When it comes to breakfast, chocolate spreads have a lot of fans, right?! Most people will probably think of Nutella here, but there are many more, of course! In Spain (and Portugal), Nocilla is a strong competitor for the chocolate spread from Italy. We have good connections to Spain and visit more often – a glass jar of Nocilla almost always ends up in our luggage. That’s why I used the chocolate spread here as a filling for these delicious NY Style Nocilla Filled Chocolate Nougat Cookies. Sooo good! I think you can see in the pictures how good they are. ;P
I’ve always been a big fan of these sweet chocolaty spreads. We used to have the well-known Italian brand at home all the time when I was a kid. Nowadays, I use chocolate spread (almost) only for baking. As a diabetic, you have to be a little careful. Most of these chocolate spreads contain more than 50% sugar… not the best, if you want to reduce added sugar in your diet. ;P
The classic Nocilla is no different here – it also contains a lot of sugar. Fortunately, the Brand also has a »no-added sugar version« that only contains around 5% of sugar (where is always a bit of sugar because of other ingredients). On top of that, the chocolate spread is made without palm oil… something that definitely influences my decision to buy something (or to leave it in the store). They haven’t got that far in Italy yet with Nutella, although I’m sure they could. ;P
Anyway. For the cookies, you can, of course, use any type of chocolate spread you can find in a supermarket or online. You don’t have to rely on one specific brand or another. I just had the Spanish one at hand and used it. That’s it. In the end, the reduced-sugar version didn’t make much of a difference here, because there’s still plenty of sugar in the cookie dough. ;P
I’ve linked to the Nocilla spread I used for the recipe in the ingredients. However, I don’t recommend buying the product on Amazon. It’s completely overpriced. ;P It only costs a fraction of that in a Spanish supermarket. I just wanted you to know what I used in case you didn’t. Just keep it in mind – if you go to Spain or Portugal in the future, you can look for it… and maybe take some home. ;P
The cookies also contain a bit of chocolate nougat you can use for baking (in Germany, it’s called »schnittfestes Nougat«). This ingredient is easy to find in German supermarkets, but not so much in other countries, from my experience. If you can’t find it (or simply don’t want to use it), you can use a bit more chopped chocolate instead. Semi-sweet Chocolate or milk chocolate – both would be fine here.
We already got several of these NY style cookies (aka. Levain Bakery cookies) recipes here on the blog. We love to bake them because they are so easy to make. The fact you have to freeze them before baking might seem a bit annoying, because it extends the preparation time… but on the other hand, that’s something very practical. If you don’t want to bake a whole batch of cookies at once, you can keep the dough in the freezer and bake cookies anytime you want in the future. The cookie balls can stay in the freezer for weeks! ;P
Speaking of oversized cookies… As already mentioned, we got several recipes here on the blog. If you don’t want to search for another recipe, just click on the picture or the link here. ;) My NY Style Pumpkin Spice Pecan White Chocolate Cookies (awfully long name, I know!) are not filled with anything, but no less delicious! From a different category of oversized cookies are my Crumbl-Style Tiramisu Cookies. They are also inspired by a bakery chain and no less delicious (or impressive looking) than these filled chocolate cookies here.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(12 cookies)
6.7 oz. (190g) cold butter, in pieces
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
9 oz. (250g) semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
2 3/4 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
1.8 oz. (50g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5.3 oz. (150g) firm chocolate nougat*, diced
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
about 4.2 oz. (120g) Nocilla spread* (or similar)
(12 Cookies)
190g kalte Butter, in Stücken
150g Zucker
50g brauner Zucker
250g Zartbitterschokolade, grob gehackt
360g Mehl (Type 405)
50g Backkakao
1 1/2 TL Backpulver
1/2 TL Salz
150g Schnittfestes Nougat*, gewürfelt
2 Eier (L)
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
etwa 120g Nocilla Aufstrich* (o.ä.)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. To create less mess while filing the cookies, I recommend cooling the chocolate spread beforehand. Half an hour in the freezer should be fine, or two hours in the fridge. I normally leave the spread in the fridge overnight.
2. Add the cold butter and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until the butter and sugar have merged into different-sized streusels – you don’t want the ingredients to fully combine. Add the chopped chocolate and mix in briefly. In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add to the bowl and mix to combine. You want the mix (once again) to look like dry streusels instead of a proper cookie dough. Add the diced chocolate nougat and mix in briefly. Next, mix the egg with vanilla, add to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix everything until the streusels start sticking together.
