Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies? I’ll take twenty-five please.
I think it’s important that we celebrate all that is good in the world, with chocolate + hazelnut spread being one of life’s finest creations. Behold the Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie. Bask in her glory. Note her splendor. She’s dying to get to you know. Really.
Gianduja is just a fancy Italian way of saying chocolate-hazelnut spread. You know the kind that you can buy in stores and eat by the spoonful? And while yes, store-bought is fab, easy and supports my pro-lounge lifestyle, it is incomparable to homemade. And it takes a scant 10-15 minutes to throw together, at it’s longest.
This cookie is monstrous coming in at a whopping 1/4 cup of cookie dough + 2 teaspoons of Gianduja stuffed in the middle. Which is actually quite fabulous as it means there are many bites to be had from one cookie. Which in turn means you have to get up off of the couch less frequently, to grab one more. These pair beautiful with a really nice cognac…perhaps some hazelnut liquor…or milk. You decide.
This recipe was created in collaboration with Diamond of California, a company I love and use daily in cookies, crusts, pizzas, salads (yes, I eat salad…and I have a post ready to go on this fact, so stay tuned). Be sure to look at the very bottom of the post where I link to all of my other Diamond collaborations — they’re some of my most favorite recipes!
Equipment for Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Food Processor
I use my food processor to make the Gianduja, but in a pinch you could use a high-speed blender. If you can make nut butter in your blender, you can make creamy, chocolate-hazelnut spread in your blender. So there’s that. How smooth you want the consistency is up to you. I like to leave a little texture and crunch from the nuts. If you prefer something smoother, just let the machine run longer. Be sure to periodically scrape down the sides and bottom of whichever machine you use to make sure everything is well blended.
Ingredient Notes
Chocolate
Many recipes have you melt the chocolate before putting it in with the nuts, I don’t find that is necessary. In regards to what chocolate to use, that’s up to you. Dark chocolate refers to anything from semi-sweet to bittersweet.
If you want something sweeter, go for the semi-sweet and conversely go for the bittersweet chocolate if you want a less sweet, more intense chocolate flavor spread. I prefer something in the 65-70% cocoa range. The most important thing to choosing a chocolate for this is to taste it and look beyond the numbers.
What tastes delicious to you will be delicious in this. I just wouldn’t use unsweetened chocolate here.
Hazelnuts
I use Diamond Chopped Hazelnuts — they save me the extra step of chopping and they don’t have any salt added. There will be some skin on these, but I don’t find it’s a problem in the final taste of the Gianduja. If you want all of the skins removed, put the nuts in a dish towel, close it at the top and rub the outside. This should get rid of any residual skins.
To toast, but them in a dry, cast iron skillet over medium low heat, stirring frequently until they get slightly toasty in color and aroma.
Note that you will take 1/4 cup of ground hazelnuts out of the food processor when making the Gianduja. This 1/4 cup is going to go in your cookie base — don’t skip this step.
Flour
For this cookie base I used a combination of white whole-wheat flour + all-purpose flour. I love white whole-wheat flour for the earthy taste it imparts on the cookie, as well as some nice chew.
If you can’t be bothered to pick up white whole-wheat you can sub in bread flour in a pinch. I have not tried this cookie with 100% all-purpose flour, so if you do please let me know how it goes in the comments below. My guess is that it would be a bit crispier and flatter, but would love to hear from you!
Technique Notes
Chilling and Freezing Things
You know how much I love to use the fridge and freezer while baking. When you plan on making these, just note that the Gianduja needs to chill in the fridge for a bit, scooped into 2 teaspoon balls and then frozen for a short spell — so factor this extra time into your baking timeline.
The dough benefits from a stint in the fridge as well, making it easier to handle when rolling into balls; however, chilling it isn’t required if you don’t mind handling a sticky dough. If you do give it fridge time, say a day or two, just note that your cookies will be puffier as the flour has had time to absorb the moisture in the dough.
Baking Time
I have you baking this behemoth for a scant 13 minutes and she’ll finish baking on the warm baking sheet as she cools down. This results in a soft, chewy, slightly crispy around the exterior cookie. She will be hard to handle if you pick her up straight out of the oven…in fact she’s liable to fall apart.
So have faith, let her cool and finish her thing. Or if you like a crispier cookie, tack on an extra two minutes to the bake time.
More Diamond Recipes
Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies With Chocolate Ganache
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cookies
Creamy Roasted Walnut Tahini Dip
Pecan Manchego Mutligrain Crackers
Savory Pesto + Roasted Red Pepper Beer Buns
Almond Scented Meringues With Roasted Rhubarb + Berries
Dark Chocolate Pretzel Buns With Toasted Walnuts
More Yummy Cookie Fun
Grab My Favorite Cookies Tips for Perfect Cookies, make these Crinkly, Fudgy Brownie Cookies (they’re so good!) or try my favorite, small-batch (one bowl! no rest!) Mega Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies!!
