This year I was lucky to be a participate in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap benefiting Cookies For Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer. This devastating cancer claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease and the funds raised are granted to five of the nation’s leading childhood cancer research centers to find less toxic, more effective treatments. A portion of funds also goes to the Children’s Oncology Group’s Phase 1 & Pilot Consortium to match, dollar for dollar, funds granted by the Federal Government for children enrolled in clinical trials.
The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap is a fun ‘Secret Santa’ style swap, where we are each assigned three bloggers to ship a dozen cookies too. They don’t know who is their assigned blogger or what cookie they are getting until they receive their boxes of cookies. This year almost 500 food bloggers from around the world participated in sharing cookies and recipes with each other. I made my Nutella Brownie Batter Cookies for my three bloggers and I received three delicious boxes of cookies from my Secret Santa bloggers:
Check out the Recipe Roundup with all the cookie recipes here: FBCookieSwap
Ingredients:
Makes 4 dozen cookies
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup Nutella
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar.
3. Mix together over medium speed until smooth.
4. Add eggs and Nutella and continue to mix until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
6. With the mixer running on low, pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the batter, adding a little at a time.
7. When it is all combined add vanilla.
8. Turn the mixer off and add chocolate chips, stirring in gently with a spatula.
9. Using a small ice cream scoop add rounded balls of batter, 4 rows of 3, to a lined baking sheet.
10. Bake for 9-11 minutes until no longer shiny and sticky but the centers are still gooey. Don’t over bake or they will be hard.
10. Bake for 9-11 minutes until no longer shiny and sticky but the centers are still gooey. Don’t over bake or they will be hard.
11. Let cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack.
12. Repeat with remaining batter.
Note: You can chill the rounded dough balls on the cookie sheet for 20 minutes before baking. This helps them not spread as much when baking.
The first thing I do when I am setting up to bake is I take my butter out of the fridge to soften and I also set my eggs out so they are at room temperature. The room temp eggs whip up easier and give the batter a slightly lighter and fluffier texture.
This recipe calls for 3 eggs plus one egg yolk {I save my egg white in a bowl for breakfast the next day}. The reason I added the yolk is so the extra fat helps to prevent the cookies from getting too hard.
Add butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix over medium speed until smooth.
Now add eggs and Nutella and continue to mix until smooth.
I use 3 types of chocolate in this recipe. Extra decadent and gooey!
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
With the mixer running on low, pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the batter,
adding a little at a time then add the vanilla.
Turn the mixer off and add chocolate chips, stirring in gently with a spatula.
Using a small ice cream scoop, add rounded balls of batter,
4 rows of 3, to a lined baking sheet.
Optional: You can chill the rounded dough balls on the cookie sheet
for 20 minutes before baking. This helps them not spread as much when baking.
Bake for 9-11 minutes until no longer shiny and sticky but the
centers are still gooey. Don’t over bake or they will be hard.
Let cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack.
Repeat with remaining batter.
These extra chocolatey cookies will be soft and chewy with a fudgy brownie like center.
How amazing for these look? I guarantee you they tasted even better!
The last step was to pack up my cookies and
mail off to my three Secret Santa food bloggers. I hope they enjoyed!
My best tips for shipping cookies:
1. No padded envelopes instead use a sturdy small box.
2. Place in baggies then add bubble wrap to keep fragile cookies securely wrapped.
3. Include the recipe {or at least the ingredients} along with your contact info/business card.
Thanks to the awesome Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap Sponsors:
Look at how gooey those are. YUM!!!
Easy? Check. Nutella? Check. I guess I'm making this one. It looks amazing.