These Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies are well dressed cookies that exquisitely combine Nutella, coffee, extra hazelnut & white chocolate.
I live in a house where three quarters of the residents love Nutella. I created these Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies to win over the final quarter who can take or leave Nutella without a second thought. That person is definitely not me.
What I came up with was this well-dressed cookie that combines Nutella with coffee and a touch more hazelnut. Oh, and a teeny bit of white chocolate to make it look irresistible. Given that there are now only two of these Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies left in the biscuit tin, I think we can assume 100% of the household fell for them.
I’ve always loved Nutella. So have my daughters. We reserve it for the weekend and our holidays. Especially our holidays. We have developed a tradition whereby I purchase the big jar just so that we have to make Nutella hot chocolate on the last day to use it all up (I ♥ traditions).
Whilst writing today’s post, I’ve discovered that every year there is a World Nutella Day. Where have I been? How has this vital piece of information been passing me by? I may have already missed this year’s day 🙁 but next year’s date is already in my diary 🙂 (Friday 5th February 2016).
I also didn’t know, until right now, that we have Napoleon to thank for Nutella. Apparently, in 1806 Napoleon tried to freeze British commerce. This limited the supply of cocoa and forced the price to rise. In response to this problem, some resourceful Italians started adding hazelnuts to their cocoa to make their limited supply stretch further. Clever.
History repeated itself in World War II. This time chocolate became scarce & expensive largely due to rationing across Europe. Again, the Italians added hazelnuts to the mix. This time the combination stuck. Several decades & recipe tweeks later, Nutella, as we know and love, was born.
Um, can you tell I have a background in economics and a liking for history? If you want some more Nutella facts, you can read up on Mental Floss. There’s even been a Nutella Heist.
Anyway, back to my Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies.
Coffee and chocolate is clearly an obvious, and winning, formula. The intensity of the espresso compliments the thick, creamy, chocolatey heaven that is Nutella superbly. Including ground hazelnuts in the cookie dough enhances those beautiful, delicate, nutty tones evident in the Nutella too. The cookie is light and crisp – the perfect partner for that soft Nutella centre.
Aiming to win over Chris (the errant quarter of my household not devoted to Nutella) I wanted to make these Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies look irresistibly enticing to adults. That called for a neat and tidy finish, so I carefully piped the Nutella into the thumbprint holes.
I particularly love the droopy curve as the Nutella peek topples over….
Lastly, to give visual contrast and a finishing flourish to the final appearance, I drizzled a little white chocolate over the cookies.
The Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookie is one smart cookie.
Okay, this is a bit awkward, but I have a major confession that I must tell you about before you bake these cookies. It involves my thumb…
Problem: my thumb is too wide.
Without wishing to introduce any um… thumb prejudice… my thumb is too broad to make decent thumbprint cookies.
I discovered this fact a few weeks back when I baked these Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies for the first time with Hannah. We had fun using our thumbs to create the craters that are meant to hold the Nutella. Once baked though, it was evident that my thumb was too thick. The craters had virtually disappeared. We ended up sandwiching pairs of cookies together with the Nutella. Although they were scrummy, it wasn’t really the chic look that I had been aiming for.
I tried again and used the end of a wooden spoon. This created a much deeper cavity for the Nutella to sit in. Hoorah.
Unless you have a super skinny thumb (who are you and exactly how small are you?), I would suggest you use either a wooden spoon, your little pinky finger or the thumb of a small child to create those craters.
So there we have it, these are not actually thumbprint cookies after all. Thanks wide thumb.
Also, don’t be tempted to miss out chilling the cookies before baking them. Letting the dough firm up does improve the neatness of that Nutella hole and will give you a smarter cookie.
History lesson, cookery tips (and wooden spoon) in hand, you’re all set to bake these exquisite Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies. Enjoy with a hard-hitting espresso, an iced coffee or a glass of cold milk.
