Freeze Nutella For A Deliciously Simple Cookie Add-In
Everyone is familiar with the warm, gooey sweetness that comes with sinking your teeth into chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. But what you may not have tried is a cookie with oozy Nutella spilling out of it instead. This spread has all the rich, sweet flavors of chocolate, but it also brings a touch of hazelnut into the mix, giving your cookies their own unique spin.
Now, if you were to simply spoon some Nutella into your cookie dough and stir it up, you would wind up with a chocolate hazelnut dough. To get an effect similar to that of chocolate chip cookies, however, there's an easy workaround: Just freeze clumps of Nutella into chips, chunks, or discs to use as cookie mix-ins. Once the Nutella bits are frozen, you can distribute them into your cookie dough, which, once baked, will be full of melty, creamy morsels throughout.
Perfecting your homemade Nutella chips
To make Nutella chips, there are a few things to keep in mind. For starters, it pays to lay down a sheet of wax paper on the baking tray (or whatever surface you'll be freezing your Nutella chips on), as it will make the morsels easier to peel off and use in your cookie dough.
Next, there are a couple of things to bear in mind as you drop Nutella onto the parchment. If you want chunks as opposed to chips, you can spread out the Nutella in one thin, flat layer. Once it's hardened, chop the chocolate into chunks for an elevated cookie mix-in. Or, you can simply spoon drops of Nutella onto the baking sheet to make chips. If you go this route, using a piping bag can make it even easier to get small, uniform blobs.
Besides the methodology, it's also important to note that Nutella contains palm oil as opposed to the usual cocoa butter found in normal chocolate and chocolate chips. As a result, it tends to take longer than melted chocolate to firm up and solidify, even in the freezer. On top of that, once you take your Nutella chips out of the freezer, they won't keep their shape for long and will start melting as you begin working with them. If you move fast, this shouldn't be a problem, but to make your Nutella more solid, you can always stir in some melted chocolate chips and melted butter before freezing.
Tasty variations on Nutella chips
Although Nutella chips can make for a great alternative to chocolate chips in a classic cookie recipe, you can also use them in other ways, too. If you freeze larger discs of Nutella, for instance, you can use them to make Nutella-stuffed cookies. This dessert gives you a melty pocket of hazelnut spread when you bite into it, but it still stars the darker taste of chocolate chips throughout the rest of biscuit. Or, freeze your Nutella in other shapes to use for different desserts, such as Nutella rings for donuts or batons for homemade croissants.
Another choice could be to freeze other mix-ins and flavors with your Nutella. Add melted white chocolate for a sweeter touch, chopped hazelnuts for crunch and an extra nutty kick, or even freeze-dried berries for color and a contrasting tanginess. With this quick hack, you can upgrade plenty of different desserts with the addition of frozen Nutella.