The countdown to Christmas has officially begun – only 1 week left (!!!) – and, as you can imagine, I have been testing a ton of recipes. To celebrate this special time, I decided to “save” some of them to post this week. Usually I only share one or two recipes per week, but this is the season to give, so it will be a week full of new treats. I hope they serve as inspiration for your own Christmas table.
To start the week we have this giant cookie, which will surely please the children that love this holiday. Not that it is *only* for children – here at my home, we all have a sweet tooth, so everyone loved this cookie.
If you are a fan of choolate and hazelnut, one of those foolproof matches, then you can’t miss this dessert. The cookie has hazelnuts and chocolate drops, and it is filled with a generous layer of nutella. I advise you to watch the baking carefully, because it will be perfect when it is still a little undercooked in the center, similar to a brownie.
This is not a portuguese Christmas classic, like the sericaia I shared a few days ago, but it should become one. Served warm and with a scoop of ice cream, it has that classic cozy Christmas feel. I invite you to embrace your inner child and try this little delight!
Giant Nutella Cookie
Ingredients
- 240 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 80 g white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 200 g farinha s/ fermento
- 90 g hazelnut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 200 g dark chocolate chips
- 50 g hazelnuts (toasted and skinned)
- 200 g nutella (or another chocolate and hazelnut cream)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 º C.
- To make the hazelnut flour, blitz toasted hazelnuts in the food processor until you have a powder.
- In a bowl, mix the flours, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- Beat the softened butter with sugars until creamy and paler in color.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Beat for a few more minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients and keep beating, just enough to incorporate them in the mix.
- Set aside 50 g of chocolate chips for the decoration. Stir the remaining chocolate into the cookie dough.
- Spread roughly half of the cookie dough on a deep pie dish of about 24 cm in diameter.
- Warm up the nutella for a few seconds in the microwave, so it is easier to spread. Distribute it on top of the cookie, leaving a border of about 2 cm.
- Spread the remaining cookie dough on top of the nutella, making sure to "close" the borders of the cookie.
- Decorate the top of the cookie with the remaining chocolate chips and coarsely chopped hazelnuts.
- Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cookie is set and golden. Test with a skewer – it should come out dry in the edges but still moist in the center, for a fudgy cookie. For a dryer cookie, bake for an extra 5 minutes.
- Serve still warm or reheated in the microwave, to enjoy with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.
