a list of family-favorites I'll be baking up this month both to savor at home and to pack up as gifts.  I have a ton of things I'd love to make but like all of you, I had to be realistic and narrow it down.  I hope to get to as much as possible while keeping things manageable so it's enjoyable instead of stressful (because if it's stressful, why bother).  It is indeed that time of year when I happily turn into a little kitchen elf, baking up old favorites and trying a few new recipes, too!

On the "new" side of things (for me, anyway), I'd love to share these nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies with you.  Crinkles/crackles, I can't decide which to call them!  Because of how wintry they look, I like to make them at Christmastime.  Plus, my little one is partial to them and if you have a child, you know it's all about what your child likes - particularly, at Christmastime!  Last year, I really enjoyed adding a little almond extract to our batch of chocolate crackles and this year, I've been saving up this hazelnut version to try for the holidays.

I added chopped hazelnuts to half my batch of cookies and left the other half plain

I'm glad I kicked off our holiday cookie season with these because they were awesome! While chocolate crackles are generally like a light brownie, moist and soft, these nutella-hazelnut crinkles are nice and chewy.  I am a big fan of chewy cookies so they were right up my alley.  With these, I also finally got a chance to make cookies with nutella and I'm happy they didn't disappoint one bit.

I divided my batch of cookies into two: half without chopped hazelnuts inside (for my son) and the other with.  My son loved these cookies and was very grateful for his hazelnut-free half batch - though he wanted a lot more.  For my part, I think the toasted hazelnuts balance out some of the sweetness of these cookies and heighten the hazelnut flavor.  The original recipe called for rolling the outside of the cookies with additional hazelnuts but I opted to keep things simple.  Instead, I upped the amount of hazelnuts I used inside my cookies and skipped the additional roll in nuts.  This way, they also keep the classic, snowy, crackled look I love for this time of year.

I found this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker months ago and put it right on my Christmas baking list. Not only did the cookies look wonderful, the original recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen so I knew it was going to be good!  I made a few changes to the recipe, as I mentioned earlier, but it's a winner.  You get a great chewy cookie, with the flavor of nutella and additional nuttiness from actual hazelnuts that balance out some of the sweetness.  

Customization!  (Roughly) half the cookie dough without nuts, the other half with chopped hazelnuts

These cookies are obviously on the sweeter side of things.  I go a little scant on the sugar in the dough itself since we've not only got nutella but the additional roll in sugar(s) before baking.  And here's the thing about the sugar coating.  I like to coat them first in granulated, then confectioners' sugar.  That's the way I learned it from a Martha Stewart recipe and I think the granulated sugar helps the confectioners' sugar hang on so that you get a very distinct snow-capped look.   

I like to roll the cookies first in granulated, then confectioners sugar

It's not absolutely necessary to do what I did.  I tested it both ways since the recipe only calls for rolling the cookie dough in confectioners' sugar.  It works either way but I find the ones rolled in granulated sugar first looked just a little bit better (more distinctly powdery) after baking.

This dough is soft and needs some time to chill in the fridge before baking.  I don't mind that, particularly around the holidays when it's good to do steps ahead and divide the labor.  I made my dough the day before.  You'll find the cookie dough be tacky and actually very easy to work with in terms of rolling.  The look and feel of them made me think of tootsie rolls.

They always make me think of truffles!  If you are rolling yours in confectioners' sugar only, make sure to give it a thorough coat all over.

I choose not to roll the dough in chopped hazelnuts to keep things simple and to get that traditional wintry crinkle cookie look

That way, they turn out nice and snowy looking.  These cookies keep well in an airtight container for about 3 days.  They stay chewy and go really well with a cup of coffee or hot tea for us grown ups.  I love a good cup of hot chocolate but these are sweet and chocolaty enough on their own.

Recipe:

Nutella-Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies (2010), via Brown Eyed Baker*

* This recipe is half the original.  I omit rolling the cookies in hazelnuts before baking and add a slightly larger amount of chopped hazelnuts in the cookies instead. If you are making these for anyone who prefers cookies without nuts, you can even omit the chopped hazelnuts altogether (or split the batch like I did).

- Approximately 22 cookies - 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Nutella
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons whole milk
1/2 to 1/3 cup hazelnuts (according to preference), toasted and finely chopped
For rolling cookies before baking: 1/3 cup powdered sugar (Optional: additional 1/3 cup granulated sugar)

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl to combine.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream Nutella, butter, and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add egg, vanilla, and espresso powder, mixing until just incorporated and scraping the bowl as needed.  On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 increments, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Fold in the chopped hazelnuts.  Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.  Roll dough into balls, about 2-tablespoonfuls (using a small cookie scoop to measure).  Roll the balls thoroughly in powdered sugar.  Or alternatively, roll them first in granulated sugar, then powdered sugar (I find this method gets the powdered sugar to adhere better to the cookie and bake up prettier).  Bake until edges are set but cookies are still slightly soft in the middle, roughly 10 minutes.  Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  They were be nice and chewy.