Chocolate Hazelnut Snickerdoodles

I love blogging! It gives me the ability to outlet my artistic passion for food through cooking, writing and photography. All while being able to be home and available to my always energetic 3 year old. I admit there are times when it can be very precarious getting out to that new restaurant or trying out a lengthy new recipe. The meal could be cut short due to a cranky kid or the cookies in the oven may get slightly over-baked while you’re looking for a little shoe that has suddenly gone missing. Because of these variables it is essential that I have those spots for a quick bite and that easy fail-safe recipe on hand. One such recipe is my tasty and simple snickerdoodle recipe.

Yesterday my son Aiden was craving all of my attention. Days like these can be rough and wearing on ones patience, so by the end of the day I decided to treat myself to some freshly baked cookies. I went straight for my snickerdoodle recipe. Today I was needing a little extra boost to add to my treat. Chocolate should do the trick, I thought! Not just chocolate but nutella, mixed into the already rich snickerdoodle batter. Perfection!

While the cookies baked in the oven they let off the most delicious smells of chocolate and cinnamon all around the house. As I took them out of the oven I could see the sugar and cinnamon topping sparkling. I needed one immediately! I tasted the rich chocolate hazelnut spread, and the sparkling crispy crust crunched as I devoured it. They were deliciously satisfying at the end of a long day.

I’m enjoying one of those snickerdoodles as I write this post. I realize it’s before 11am but, sometimes we all need a little extra indulgence. Working from home is both a blessing and a challenge. On those particularly challenging days there is nothing like some good home cooking to set one right!

Chocolate Hazelnut Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 1/2 tbsp Nutella, go ahead and make it 5 if you really love it rich!

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

In a medium bowl beat the softened butter with a mixer for about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of sugar, cream of tartar, and baking soda, mix until combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla, mix until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. The dough will get very stiff. Stir in any remaining flour by hand. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Combine the 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon in a wide dish. Form the chilled dough into 1 inch balls. You can also roll out the dough thickly and use cookie cutters to form fun shapes. Roll the balls or shapes in the cinnamon sugar mixture and coat the outside. Place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree (fahrenheit) oven for 8-10. They are ready when the edges brown. Cool on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm. They are the best that way! (In my opinion that is.)