Let’s bake some bad ass Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, shall we?
Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
For the Gianduja
- 1 1/2 cups (192 g) Diamond Chopped Hazelnuts, (toasted)
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) dark chocolate, (finely chopped)
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) light or dark brown sugar*, (packed)
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) unsalted butter, ( room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream, (room temperature)
For the Cookie
- 2 cups 420 g light or dark brown sugar*, (packed)
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter, ( room temperature)
- 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) sunflower seed oil, (or other neutral oil)
- 2 large eggs, (room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) real vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (204 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups (150 g) white whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons (7 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups (240 g) dark chocolate chips
Instructions
For the Gianduja
- Place the hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and run the machine until fine and resembling cornmeal or fine breadcrumbs. This can take up to 10 minutes, so be patient. Take 1/4 cup (32 g) of ground hazelnuts out of bowl and set aside to add to the cookie base. Add in the chocolate, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and sea salt and run the machine until the mixture is thick, smooth and has formed a large mass. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the cream and run until a smooth, glossy mixture has formed. I left the hazelnuts a wee on the coarser side for texture, but go as smooth or coarse as desired. Scoop the mixture into a clean jar and set in the fridge to chill for 60 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once chilled, use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop/melon baller/two spoons to grab 2-teaspoon mounds. Mold into little balls and place on the baking sheet. It can be a bit tough to handle, but the cooler the mixture the easier it will be. Set the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer to chill while you make your cookie dough. You don’t want them to become frozen solid, just chilled through. So if you wanted to store overnight, cover tightly and stash in the fridge instead of the freezer.
For the Cookie
- In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the brown sugar and butter for 5 minutes until smooth, light and creamy. With the machine on low, drizzle in the oil until it is fully emulsified into the mixture; this should take several minutes. With the machine on low, add in the eggs one at a time, making sure the first is completely blended before adding in the next. Finally add in the vanilla and run the machine on low for one minute more.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white whole-wheat flour, 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Add to the butter mixture and run the machine on low for 1 minute or until the mixture is blended but you still see streaks of flour. Add in the chocolate chips and run the machine for 30 seconds more or until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. It’s important not to over-mix at this point as we don’t want tough cookies. Press a layer of plastic wrap over the cookies and set the dough in the fridge to chill a bit while you pre-heat your oven, this will make it easier to work with.
- Heat your oven to 350F (177C). Line several baking sheet with parchment paper.
- When ready to assemble grab 1/4 cup of dough and gently form into a ball. Using your finger, press an indent in the center, place a chilled Gianduja mound in the center and cover with the cookie dough. Set on the baking sheet leaving 3 inches between dough balls. If you have extra chocolate chips, set some over the top (I like to do this with my cookies so they look super chocolatey and pretty). Bake in the center of the over for 13 minutes and let cool completely on the baking sheet. We slightly underbake these and let them finish baking and cooling on the baking sheet so we have a soft, chewy cookie with slightly crispy edges. Yes. Yes, please.
Notes
These Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies were created in collaboration with Diamond of California. A big thank you to them + you for supporting the brands I work with! xo
I made these last week and closely followed the instructions. The recipe made 20 large cookies, and I had Gianduja left over to use in my next batch. These cookies were described as AMAZING and was deemed “The best cookie I’ve ever eaten” by a particularly finicky co-worker. I gave you credit, of course, but you did make me look like a genius! Many thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Hi Sally! I’m so so sooo happy that you and your friends/co-workers loved them — that means the world to me!!! Thank you for the note and YES, this does leave you with extra gianduja — which is never a bad thing! I’ve been wanting to note that if you want to use your leftovers as a spread, you could also thin it with more cream (or milk) to your desired consistency. Happy baking!!! xoxo
I made these last week and closely followed the instructions. The recipe made 20 large cookies, and I had Gianduja left over to use in my next batch. These cookies were described as AMAZING and was deemed “The best cookie I’ve ever eaten” by a particularly finicky co-worker. I gave you credit, of course, but you did make me look like a genius! Many thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Omg i LOVE chocolate hazelnut spread and i love that i now know the fancy way to say it. these cookies look AMAZING AS ALWAYS!!!!
Hi Morgan!!
Me too — it’s the absolute best!! Thank you so much!!
R xox
I was about to rush into my kitchen to make these, but alas…no whipping cream in the house. I guess a trip to the store is in my plans today. Wow do they look good!
Hi Janet!
They are worth a trip to the store!! Have fun baking!!
R xoxo
I’ve been waiting for this recipe ever since you teased us on Instagram and in the meantime, I just walked in the door from buying chocolate covered espresso beans for your cold brew cookies<3. I'm going to really blow my family away with both of these recipes. Thanks, Rebecca!
Hi Sally!
This is such a nice comment — thank you so much! Please let me know how both cookies go — I hope you love them!!
R xoxo