Nutella Kiss Cookies

This is becomoing an old favorite of mine that I could devour year round, but they always remind me of the holidays.

Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (I used world market's brand, super tasty!)
-1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-1 egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-red and green sugar sprinkles
-1 package Hershey's Kisses (I used candy cane, milk chocolate, and caramel)


Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.


2.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.


3.In another medium bowl, place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter, and both sugars. Using a hand mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and blend until incorporated.


4.Stir in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.


5.Shape the cookie dough into 1/2" balls with a table spoon. Rolls the balls in the sprinkles. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. Quickly place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.


These were one of the first treats I made for the holidays so after they cooled completely I stored them in an air tight container and put them in the freezer. When I was ready to serve them I place them on the counter overnight with a slice of bread in the container to help soften them up and they were perfect.

Nutella Kiss Cookies

One of my favorite cookies has always been the peanut butter blossom, but since I try to stay away from peanut butter these days (due to the migraines they inflict) and I love nutella I thought I would try these cookies with a bit of a twist. They are also a pretty dense cookie so I thought they would travel well. I made a double batch (which ended up being 100 cookies, whoops!) and sent some off to the bike & builders, brought some into work, AND had extra to bring to Molly for the 4th of July in St. Louis. This ended up being a pretty wet dough, so it helped with the handling to place the dough in the refrigerator for a bit before forming the balls and rolling in the sprinkles (green and gold sprinkles to send my love the green bay way). I also used a mix of caramel kisses and regular milk chocolate for a bit of a twist. The caramel kisses are a little delicate and cracked on quite a few, so I might try rolos next time. I think these could also be really cute with the red/white peppermint kisses around the holidays. I found this great recipe at Food Network from Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients:

-1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (I used world market's brand, super tasty!)
-1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-1 egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/2 cup orange sprinkles, or orange sugar
-1 (9-ounce) package of chocolate candy kisses (use any kind you like, i think they would all work)

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3.In another medium bowl, place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter, and both sugars. Using a hand mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and blend until incorporated.

4.Stir in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.
5.Shape the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls. Rolls the balls in the sprinkles. Place the cookies on a heavy cookie sheet about 4 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. Quickly place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.