Nutella Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

Who doesn't love Nutella?! My love for this delicious spread goes way back to my childhood days when it was spread on a slice of toast and topped off with fresh strawberry slices. I've also had it on a crepe with sliced bananas, strawberries, and powdered sugar. Then when I left home to attend college, I bought a huge jar of Nutella and ate it with almost everything during finals week. So it's obviously not surprising that I made these Nutella Crinkle Cookies when I saw it in one of my cookie magazines. Making these cookies was very time consuming but definitely worth it because they are super chocolately/hazelnutty and perfectly chewy. Definitely try making these cookies this year for our cookie tray :o)

Nutella Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups Nutella

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/3 cup milk

2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and finely chopped

1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the Nutella, butter, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder and mix until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and alternate additions of flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour, and mixing until just combined after each addition. Fold in 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts. Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the remaining hazelnuts and the powdered sugar in two separate bowls. Using a medium cookie scoop (or about 2 tablespoonfuls), roll the dough into balls, roll in the hazelnuts, then roll in the powdered sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until the edges are set and the middle still looks a tad soft, about 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.