Ok, so Marks and Spencer now make their own ‘Nutella’ under the Plant Kitchen range. Yes, it’s vegan, I bought some, and it is delicious. I was never one to waste Nutella by diluting it with toast. I only ever ate it in it’s most pure form; by the spoonful, straight from the jar. It was tempting to do the same with this little jar of PB heaven but the blog is keeping me accountable and, I figured I’d make a little effort. Enter the Nutella stuffed cookies! I’m not the first to make a Nutella stuffed cookie and I won’t be the last but I’ll just remind you that this is an all vegan and gluten-free recipe blog which means the cookies are too! You’re welcome.
ingredients
150g vegan chocolate hazelnut spread
115g vegan margarine or butter
125g light muscovado sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
210g gluten-free flour, plain/all-purpose
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. xanthan
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
35g non-dairy chocolate, very finely chopped
process
Place a piece of parchment paper on a small tray (one that will fit in your freezer). Use a teaspoon measure to scoop out 12 heaped teaspoons of chocolate hazelnut spread on to the parchment paper. Place the tray in the freezer for 30-45mins.
Meanwhile, make the cookie dough. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale in colour. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan and salt. Toss the finely chopped chocolate with the flour to lightly coat. Fold the flour mixture into the creamed butter and sugar with a baking spatula. Mix until well combined.
Cover the bowl of cookie dough and place in the fridge for 30mins.
Preheat the oven to 160C and line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper.
Take the chocolate hazelnut spread out of the freezer and divide the cookie dough into 12 even balls. Flatten each dough ball into a disc and place a teaspoon of frozen chocolate hazelnut spread in the centre. Wrap the cookie dough around the chocolate spread to completely cover. Place the cookie on the baking tray seam side down.
Bake for 15-18mins. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray and wait until the cookies are completely cool before removing from the tray.
NOTES
Flour – I used dove’s farm GF plain flour
Butter – I used the dairy-free Flora
Xanthan Gum – is a binder that helps gluten-free baked goods hold their shape and prevents them from excessively crumbling (especially useful in vegan baking in the absence of eggs). You can find xanthan gum in most supermarkets in the baking aisle. You can, of course, leave the xanthan gum out but I haven’t tested the recipe without xanthan so I can’t guarantee it’ll work.
Chocolate hazelnut spread – as mentioned I used the Plant Kitchen brand from M&S but there are lots of vegan options out there and any one will do.
Baking time – baking the cookies for a shorter time (15mins) will make them softer and gooier at the centre and a longer time (18-20mins) will make the cookies crunchier.
Wondering why the cookies need to go in the fridge before baking?
Gluten-free cookies tend to spread excessively when baking, fridging them before baking prevents this from happening.
Wondering why the cookies need to be cold before you remove them from the tray?
Gluten-free cookies are a little more fragile than their gluten-containing counterparts. Allowing them to cool on the tray, allows them to fully set. If you skip this step you may find they completely crumble when moved.
Find more gluten-free vegan baking tips here.
