These buttery, shortbread-like Nutella Thumbprint Cookies are rolled in toasted hazelnuts and filled with a swirl of creamy Nutella after baking. No dough chilling or rolling out needed!
If you love Easy Cookie and Biscuit Recipes, you have to try these Hazelnut and Chocolate Cookies and these Lemon Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Buttercream.
Why This Nutella Thumbprint Cookies Recipe Works
- Recipe name: Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
- Ready in: 45 minutes (no chilling needed)
- Serves: 28 cookies
- Main ingredients: Butter, sugar, egg, cake flour, toasted hazelnuts, and Nutella.
- Perfect for: Holiday cookie boxes, cookie swaps, gifting, or an easy after-dinner treat with a cup of tea or strong espresso.
- Why I love it: The dough needs no chilling or rolling, and the Nutella is added after baking, so it stays creamy and glossy instead of melting or burning in the oven.
- Calories: 178kcal
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This recipe is perfect for Nutella lovers! If you're looking for more Nutella recipes, try out these Nutella Cupcakes, these Nutella Croissants, or this Ferrero Rocher Cake.
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Key Ingredients
- Unsalted butter - Take the butter out of the fridge about an hour before making this recipe. It shouldn't be rock hard or too soft.
- Superfine (caster) sugar - Use superfine sugar so it creams smoothly into the butter.
- Cake flour - Use cake flour or all-purpose flour.
- Hazelnuts - Use whole raw hazelnuts and toast them for the best flavor. If you buy dry-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts, you can skip the toasting step and simply chop them.
- Nutella - Use Nutella to fill these thumbprint cookies. If you can't find Nutella, any chocolate hazelnut spread will work.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
Use this recipe to make all sorts of thumbprint cookie variations. Skip rolling the dough in nuts and instead fill the center of each cookie with your favorite Homemade Jam and Compote Recipes, like this Cherry Jam or this Clementine Marmalade Jam.
How to Make Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
- Step 2: Add the hazelnuts to a pan set over medium heat and gently toast the nuts, being careful not to burn them. Once golden in color, remove them from the heat and allow them to cool slightly before roughly chopping. Set aside.
- Step 3: Add the butter and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 4: Add the whole egg to the creamed mixture with the food processor running, and pulse until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse until well combined.
- Step 5: Sift together the flour and salt and add the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture all at once. Pulse until a dough forms; do not overmix.
- Step 6: Roll the cookie dough into balls of about 40 to 50 grams. This recipe will make about 28 cookies.
- Step 7: Roll the cookie dough balls in the chopped hazelnuts and place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Use the back of a tablespoon to press an indent into the middle of each cookie.
- Step 8: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let the cookies cool slightly on a wire rack before filling the center of each cookie with Nutella. Serve and enjoy!
How to Fill Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
These are some of the easiest cookies using Nutella, because the filling goes in after baking. The easiest way to fill them is to spoon the Nutella into a disposable piping bag, snip off the tip, and pipe a swirl into the middle of each cookie. If you don't have a piping bag, use two teaspoons to fill the centers instead. Let the cookies cool slightly first so that the Nutella doesn't melt and run off.
Storage
After baking and filling these cookies, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days. Unfilled cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to one week. If they have softened, you can crisp them up in the oven before filling them.
Expert Tips
- Cookies burn very quickly, so make sure you have tested the true temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer before baking.
- Space the cookies out on the baking tray so that they bake separately.
- Bake each tray of cookies separately rather than in the same oven on different racks.
- Watch the hazelnuts closely while toasting them, as they can go from golden to burnt very quickly.
- Weigh the dough balls so that all of the cookies are the same size and bake evenly.
- If the centers puff up while baking, gently press them down again with the back of a spoon when the cookies come out of the oven. For more cookie ideas, browse my collection of Easy Cookie Recipes.
Nutella Thumbprint Cookies FAQs
Yes. If you can't find Nutella, any chocolate hazelnut spread or chocolate nut spread will work to fill these thumbprint cookies.
No, this dough doesn't need to be chilled and can be rolled straight into balls. If your kitchen is very warm and the dough feels too soft or sticky to handle, chill it in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes first.
Filling the cookies after they have baked and cooled slightly keeps the Nutella creamy and glossy, and it stops the Nutella from melting, bubbling, or burning in the oven.
Yes. If you buy dry-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts, you can skip the toasting step and simply chop them roughly. If you start with raw hazelnuts, toast them in a pan until golden, being careful not to burn them, then let them cool slightly before chopping.
Spoon the Nutella into a disposable piping bag, snip off the tip, and pipe a swirl into the center of each cooled cookie. If you don't have a piping bag, use two teaspoons to fill the centers instead. If your Nutella is very thick, warm it in the microwave for about 10 seconds first so that it's easier to pipe.
Yes. Unfilled cookies keep in an airtight container for up to one week, so you can bake them ahead and fill them when you're ready to serve. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months and thaw it in the fridge overnight before using. I do not recommend freezing cookies that have already been filled.
This happens if the oven is too hot, so make sure you have tested the true temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer. Also, bake the trays of cookies separately.
More Easy Baking Recipes with Nutella
These delicious Nutella Thumbprint Cookies are super easy to make and are the perfect treat during the holiday season. Try serving them with this boozy Amarula Hot Chocolate Coffee. For more Christmas Baking Recipe Ideas to try, don't miss this Black Forest Trifle and these Christmas Butter Cookies.
Happy Baking, With Love, Kitty
If you give these buttery cookies a try, please leave a star rating and comment below. I would love to hear from you! And if you're wondering what to try next, have a look at this Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae!
📖 Recipe
Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 egg extra large
- 1 egg yolk extra large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 350 g cake flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 80 g hazlenuts
- ¾ cup Nutella
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
- Add the hazelnuts to a pan set over medium heat and gently roast the nuts, be careful not to burn them. Once golden in color, remove them from the heat and allow them to cool slightly before roughly chopping them. Set aside.
- Add the butter and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- First, add the whole egg to the creamed mixture with the food processor running, and pulse until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse until well combined.
- Sift together the flour and salt and add the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture all at once. Pulse until a dough forms, do not overmix.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls of about 40 to 50 grams, this recipe will make about 28 cookies.
- Roll the cookie dough balls in the chopped nuts and place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Use the back of a tablespoon to press an indent into the middle of the cookies.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until a light golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on a wire rack before filling each the center of the cookie with Nutella, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Only fill the cookies with Nutella after baking; otherwise, the chocolate spread will burn in the oven.
- If your Nutella is very thick, try loosening it in the microwave for a few seconds.
Julia says
These cookies are so buttery and I love the crushed nuts!