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[donotprint]With the abundance of fresh fruit recipes coming out of my kitchen, I thought I would take a break from berries and make a Mocha Shortbread Cookie recipe. Once these lovelies came of of the oven, they were begging for a smear of Nutella.
I tasted Nutella for the first time last year and I have not been without a jar since. This chocolate hazelnut spread is loved by many bakers and adds a delicious complexity to baked goods that chocolate alone cannot accomplish. Whether you smear it on toast, dip fresh fruit it, or drizzle it on ice cream…Nutella is a pretty fabulous accompaniment to many different foods.
I got inspiration for Mocha Shortbread while sipping a Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks. Although I am not a huge chocolate lover or a regular coffee drinker, there is something about this pairing that makes me a very happy girl. The combination of chocolate and coffee combined very well in these shortbread cookies. The coffee flavor was quite subtle, so feel free to amp up the amount of espresso powder to kick up the flavor a notch. These cookies are buttery and crumbly just how how I like my shortbread. If you are not a Nutella fan (are there any out there) the cookies are simply delish on their own. If you are a Nutella fan, I highly suggest you spread this chocolatey goodness on these cookies, I promise you won’t be sorry. I hope you have a fantastic weekend and thanks so much for stopping by MBA.
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Mocha Shortbread with Nutella
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant espresso granules
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
If desired; Hazelnut Spread (Nutella) to sandwich cookies
Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars, vanilla and instant espresso granules.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt
3. Gradually mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until fully incorporated
4. Cover bowl and refrigerate for one hour.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with floured 2-in. to 3-in. cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.
6. Bake at 300 degrees F for 20 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.
7. Once cookies are completely cooled, sandwich them together with your desired amount of Hazelnut Spread (Nutella).
*Note: When not working with the Shortbread dough, place it back into the refrigerator; this will enable an easier rolling process.
Hi! I tried the recípe but I had a problema, When I shapwd them and place them on the oven they melted down. Why is that?
Thank you
Hi, Carolina! I would check the ingredients list again to make sure you added everything. Did you refrigerate them for an hour? It really helps with the shaping and baking process. I’m sorry they didn’t work out for you. I hope you give it another try!
I found that it worked better to just ball up the dough and then flatten it with the heel of my hand. And if you do it this way, you don’t need the refrigerator, and it saves time. Baking time was spot- on, and THANK YOU so much for this ultra cool idea of using nutella for filling. These are scrumptios !
Hi,
I really like your blog and have written about it on mine. Hope you have a great holiday season!
http://blog.hmmdc.com/?p=332
– Haley
I made these and served them along side affogato for dessert. Needless to say, they were a hit… Only a few chocolatey crumbs remained. I sandwiched mine with ganache due to a few Nutella haters in my family. I know, who hates Nutella? Crazy people that’s who.
Jamie, saying thank you to you is not enough to express how i liked this cookies, this in one of the best cookies i have ever made in my life, i was blown by their taste and texture, all my family members loved them and gave a rave comments, the cookie is sof, tender, crisp how i don’t know, it melt in the mouth, and the filling is heaven, i stronlgly recommend sandwith these cookies with nutella spread, i would make these cookies again and agin and again, thanks a lot from the bottom of my heart for this magical recipe. can’t wait to try another recipe of yours. god bless you.
WOW! These are delicious! I am looking forward to making these again on Easter. As always, thank you for sharing and you have a great blog!
These were delicious! I paired them with some French chocolate buttercream I had made for macarons and they got rave reviews! Everyone loved them. Oh, and I hate rolling/cutting out cookies so I just made them slice and bake and it worked perfectly.
oh – so making these as chrissy gifts!
the recipe says to bake at 300, is that the correct temp or just a typo.. these cookies look divine.. but then again what doesnt when nutella is involved!
I’m in Switzerland right now and nutella is everywhere!! This is perfect.