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{This post is brought to you buy the Turkish Hazelnut Promotion Group. I have partnered with them to bring you these KILLER Chocolate Hazelnut Christmas Cookies. The perfect treat for Santa and his elves! 🙂 }

Cookies, cookies, cookies. Gimme all the Christmas cookies…

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest
Especially those stuffed with chocolate hazelnut spread and milk chocolate caramel. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love holiday sugar cookies, but let’s be honest, you all know I’m all about the chocolate, and umm, these cookies? They are no joke, talk about a chocolate lovers dream!

It’s also no secret what a huge fan I am of chocolate hazelnut spread (little Asher can’t get through a day without it!), so naturally a cookie of this nature was bound to happen sooner or later.

With the holiday season in full force, bakers are baking, the Christmas shopping is happening and Santa’s doing his thing getting ready for his big night.

So what does all this mean?

It means you sort of have to make these cookies happen.

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestChocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Hear me out. Whether you’re running around trying to get the perfect gifts for everyone on your list, planning the perfect holiday party or just trying to get dinner on the table and the kids into bed at a semi reasonable hour, these are the cookies that will totally save your sanity.

Picture this: you get home from the beyond crowded mall after first putting in a full day of work. I’m thinking it’s maybe Thursday or Friday night? You still need to make dinner, clean up the house, finish the laundry… yada, yada, yada, yada. Your to-do list could go on for miles. Sure, you could do all those things and go to bed exhausted OR you could be smart…

Light a candle, put some Christmas music on, bake these cookies, make a fast salad while the cookies bake, eat your salad (you know, so you have something in your stomach other than cookies), remove your cookies from the oven, pour a giant glass of cold milk, find your spot on the couch, turn on a sappy Christmas movie and enjoy a cookie or two (hey, you had salad for dinner!).

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Major chill time with some chocolate. Sounds like the perfect night, right? Well, at least that’s my perfect night. Hey, maybe we should both should try it?!?

I bet you have all these ingredients in your pantry right now.

…chocolate: check (always)

…baking essentials (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder): check

…eggs: check

…butter: check

…vanilla extract: check

…chocolate hazelnut spread: check

…milk chocolate caramel: okay, so you may not have these… BUT

For this recipe, I used a mix of bittersweet and dark chocolate since I didn’t want the cookies to be overly sugary. The cookie filling is pretty sweet, plus there’s a light sprinkle of pomegranate sugar on top, so the bittersweet and dark chocolate combo really balances the sweetness in these cookies nicely.

The cookie itself is pretty dense, almost like a brownie. My secret ingredient is a little bit of cream cheese. The cream cheese keeps the cookies from being cakey and also makes them incredibly moist and soft. I had to test this cookie recipe several times, but I found that the best way to make them is also the simplest way. Once the dough is all mixed, instead of refrigerating, let the cookies sit on the counter for 10 minutes or so to let the dough stiffen just slightly. The softer dough makes stuffing the cookies much easier. Then just bake! If you’re trying to make the cookies ahead of time, once you’ve stuffed the cookies, you can chill them until ready to bake, but I would take them out of the fridge while the oven preheats to help the cookies come to room temperature before baking. When the cookies are super cold, they don’t really spread at all and it leaves you with a pretty large cookie.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, you can lightly drizzle them with melted chocolate and sprinkle with just a pinch of the pomegranate sugar, which is um… awesome and SO festive!

I can’t lie; I did add a little food coloring to my pomegranate sugar. The sugar just turned out too pink for my liking, reminding me more of Valentines Day than Christmas. Typically I am highly against food coloring, but I only used a tiny little drop and it made all the difference. If you don’t mind the pink color the pomegranate juice gives off, you can omit the food coloring (or maybe use a natural food coloring?). The pomegranate sugar is definitely not needed, but it adds such a fun and festive touch. If you’re not into it, you can simply leave it off completely or add holiday sprinkles for a little Christmas cheesiness!

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Also, little miss Asher…AKA mini Mrs. Clause, deemed these Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies her favorite cookies ever! Granted the girl has a serious addiction to chocolate hazelnut spread, but then who doesn’t? The stuff is spoon worthy. <–truth.

But, these cookies are far better than any spoon. Caramel + chocolate hazelnut center!?! Brownie cookie?!?! Not even the Grinch could say NO to these.

One last note: I’m really excited to share that I have partnered with Turkish Hazelnuts to bring awareness to their “Falling for Hazelnuts” Sweepstakes this December. The Sweepstakes has a $500 prize and if you love all things hazelnut and chocolate, you can enter to win here on their Facebook page.

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies with Pomegranate Sugar.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Calories Per Serving: 2909 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Salted Pomegranate Sugar

Instructions

Salted Pomegranate Sugar

  • Add the sugar and 1 tablespoon salt to a mixing bowl. Add the pomegranate juice and food coloring. Use your hands to mix everything together until the sugar is combined, and red in color (or pink if you did not use the food coloring). Spread the mixture out evenly on the cookie sheet and let dry at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Once dry, mix in the remaining tablespoon of salt. Pour mixture into a jar and seal.

Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies

  • In a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup, melt together the butter, bittersweet chocolate and dark chocolate. Microwave for 30 second increments, stirring until totally melted. Set aside and let cool completely. You can also do this over a double broiler.
  • In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of your electric mixer, add sugar and eggs, beating on high until pale in color and light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add in vanilla extract, cream cheese and melted chocolate/butter, beating for another 1-2 minutes until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure everything is combined. Now stir in the dry ingredients with a large spatula until fully mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes to allow the dough to stiffen slightly.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper (or a silpat) on an un-greased baking sheet. Grease your hands with a little canola oil (cooking spray works really well, but water can also be used) then begin to scoop out about 1 tablespoon of dough. Flatten the dough slightly into a round and spoon a scant teaspoon of hazelnut spread into the center of the round. Add the chocolate covered caramel. Scoop another tablespoon of dough out and flatten it slightly. Place the dough over the caramel/hazelnut spread and then seal the edges together. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
  • Once cool enough to handle, dip/drizzle lightly in melted dark chocolate and then sprinkle very lightly with pomegranate sugar. Eat warm or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to four days.
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Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

That center though, I can’t even…

{This post is sponsored by The Turkish Hazelnut Promotion Group. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!! }
Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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Comments

    1. Hi Renee! Yes, these will freeze nicely! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan

  1. Your recipe yield says 20 cookies but I see recipe calls for 36 chocolate caramels. I’m thinking of making these for my cookie exchange so I want to be sure on the yield.

    1. Hi Tina! This will make 32-36 cookies. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan