Chocolate-Hazelnut Rounds

Caution!! Skip this post if you're trying to eat healthy. These cookies are hard to resist!! Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let me introduce you to my new best friend... oops, I mean cookie. I recently bought my first jar of Nutella. It's near the peanut butter at the grocery store. Oh man, I've been missing out all my life. It's delicious!! Smooth, chocolately and begging to be spread on anything with carbs in it!



Here it is in the jar.......


And out of the jar..... YUM!!


So, back to the cookies.... They are delicate and slightly crispy around the edges chewy in the center. They spread out a lot and are very thin. I found it quite hard to stop after a few cookies. The good news is that there are 2 stages to freeze these cookies... prebaking and post baking. I'll show you in a minute....





Good to have a helper. It helps if you stick your tongue out while mixing in ingredients.



Here is the dough after I put it in small blobs on parchment lined cookie sheets. You can freeze them at this stage. Just put the cookie sheet in the freezer and when the blobs are frozen, pop them in a freezer bag and bake when you need them. (You may have to add a minute or two to the cooking time though... watch them carefully)



Here is a baked cookie. They can be frozen as soon as they cool fully. I piled them into a freezer bag. Just take them out and let them rest on the counter top for a while to let them thaw or I've discovered that they taste just delicious straight from the freezer.


Chocolate-Hazelnut Rounds

**from the Best-Loved Whole Grain Recipe Cookbook**


1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or use all all-purpose)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup Nutella

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla



1. Preheat oven to 350*. Lightly grease cookie sheets (or line with parchment paper). Combine flours, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.




2. Beat butter, Nutella, and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended. Drop by teaspoon full 2 inches apart on cookie sheets (these cookies spread!)




3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely (VERY IMPORTANT since they are very fragile when they first come out of the oven)