Nutella and roasted white chocolate cookies

I reached a milestone on Instagram recently (5,000 followers!) and to celebrate I did a contest/recipe giveaway. The winner will get a recipe created by me inspired by them - they get to pick the flavor, mix in, what type of goodie. It got me thinking, what would my dream dessert be?

You might be thinking that I've already created it, and of course I have created a lot of my "dream recipes" but I realized that I hadn't yet thought about what my ultimate favorite flavors were and put them into one recipe! Enter this cookie. When it comes to flavors and mix ins, chocolate hazelnut is my number one. I've created a chocolate hazelnut brownie cookie which I'm quite fond of, but a classic chocolate chip cookie is one of my all time favorite desserts. I also love white chocolate, and for Thanksgiving last year I made a pumpkin pie from Kelly Fields' Good Book of Southern Baking and it had a roasted white chocolate topping. I have never had anything like it, and the idea of toasting the white chocolate was just as delicious as it sounds.

Do you have to roast the white chocolate for this recipe? It's not required, but the added flavor is so worth it I promise! Either way, once your white chocolate is melted you'll swirl in nutella and that mixture will serve as your chopped chocolate in your cookies. I used Valrhona white chocolate and chopped it, but any white chocolate bar would work great. The dough also has nutella and peanut butter mixed in. The main flavor is nutella, but the peanut butter adds a really nice flavor to the cookie without being overpowering.

This cookie is definitely a labor of love, roasting the white chocolate, making the white chocolate nutella combination, chilling and freezing the dough, and the end cookie is like nothing else I've ever had. Not only is the flavor incredible, but the cookie has the perfect crisp edge and chewy center. It has a wonderful chocolate flavor throughout without being overly chocolatey. I’m so excited to be sharing this one, and even more excited about the end result!

Ingredients: Cookie ingredients:

• 1 stick (half cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil*

• 2 tablespoons peanut butter*

• 2 tablespoons nutella

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

White chocolate and nutella mix in:

• 4oz (about 2/3 cup) chopped white chocolate

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) nutella

*The peanut butter should be a natural one with no added oils, dry roasted peanuts should be the only ingredient (maybe salt). If you use peanut butter that has any oil, I would recommend omitting the added tablespoon of oil but know that it may impact the texture of the cookie.

Total time: 12-24 hours

Active prep time: About 30-40 minutes

Chill and freeze time: 12-24 hours

Bake time: 14-16 minutes

Cooking instructions: If you haven't already, remove your butter from the fridge so that it can come to room temperature. Make your white chocolate and nutella mix in. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Chop your white chocolate finely and spread it onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in one layer. Once your oven is preheated, place your cookie sheet into the oven. Have a second cookie sheet or flat platter set aside for later.

After 5 minutes, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and use a clean spatula to stir the chocolate around. It should be melted at this point. Repeat this in 5 minute increments until your white chocolate turns to a lightly toasted color. It will go through a stage of being a bit lumpy, don't worry when that happens. Once it's ready, remove from the oven and carefully transfer your parchment paper with roasted white chocolate onto your second, cool cookie sheet and spread smoothly. Dollop your 4 tablespoons of nutella onto your white chocolate and leave it for about 30 seconds so that the nutella becomes warm. Then, use a dry tool like a knife or small offset spatula to swirl your nutella through the roasted white chocolate. You can see the photo above for a reference of what mine looked like, but don't worry about it being perfect!

Place your cookie sheet into the freezer for about an hour or until it's completely firm.

Next, make your cookie dough. Grab your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Place your stick of butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar into your stand mixer. Note: if your butter is not at room temperature already, you can either place it first into the microwave for 5-10 seconds, or mix your stand mixer at a low speed for 30-60 seconds until your butter is softened. Bring your stand mixer slowly from a low to high speed and allow it to combine the butter and sugars for 1 minute and then pause to scrape down the sides. Turn your mixer back on at a high speed for 3 minutes. While this is mixing, grab your egg, extra yolk, and vanilla extract. Pause your stand mixer, and scrape down the sides of your butter and sugar mixture as well as your paddle attachment to ensure that no pockets of butter and sugar go unmixed. Then, add in your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract to your butter and sugar. Slowly bring your stand mixer back to a high speed and allow it to combine your mixture for another 3 minutes. Slowly reduce the speed again, scrape down the sides of your mixture and paddle attachment. Add in your tablespoon of oil and then bring your mixer back up to a high speed once again for another 3 minutes, and then pause to scrape down the sides of your mixture.

Add in your 2 tablespoons of nutella and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Turn your mixer back on for 1-2 minutes until both are fully incorporated. Pause your mixer, and scrape down the sides again, being sure to reach the bottom of your mixing bowl. In a medium bowl, combine your flour, baking soda, and salt and mix together. Then, add your dry ingredients, and start your mixer at a slow speed. Bring it up to a medium speed, mixing until just incorporated, about a minute. If needed, you can pause, scrape down, and mix again or finish combining with a spatula, but be sure not to over mix at this stage. Remove your white chocolate and nutella mixture from the freezer and use a sharp knife to chop it into bite sized pieces.

Remove your mixing bowl from your mixer and add your chopped white chocolate and nutella pieces into your dough. If you want to top your cookie with some later on, you can reserve a small hand full of chopped pieces and place them back into the freezer to keep cool. Use a spatula or large spoon to fold in your chocolate pieces. You can use your mixer for this step, but move very slowly to make sure you don't break up the white chocolate pieces too finely.

Cover your dough and place it into the fridge for at least an hour.

After an hour of chill time, use a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons) or large spoon to portion out your dough and space it out onto a lined cookie sheet, I use parchment paper. It should make about 14 cookies. If you reserved some of your white chocolate and nutella mixture, you can top your scooped dough and gently press it down. Place your scooped cookie dough into the freezer and leave it overnight, or at least 12 hours. Ideally leave it in the freezer for a full 24 hours. When you're ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Space out your cookie dough a few inches apart and bake your cookies for 14-16 minutes. If you have cookie dough you'd like to save, once it's been in the freezer for 24 hours you can transfer it to an airtight container or plastic bag.

You can store your baked cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days, but they are best to be enjoyed fresh baked! Anytime you're ready for a cookie, or a few, you can bake the dough right from the freezer with the same instructions.

Carb and serving info: Servings: 14 cookies Carbs per serving: 28 Carbs for full recipe: 397

Carbs from white chocolate in full recipe (in case you swap in a different type): 72

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.