Peanut Butter and Nutella Cookies

Guys, I've been sick for like a month. It's starting to get ridiculous. I am nauseous CONSTANTLY (don't worry I'm not pregnant). The good news though is that while it has curbed my appetite I can still eat a variety of things that aren't chicken soup, ginger ale, or saltines. In fact I probably ate about 14 of these little gems, and I will argue until I'm blue in the face that they made me feel better (even if that feeling was 100% mental).

Truthfully though, these cookies are amazing. I rarely eat the stuff that I bake. I'm not sure why because I like sweets and I LOVE baking them. Perhaps I just get sick of it because I am tasting everything as I go along, or I don't want to ruin it if they turned out bad. Regardless of the reason, I hardly ever eat my own treats. So the fact that I ate so many of them should speak volumes about their deliciousness.

But the #1 factor about these cookies is how EASY they are to make (this factor also makes them kid friendly parents). Which is partly why I am posting them just in time for the long weekend. For those of us not going anywhere (or for those of you having people over) these are a great treat to make to ensure you enjoy this much needed long weekend.

I grabbed this recipe from One Hundred Dollars a Month or more precisely...Pintrest. No matter how I got there it is a really really great recipe, but i do make one change and that is adding more Nutella. I couldn't taste it enough in my first batch and I think it will be great with just a little bit extra.

Peanut Butter & Nutella Cookies

 Ingredients
1/2 C Unsalted Butter, softened
3/4 C CREAMY Peanut Butter (Jif is the natural choice)
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 C Flour
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 C. Nutella (at least!)




Instructions:

 Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper**

Step 2: Using a bowl or your fancy Kitchenaid mixing bowl add the butter, peanut butter, both white and light brown sugars, beat until smooth.

Step 3: Add the egg, and your vanilla extract and beat until combined. 

Step 4: Add the flour, baking soda and salt and continue beating until all of the ingredients are combined. make sure to get all that flour that inevitably sticks to the bottom of the bowl mixed in!
 
Step 5: Melt your Nutella in a microwave safe bowl. Gently pour it onto your dough. I think a zig zag pattern works best. Use your spatula (I used my hands because it was easier) to fold the Nutella into your dough. 
 
Step 6: Refrigerate your dough for about 15 minutes (it makes it easier to roll into balls. 

Step 7: Roll the dough into balls however big or small you want but I'd stay on the smaller side. Spread them out on your tray about an inch apart from each other. Use a fork to push the cookies down a little bit

Step 8: Bake them in the oven for 8-10 minutes. When you pull them out let them cool on a wire rack until room temperature (unless you want them gooey of course!)
 
**If you have never baked cookies on parchment paper you are MISSING OUT! Try it it helps them not stick to the pan making it really easy to get off the tray for cooling, and better yet...less cleanup for you!
 

I recommend storing them in an airtight bag or container with a piece of bread. Someone once told me that the bread helps keep the cookies moist. I'm not really sure why that is or if it really works, but I did try that this time and it worked for me!!! 

Happy Eating!

xoxo Tanner