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📖 Recipe
Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 180 g/ 61/2oz Unsalted butter (soft)
- 180 g/ 61/2oz Caster sugar
- 75 g/ 3oz Ground hazelnuts
- 250 g/ 9oz Plain (all purpose) flour
- 4 teaspoon Espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 Large egg
- Nutella (about 3 tbsp)
Optional:75g/ 3oz white chocolate – chopped small
Instructions
- Begin by grinding the hazelnuts, if necessary
- Grease & line several baking sheets with baking parchment
- Next, put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix with electric beaters until pale and fluffy
- Add the espresso powder, vanilla extract, ground hazelnuts and the egg. Using the beaters mix until everything is incorporated
- Sift the flour into the bowl. Using a large, metal spoon, fold in the flour in until thoroughly combined
- Form around 50 balls from the dough (each ball should weigh approx. 15g). Place the balls onto the baking sheets, leaving around 4cm between each ball (they spread a little during cooking)
- Using your little finger, the end of a wooden spoon or the thumb of a small child 🙂 make a deep hole in the centre of each ball. You may need to dip the utensil into some flour to prevent it sticking to the dough
- Put the baking sheets into the fridge to chill for 11/2-2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ GM 4
- At the end of the chill time, bake the cookies for around 12 minutes until beginning to turn golden
- Allow to cool on the tray for a moment, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely
- Fill the hole with Nutella. You can either carefully spoon the Nutella in, using a very small spoon, or, like me, pipe it in for a neater finish.
- (optional) Gently melt the white chocolate then drizzle it over the filled cookies. Allow the chocolate to set
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week
Farida
Wow, my all faves in one cookie! pinned! a must try!
Jane Saunders
Thanks Farida. Enjoy them asap 🙂
Megan Marlowe
Holy moly, you managed to put all 3 of my favorite things into 1 cookie?! I must made these immediately-YUM!
Jane Saunders
What can I say – they are naturals together 🙂 🙂 :).
Thanks for stopping by Megan
Dini @ The Flavor Bender
This cookie looks unbelievably perfect! Now I can have a go at making perfect thumbprint cookies like these… plus with Nutella? I could have a whole batch of these!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us at #SaucySaturdays!
swayam
OH Boy… U had me at nutella espresso.. It could come in any form …(giant broad thumbs notwithstanding ) and I would devour them ALL. They look so so perfect!! Great job!! Thanks so much for linking up at #SaucySaturdays
Jane Saunders
Thanks Swayam. Pleased to be linking up again on Saucy Saturday’s this week
Jennifer Stewart
These are amazing. Normally I am a soft and chewy cookie kind of girl but these could turn me! And excuse me with the Nutella because that is down right sinful! Thank you for sharing this with #SaucySaturdays!
Jane Saunders
Thanks Jennifer. Pleased they are tempting you….
Christine
These are so adorable! How did you get them so consistently perfect? They’re like a chorus line of lovely little dancers about to spin their way into your mouth. And the drizzle of white chocolate just makes them extra special. Have you or are you going to post that recipe for nutella hot chocolate?? Thanks for linking up to #SaucySaturdays.
Jane Saunders
Ah, Christine. That would be the anal side of my character coming through – the part that doesn’t mind weighing the dough out evenly on digital scales to get them all the same size (shhhh. don’t tell). The Nutella Hot Chocolate is so simple, but I didn’t think to include it in the post (durr). You just put a generous tablespoon of Nutella into a saucepan and heat with 200ml milk, whisking as you go until it’s completely smooth and the milk steaming hot. Pour it into a mug and DON’T share it with anybody else 🙂
Shelby @ Go Eat and Repeat
These cookies sound amazing! How can you beat hazelnut and nutella in a cookie? I’ll take a dozen, please! =)
Jane Saunders
Pleased you like them, Shelby. I’ve managed 3 in one sitting – they are quite small 😉
Thalia @ butter and brioche
Hands down the most perfect thumbprint cookies I have ever seen. They look so moorish and the combination of espresso, hazelnut and nutella is divine. Everything about this recipe I love – so definitely making it!
Jane Saunders
Thanks Thalia, what a lovely comment. You can never go wrong with those flavours
Monique
Your photos are so outstanding..truly.
I love traditions also and thanks so much for the tutorial and recipe.
Jane Saunders
What a lovely comment – you have made my day. Even more so because your own blog is always so fresh and beautiful. Thankyou, Monique.
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake
Those look fabulous! I’m a nutella fan as well, so I’m sure I would love these 🙂 Espresso + hazelnut sounds like a great combo!
Jane Saunders
Welcome to my little Nutella fan club. These cookies are only small so you’re allowed at least 2 per sitting…. maybe three 🙂