3. Divide the dough into 12 portions. Place the dough in the palm of your hand and press your thumb into the dough to create an indention. Add about 1 teaspoon of the cooled chocolate spread into the indention, press the dough together to seal the spread inside the dough. Transfer the cookie balls to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and place them in the freezer overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 180° (350°F) fan-forced. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Place the first batch of frozen dough balls with enough space in between on the baking sheet and bake the cookies for about 17-18 minutes – the edges should be firm and slightly browned. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for a moment. If the cookies look a bit deformed (or are too tall for your liking), you can press them into shape right after baking. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining dough (or keep it in the freezer for some other day).
1. Ich empfehle, den Schoko-Aufstrich vorab etwas zu kühlen, damit man besser damit arbeiten kann. Eine halbe Stunde im Gefrierfach oder zwei Stunden im Kühlschrank sollten hier ausreichen. Ich lass’ den Aufstrich meist über Nacht im Kühlschrank stehen.
2. Die kalte Butter und beide Zuckersorten in die Schüssel einer Küchenmaschine geben. Auf niedriger Stufe mixen, bis sich aus Butter und Zucker Streuseln gebildet haben. Die Zutaten sollten sich hier nur minimal verbinden. Die gehackte Schokolade dazugeben und kurz untermischen. Mehl, Kakao, Backpulver und Salz vermischen und zur Schüssel dazugeben. Auch hier nur auf niedriger Stufe mixen – hier soll noch kein richtiger Teig entstehen. Die Mischung sollte eher nach trockenen Streuseln aussehen. Das Nougat dazugeben und ebenfalls nur kurz untermengen. Als Nächstes das Ei mit dem Vanille Extrakt verquirlen, dann zur Schüssel dazugeben und verrühren, bis die Streusel anfangen zusammenzuhalten – der Teig sollte recht grob und bröckelig aussehen, aber zusammenhalten, wenn man ihn in den Fingern zusammendrückt.
3. Den Teig in 12 Portionen aufteilen. Jeweils eine Portion in die Handfläche nehmen und mit dem Daumen eine Vertiefung in den Teig drücken. Etwa 1 Teelöffel des gekühlten Aufstrichs in die Vertiefung füllen, den Teig rundum zusammendrücken und den Aufstrich damit einschließen. Die Kugeln in einen Gefrierbeutel oder eine Tupper (die in den Gefrierschrank kann) packen und über Nacht in den Gefrierschrank stellen.
4. Den Ofen auf 180° (350°F) Umluft vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen. Die gefrorenen Teigkugeln mit genügend Abstand zueinander auf das Backblech setzen und die Cookies dann für etwa 17-18 Minuten backen – die Cookies dürfen an den Rändern etwas Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und kurz auf dem Backblech abkühlen lassen. Sollten die Cookies deformiert aussehen oder zu hoch sein, kann man sie jetzt noch etwas in Form bringen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter setzen und komplett auskühlen lassen. Den Vorgang mit dem restlichen Teig wiederholen (oder einfach für einen anderen Tag im Gefrierschrank lassen).
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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NY Style Nocilla Filled Chocolate Nougat Cookies
- Prep Time: 00:40
- Cook Time: 00:17
- Total Time: 08:00
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: United States
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
They are big, loaded with chocolate and super delicious – these NY Style Nocilla Filled Chocolate Nougat Cookies check all the boxes!
Ingredients
6.7 oz. (190g) cold butter, in pieces
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
9 oz. (250g) semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
2 3/4 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
1.8 oz. (50g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5.3 oz. (150g) firm chocolate nougat*, diced
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
about 4.2 oz. (120g) Nocilla spread* (or similar)
Instructions
1. To create less mess while filing the cookies, I recommend cooling the chocolate spread beforehand. Half an hour in the freezer should be fine, or two hours in the fridge. I normally leave the spread in the fridge overnight.
2. Add the cold butter and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until the butter and sugar have merged into different-sized streusels – you don’t want the ingredients to fully combine. Add the chopped chocolate and mix in briefly. In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add to the bowl and mix to combine. You want the mix (once again) to look like dry streusels instead of a proper cookie dough. Add the diced chocolate nougat and mix in briefly. Next, mix the egg with vanilla, add to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix everything until the streusels start sticking together.
3. Divide the dough into 12 portions. Place the dough in the palm of your hand and press your thumb into the dough to create an indention. Add about 1 teaspoon of the cooled chocolate spread into the indention, press the dough together to seal the spread inside the dough. Transfer the cookie balls to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and place them in the freezer overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 180° (350°F) fan-forced. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Place the first batch of frozen dough balls with enough space in between on the baking sheet and bake the cookies for about 17-18 minutes – the edges should be firm and slightly browned. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for a moment. If the cookies look a bit deformed (or are too tall for your liking), you can press them into shape right after baking. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining dough (or keep it in the freezer for some other day).
Notes
Let’s get baking!
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