Nutella Stuffed Snickerdoodles

The recipe, step by step

These Nutella stuffed snickerdoodles take everything I love about a classic snickerdoodle and make it even more indulgent. The cookies are buttery, soft and slightly chewy, with plenty of warming cinnamon and a hidden centre of gooey chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Before baking, each cookie is rolled in cinnamon sugar and crushed nuts, giving the outside extra flavour and a lovely little crunch. Break one open while it is still slightly warm and you get that irresistible contrast between the soft cookie and melting Nutella centre.

They are surprisingly straightforward to make, although the chilling time is important. Freezing the Nutella first makes filling the cookies much easier, while chilling the dough helps it firm up enough to shape.

For an extra-special homemade version, fill them with my homemade Nutella.

Recipe Highlights

• Easy to make: A straightforward cookie dough with a simple hidden centre.
• Taste: Buttery, cinnamon-spiced cookies with caramel notes from the brown sugar and a rich chocolate-hazelnut filling.
• Texture: Soft and slightly chewy inside with lightly crisp edges and crunchy nuts on the outside.
• Hidden centre: Every cookie contains a generous spoonful of Nutella.
• Chilling matters: Freezing the filling and chilling the dough makes the cookies much easier to shape.
• Quantity: Makes 12 cookies.
• Time: 10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes chilling and 10–12 minutes baking, approximately 52 minutes total.

What Is a Snickerdoodle?

A snickerdoodle is a soft, chewy cookie traditionally coated in cinnamon sugar. Unlike a standard sugar cookie, the dough contains cream of tartar, which gives snickerdoodles their characteristic slight tang and contributes to their distinctive texture.

This version keeps those classic cinnamon and cream-of-tartar flavours but adds a frozen Nutella centre and a crunchy nut coating.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Nutella Filling

• Nutella: Use 190 g. Dividing it into 12 portions and freezing them first makes the cookies far easier to fill and shape.

You can also use my homemade Nutella.

Cookie Dough

• Butter: Use 100 g, softened to room temperature. Softened butter creams properly with the sugars and helps give the cookies their soft texture.
• Caster sugar: Use 60 g. It contributes sweetness and helps produce lightly crisp edges.
• Light brown sugar: Use 100 g. Brown sugar adds moisture, chewiness and a deeper caramel flavour.
• Egg: Use 1 medium egg, approximately 50 g, at room temperature.
• Vanilla: Use 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste.
• Plain flour: Use 245 g plain or all-purpose flour.
• Cream of tartar: Use 1 teaspoon. It provides the characteristic slight tang associated with snickerdoodles and works with the bicarbonate of soda.
• Bicarbonate of soda: Use ½ teaspoon as the raising agent.
• Ground cinnamon: Use 1 teaspoon in the cookie dough.
• Fine sea salt: Use ½ teaspoon. The salt balances the sweetness while bringing out the cinnamon, caramel and chocolate-hazelnut flavours.

Cinnamon Nut Topping

• Peanuts or other nuts: Use 50 g, crushed. Peanuts are delicious with Nutella, while hazelnuts make a particularly good alternative.
• Caster sugar: Use 50 g.
• Ground cinnamon: Use 1 tablespoon for a generously spiced coating.

How to Make Nutella Stuffed Snickerdoodles

1. Freeze the Nutella: Measure 12 tablespoons of Nutella onto a plate or tray lined with baking parchment. Place in the freezer until required.

2. Cream the butter and sugars: Using an electric hand whisk or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, caster sugar and light brown sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.

3. Add the egg: Add the egg and beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

4. Add the vanilla: Add the vanilla and mix again until completely incorporated.

5. Add the dry ingredients: Add the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt. Mix until everything is well combined.

6. Portion the dough: The dough will be quite sticky, so resist the temptation to add more flour. Line a plate or tray with baking parchment and, using a 2 tablespoon ice-cream scoop or large spoon, divide the mixture into 12 equal balls.

7. Chill the dough: Refrigerate the cookie dough portions for 20–30 minutes to firm them up.

8. Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5 and line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment.

9. Fill the cookies: Take one chilled portion of cookie dough and gently flatten it into a disc. Place one frozen portion of Nutella in the centre.

10. Seal the filling: Bring the cookie dough up and around the frozen Nutella until it is completely enclosed, then gently roll it back into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and Nutella.

