Nutella and Pine-Nut Cookies

 

It has been a pretty long hiatus from blogging. My parents and in-laws visited us here this summer and with a bunch of trips and get-togethers with cousins and relatives time just flew by! It seriously felt like a wink-of-an-eye! Although I have been away from the blog, I was certainly not away from my kitchen. Mom and Mom-in-law did most of the cooking on week days while I prepped dishes that they don’t usually cook back home. So, quite frankly I was busy eating most of the time rather than cooking. Jokes apart, I learnt a lot watching them cook. The variety of dishes they make never makes any meal look monotonous. The impeccable flavors of every dish clearly reflects their patience and skill in the kitchen. And their simple tips on quick fixes and food storage are just so handy and efficient!

I really wanted to do some food photography when my parents and in-laws were around, but I couldn’t find the time and when I did find time I guess I was just shy to run around with the camera in the kitchen and making them wait until my “photo shoot” is done! So, now that I have the kitchen all to myself and hubby being his workaholic self there is no one around to watch my kitchen craziness and I’m back to blogging.

The recipe I have here today is absolute nutella deliciousness. These cookies are sure to please all the ‘Nutella’ lovers out there. Lindsay’s ‘Nutella Chip Cookies‘ were on my ‘to-try’ list for a while and I finally got to making a batch of those cookies with a few tweaks (minus the choco chips and egg) a couple of months ago. They tasted great but had a slight tinge of over baking (darn, my oven!) due to which they turned out crisper than I had intended to.

This time I made these with more added goodness – pine-nuts and whole wheat flour. Pine nuts add a nice crunch to the cookies and provide a good protein and fiber component. Whole wheat flour gives a nice grainy texture. I don’t eat meat and eggs few days a week and why would I want to devoid myself of these cookies on those days? No way! So, I made these eggless too.  And to top it all, there’s ‘nutella’! These scrumptious cookies are really quick to make. I was on my couch getting bored watching tv and in part was kinda looking for a reason to use my beautiful new set of canisters gifted by one of my dear cousins. I quickly got off the couch and baked these goodies in no time!

These cookies are equally good with your morning coffee or evening tea! Why wait until coffee/tea time?….just gulp them down when you’re passing by your kitchen or actually make these an excuse to go into your kitchen!

Prep time: 25 mins
Bake time: 9 to 10 mins
Yields: about 18 cookies

Recipe

– nutella – 5 tsps
– pine nuts – 1/4 th cup – roughly chopped
– butter – 1/2 stick ~ 1/4th cup at room temperature
– whole wheat flour – 1 cup
– all purpose flour – 1/3 cup
– sugar – 1/4 cup
– dark brown sugar – 1/3rd cup
– baking soda – 3/4th tsp
– vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp
– milk/half-n-half – 1/4th cup
– salt – a pinch

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2. In a mixing bowl, take all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Mix lightly with a spoon or a whisk.

3. In another bowl, slowly whisk butter. Add white sugar and dark brown sugar slowly until well mixed and creamed. When done, add the dry ingredients and combine well. Now, slowly add milk (a tablespoon at a time) until a thick batter is formed.

4. Add nutella and vanilla extract to the batter now and mix well. Finally, add about 1/4th cup of chopped pine nuts.

5. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper/foil. Using a small ice-cream scoop, scoop out the batter onto the baking sheet. Don’t overcrowd the baking sheets. Leave at-least 2-3 inches in between each cookie as they spread out.

6. Pop them into the oven and bake for around 8 to 9 mins for softer, chewier cookies. Add 1 or 2 minutes more if you like them crisp. Remove the baking sheets and let them cool down a bit before serving.

Serve these delicious cookies along side some milk, coffee or even tea and enjoy!

Variations:

– You could use any nuts of your choice instead of pine-nuts.
– To make it vegan, use homemade hazelnut spread, almond butter and coconut milk. I’m sure they’ll taste great too.
– Feel free to experiment with different types of flour instead of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour.
– These cookies had a hint of sweetness that was perfect to our tastes. Do taste the batter before baking and add more sugar if required.
 
I’d sure love to hear from you how these cookies (with or without any variations) turn out for you!