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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.
Nutella does make everything better!!
Nutella, my favorite!!!
Great idea to spread it on a cookie.
Thanks, Jamie.
P.S.: Real Nutella lovers eat it with a spoon, directly out of the jar.
I think most things in life could use a smear of Nutella. These shortbread cookies sound delicious!
As excited as we are about the bounty of fresh fruit that the season is offering up – we are SO thrilled to see some fruit free sweets…and especially one featuring Nutella. And really – anything is Nutella is just better right? Thanks for posting…yum yum yum.
Oh good gosh…I think I just had a heart attack. I need those.
Yum! Definitely trying these this weekend. :) Thank you – beautiful pictures!
Swoon! As I am a Nutella-holic you had me at Nutella! I am putting these on my list : )
I’m in love with Nutella…I have a cheesecake I bake using it & a chocolate chip cookies crust, super delish. Thanks for sharing the recipe for the cookies they look amazing. This one is definitely going into the “to-be-made” stack.
THIS LOOKS DELICIOUS! :)
My wife Joanne loves Nutella and I love chocolate. It is the perfect cookie for us :)