11. Make the topping: Place the nuts in a strong bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Transfer them to a large bowl and mix with the 50 g caster sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.

12. Coat the cookies: Roll each filled cookie ball generously in the cinnamon-nut mixture, gently pressing it into the coating so plenty of nuts stick to the surface.

13. Arrange on the trays: Place 6 cookies on each prepared baking tray, leaving plenty of space between them to spread. Gently press each ball down just a little before baking.

14. Bake: Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are only lightly golden.

15. Rest on the tray: Leave the cookies on the baking tray for 3 minutes after removing them from the oven.

16. Cool: Carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack with a spatula and leave to cool.

Nigel’s Recipe Tips

Freeze the Nutella first. Trying to enclose soft Nutella in cookie dough is messy and makes it much harder to seal the filling inside. The frozen portions make shaping considerably easier.

Use room-temperature butter and egg. This helps the butter, sugar and egg combine smoothly and evenly.

Cream the butter properly. Give the butter and sugars the full couple of minutes so the mixture becomes lighter and fluffy before adding the egg.

Do not add extra flour. The dough is supposed to be sticky before chilling. Adding more flour can leave the finished cookies dry rather than soft and chewy.

Do not skip the chilling time. Refrigerating the portioned dough for 20–30 minutes makes it much easier to wrap around the frozen Nutella.

Seal the Nutella completely. Make sure there are no openings in the cookie dough or the filling may escape as the cookies bake.

Be generous with the coating. Gently pressing the cookie into the crushed nut and cinnamon-sugar mixture gives it a much better coating.

Do not overbake them. Take the cookies out when the edges are just lightly golden. They will continue to firm up during their first few minutes on the hot baking tray.

Variations

Hazelnut Coating

Replace the peanuts with 50 g crushed hazelnuts. Hazelnut is a particularly natural match for the chocolate-hazelnut filling.

Chocolate Snickerdoodles

For a chocolate cookie dough, replace 25 g of the plain flour with 25 g unsweetened cocoa powder.

Chocolate Chips

Fold chocolate chips through the finished cookie dough for an even more chocolatey version.

Caramel Centres

For a caramel variation, replace the frozen Nutella filling with a soft caramel sweet that can be completely enclosed inside the dough.

Chocolate Ganache Centres

A thick, chilled chocolate ganache can also be used in place of Nutella.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do Snickerdoodles Contain Cream of Tartar?

Cream of tartar gives the cookies their characteristic gentle tang and reacts with the bicarbonate of soda in the dough.

Why Do I Need to Freeze the Nutella?

Frozen Nutella is firm enough to wrap neatly inside the cookie dough. At room temperature it would be much softer and more difficult to enclose without making a mess.

Why Is My Cookie Dough Sticky?

That is normal for this recipe. Do not compensate by adding extra flour. Portion the dough and refrigerate it for 20–30 minutes, after which it should be much easier to handle.

How Do I Stop the Nutella Leaking Out?

Make sure the filling is frozen and completely surrounded by cookie dough. Pinch any gaps closed before rolling the cookie gently back into a ball.

How Do I Know When the Cookies Are Baked?

The edges should be just lightly golden after approximately 10–12 minutes. The centres will still be soft when they first come out of the oven.

Can I Use Hazelnuts Instead of Peanuts?

Yes. Hazelnuts work particularly well because they complement the chocolate-hazelnut filling.

Tools You’ll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Electric hand whisk or stand mixer
• 2 tablespoon ice-cream scoop or large spoon
• Measuring spoons
• 2 large baking trays
• Baking parchment or silicone baking mats
• Rolling pin
• Spatula
• Wire cooling rack
• Digital kitchen scales

Storage and Freezing

Storing

These Nutella stuffed snickerdoodles are particularly good while freshly baked, when the centres are still soft, but once completely cool they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Freezing

Once completely cool, place the baked cookies in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Allow them to defrost at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Nutrition per serving

Serving: 1 cookie (1/12 of the recipe)

Calories: 321.08 kcal · 16% DV
Total Fat: 14.17 g · 20% DV
Carbohydrates: 44.4 g · 17% DV
Sugars: 25.94 g · 29% DV
Protein: 4.73 g · 9% DV
Sodium: 114.85 mg · 6% DV
Fibre: 2.22 g · 8% DV

% Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Nutritional information is provided as an estimate and may vary depending on the exact ingredients, brands and serving size used.

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