Monday 22 December 2014

Nutella Stuffed Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies


When SK showed me this very obscene photo I got so excited I wanted to bake what I saw immediately. Yeah, immediately as in NOW, SEKARANG, TONG KIM! If I knew the Tamil word for "now", I would say it out loud too.



But of course I had to wait. I can only bake on weekends. I know some people who can cook or bake after they get home from work. Not me. I don't have the will nor the strength to do that. I suppose I am cacat in that respect.



So there I was in my kitchen last weekend, recipe in hand peering closely at the list of ingredients. I had to convert the cup measurements into grams because I don't know how to measure flour accurately using cups. But sugar and chocolate chips is fine because they are solid.

Getting into the nitty gritty, there were two things that I had to do :
  • The recipe calls for 275g of brown sugar and 50g of granulated sugar. This totals 325g sugar. That is a lot of sugar because the amount of flour used is 343.75g. Factor in the sweetness that would come from 305g of chocolate chips, there you have it, a disaster of diabetic proportions. And don't forget, Nutella is sweet too. I was debating in my head whether to reduce or totally omit sugar.

  • Nutella is soft and gooey, especially so in our tropical heat. I read that the trick is to either chill the Nutella in the fridge or freeze teaspoonfuls for easier handling. Aiyo, so leceh! But what needs to be done has to be done.


I decided to bake only half recipe and I had no idea how many cookies I would get. Before I started, I froze 25 teaspoons of Nutella for easier handling. My Nutella was kind of dryish because it was leftovers with about 1/4 bottle left.



After that, I browned the butter, something that I have never done before. Quite honestly, I did not like the smell at all. After preparing the batter, I chilled it for a few hours because I had to run out with my partner for our grocery shopping. 


It was a good thing that I froze the Nutella because it would have been very stressful trying to encase the soft gooey Nutella into the cookie batter. After I was done with the first batch, I returned the balance of the Nutella into the freezer. My cookies did not spread flat like the one in Ambitious Kitchen. Instead they were fat and chunky. 


I baked the cookies for 18 minutes, turning the pan at half time for even baking. Once the cookies were out of the oven, I sprinkled them with sea salt and couldn't wait for the cookies to cool down. The smell was fantastic, and I am convinced that the browned butter had something to do with that, though I did not like the smell at the beginning.


When the cookies were almost cooled, I took a bite. H**y c**p!!! I say, these cookies I tell you are the best d**n cookies I have ever tasted. The sweet salty dynamics from the combination of sea salt and chocolates/Nutella made these so b*****y awesome. S**t!! I ate 8 cookies!! Please excuse the colourful language, these cookies bring out the worst in me. 



I sat on my dining table looking at the remaining cookies on the cooling rack. They were still warm. I wanted more because they were so freakin good. Should I? Should I? But no, I walked away and started washing all the mixing bowls and whatnots. Then I stored the cookies in a small canister and saved them for my partner. Caring is sharing, so we must share the fats too hee..hee..hee..

I ate all these. And wanted more.

I highly recommend these cookies because they are truly awesome with a capital A. And for heaven's sake, please bake the full recipe. Or double it. I got 16 cookies from half recipe and I ate half of that. Yikes! Make that a double yikes!!












Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe source : Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen
Note : The adapted recipe below is for half recipe and I have drastically reduced the sugar content. Please go the recipe source for the original recipe.
Makes about 16 cookies

Ingredients :
- 170g self-raising flour
- 113g butter
- 50g granulated sugar
- 1 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 16 teaspoons Nutella, frozen or chilled
- coarse sea-salt for sprinkling

Method :
1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. The butter will begin to foam. Whisk consistently during this process.
3. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan. 
4. Continue to whisk and and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool.
5. Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar until thoroughly blended.
6. Beat in the egg, vanilla and yogurt until combined.
7. Fold in flour using a spatula and mix till just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
8. Chill dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
9. Preheat oven to 160C.
10. Measure about 1.5 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon Nutella in the middle and fold dough around it. Gently roll into a ball. Make sure Nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. 
11. Place dough balls on lined baking tray, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand very gently.
12. Bake for 10-18 minutes, depending on how crispy you want the cookies to be. Turn the baking tray at half time for even baking. I baked mine for 18 minutes because I like my cookies crispy.
13. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with sea salt.
14. Transfer to cooling rack and once completely cooled, store in an airtight jar. No, I mean eat some right away and save some in the jar :)





I am submitting this post to Cook and Celebrate Christmas 2014 hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy KidsYen from Eat Your Heart Out and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

53 comments:

  1. That's a beauty! Especially the cross-section.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Arthur! I was hoping for a more dramatic Nutella effect but they were dry and not gooey. I'll try again with fresher Nutella.

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  2. I must bookmark this recipe.. Your balls, oops, sorry, you don't have balls la (kidding), I mean your chocolate balls (before baking) look so so so rich and creamy and full of "liew", full of goodness, wetness, OMG.. Sorry if it sounds hamsap.. But really, they look so wet and sticky and good and bouncy, ooohh la la.. I can imagine myself popping them into my mouth even without baking them.. I could eat them raw you know..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Louiz, hah..hah... I heard that some people like raw cookie dough but I dare not try it. Scared get stomach ache. Anyway, you MUST bake these cookies. Betul, betul sedap. Guarantee 100% satisfied :)

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  3. Gosh, this is interesting, encasing the nutella in the cookie! Bookmarked!

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    Replies
    1. Cheah, bake this and you will be 100% happy and satisfied!

