Nutella Cookies

I bought a big jar of Nutella to bake some marbled Nutella banana bread, and I knew I wanted to try adding the hazelnut spread to some cookies. 

I took the basic dough I used for my bacon toffee cookies and amended it for these. 

These cookies are best right out of the oven, when they're still a little gooey and warm. Whey they cool they turn crispy and taste almost like the edge of a brownie. Yum!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups white sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Nutella hazelnut spread

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until smooth.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine. Then mix in the Nutella.
5. Drop cookies by small, rounded spoonfuls (these will spread out a lot) onto ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, then let stand for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


Fun fact: I've been baking everything in a toaster oven lately. I spend most of my time at my boyfriend's place, and it's what I've got to work with. I've been pretty amazed that everything turns out as well as it does. I've made bread, cakes, and cookies in it, and the only issue is making sure nothing is too close to the heating coils on the top of the oven. It just proves that you don't need a fancy kitchen to bake a mess!

Oreo Pudding Cookies

This one comes from plainchicken.com. I stumbled upon Stephanie's blog a few weeks ago, and it has already served as such an inspiration. Her site features dishes and desserts that are incredibly easy to make at home, and every recipe feels so comforting and real. Make sure to check out her website for the original cookie recipe here (I added in white chocolate chips and swapped out the semi-sweet ones for milk chocolate) and tell her I sent you!

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package (4.2 oz) instant Oreo pudding mix
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Whisk your flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer, and make sure to scrape the sides often. Mix in the Oreo pudding, vanilla, and the eggs, then beat until the eggs are mixed in.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and stir it until almost fully combined. Add the oatmeal (work those muscles!) and stir until flour disappears. Add the white chocolate and milk chocolate chips and, you guessed it, stir. 
5. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving about 2 1/2 inches between each cookie.
6. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 


Have fun baking a mess! 

Bacon Toffee Cookies

Who doesn't love bacon? Nobody, that's who. And who doesn't love bacon wrapped in an ooey, gooey cookie shell, chock-full of toffee pieces? This recipe is a hybrid of a couple that I found online, and I love the way they turned out. They're the perfect combination of sweet and savory, and the best part is you can add as much or as little bacon as you want, depending on how adventurous you're feeling.

INGREDIENTS
8-10 slices bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup HEATH English Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits
1 1/2 cups HEATH BITS'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Put the bacon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, turning once during cooking (note: if cooking bacon on the stove scares you as much as it does me, you can learn how to cook it in the oven here). Drain the bacon on some paper towels, then crumble it.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until smooth.
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine. Then mix in the toffee bits and bacon.
6. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (you want these to be soft and chewy), then let stand for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.