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  4. Hi Phong Hong,
    Yea, I agree that making cookie dough can be leceh sometimes as bring in & out of fridge ... hee hee. These cookies are so tempting. .. but I must 'tahan' ... had been eating too much sweet and chocolaty stuff lately.

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    Replies
    1. Karen, I know what you ate hah..hah... Never mind, once you "burn" off your sugars and chocolate you must make these cookies your next project.

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  5. wow! I can't wait to bake it out!
    Thank you very much, what a coincident I also have about 1/4 bottle of Nutella left over in my pantry.
    This one just appear at the right time:)

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    Replies
    1. Aunty Young, please bake these cookies! Nanak and her friends will thumbs up, I guarantee!

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  6. Who? Who can cook and bake after they get home from work? Who?? XD
    No! No no no! I must not be tempted! MUST NOT BE TEMPTED! I need to cut down on eating delicious crap to prepare for CNY!

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    Replies
    1. RG, my brother (not the one I pig out with, the other one) cooks after coming back from work. For the family. I salute him. I really do, Anyway, you must make full use of your cake mixer alright? It's the perfect tool to make cookie dough. And this is preparation for CNY. Bake cookies for CNY. Practice now and freak your mum out later :D

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  7. Replies
    1. Sharon, it is very tempting. Dangerous stuff :D

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  8. aiyoyoh!! Phong Hong really baked what i requested for!! ooolala!! and i am so gonna want to eat this IMMEDIATELY, SEKARANG, YEE GAR, XIAN ZAI, ABHI, IPPOTU, IMA, JEE JOON (only if somebody baked me this lah)..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SK, thanks to you I got to bake these AWESOME cookies!

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    2. Muahahahaha!!! This silly SK Thambee and his CB mulut. Wakakakaka

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  9. aiyoh, not only nutella stuffed but the cookies are with sea-salt!! i like that, a little bit of saltiness goes well with the sweetness, that will balance thing out and won't make you feel jelak of the sweetness!! no wonder Phong Hong one shot walloped 8 cookies, muahahahaha!! i love that photo right below your colorful language paragraph, look at the rich and creamy nutella hidden inside the cookies!! that is really d**n b****y f*****g s**t DELICIOUS!!

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    Replies
    1. hahahahahaa...not only do these cookies make us fat, they also make us swear a lot!

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  10. Ah .... I like anything to do with nuttella.

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  11. Nutella is the craze these days...and combined with chocolate chips some more...how not to like! A sprinkling of sea salt brings out the flavour of the chocolate. Your Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies look awesome =). I had a very good Belgian chip cookie recently that you're gonna adore....watch out for that post!

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    Replies
    1. Oh, can't wait for your post hah..hah... I am in the mood to bake cookies so all new recipes are welcome!

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    2. I didn't bake the Belgian chip cookie...I ate it at some place...haha!!
      Sending Christmas cheer and greetings to you and your family!

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    3. Oh, then I must google the recipe hee..hee..

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  12. Wah! This is a terrible, terrible post! Hahaha

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  13. Hi Phong Hong, these cookies look awesome. I'll follow your recipe with the reduced sugar, save the trouble and moreover you have tried and tested it. Bookmarked for CNY baking.

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    Replies
    1. Kimmy, the sweetness is just nice. I am planning to bake another batch. There goes my diet hee..hee...

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  14. Oh dear! I bet this must be super addictive cookies :)

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    Replies
    1. Esther, this is a non-stop eating type of cookie!

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  15. Phong Hong, I love those cookies, wow...the way you describe them...so delicious and so tempting.

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  16. Hi Phong Hong, phaps stuffing them with salted caramel in place of Nutella might be jst as good? :-)

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    Replies
    1. Ann, that's a fantastic idea! I must work on that hah..hah...

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  17. Hi Phong Hong,

    I like your kind of obscene photos.... LOL!!!! These cookies are SEXY!!! LOL!!!!

    Lucky that you don't have a swearing jar at home... Otherwise you will be broke... LOL!

    Merry Christmas and Happy 2015!!! Hope that we will have more joyous and obscene baking in 2015 :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Zoe, I must wash my mouth with lots of soap and water hah..hah... These cookies were so good that the swear words just came out!

      Merry Christmas and Happy 2015 to you and your family! I will try to be good hee..hee...

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  18. Wah this one looks better than Chipsmore!!

    Merry Christmas to you and family!

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    Replies
    1. hee..hee.. Thanks, Hayley! Merry Christmas to you and your family too!

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  19. OMG! I could taste the cookie in my mouth looking at your photo. Must bug my sister to bake this for me and cut out other carb totally to make room for this.

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  20. I am really drooling at your cookies now. Tomorrow is Christmas and nice to munch them! How I wish we are neighbours.

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    Replies
    1. TM, if we were neighbours I would definitely share the cookies, fats and calories with you and your wife hah..hah,,,

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  21. Can't believe I actually went out to buy a bottle of nutella for this ... now that's obscene.
    Posted a comment earlier but dunno why it didn't go thru. Anyway...just telling you that your cookies are indeed awesome with a capital A!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (Gosh..another one already?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Ping! Yeah, it's great that I made you buy Nutella and I am pretty sure you noshed out on the cookies hee..hee.. Here's wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  22. whoah! these are looking scrumptious !! i wouldnt mind you sharing the fats with me too!!

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    Replies
    1. Lena, you need the fats more than me. I got a lot to spare hee..hee...

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  23. Freeze the nutella before stuffing into cookies. OMG Phong Hong you are a genius!!

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    Replies
    1. Diana, it wasn't my original idea but hey, I'll take the compliment hee..hee...

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  24. argghh !!! this post is so evil... *bookmarked*

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