eat, bake, love.

hi, friends! happy thursday, and happy christmas eve eve. how have your past few days been?

today is my last day at work until next monday; after i finish up, i’ll be heading home to my parents’ for the long weekend. i can’t even begin to tell you how excited i am about that; i’ve been feeling a little not-myself for the past month or so, so i’m excited to spend a lot of time in pajamas by the christmas tree with a bunch of my extended family. just what the doctor ordered.

something else the doctor ordered (although probably not the dentist) was an evening spent baking. i was feeling a little beaten down by the workweek and by the holiday in general – to the point where i almost skipped the baking last night and just settled down on the couch. but i’m glad i didn’t, because the nutella cookies – the recipe for which i found in katie’s fantastic christmas magazine – are delicious. delicious to the point where i ate too much of the dough and my teeth hurt today. ha! if you like nutella like i do, try these out. recipe below.

i’ll probably be posting tomorrow, so see you back here then – i hope your thursdays are merry and bright!

xoxo

nutella cookies
adapted slightly from here

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut spread
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 tbsp almond milk (or soy, or cow’s)
1 cup milk chocolate chips (optional, but recommended)

in a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. set aside.

in another bowl, cream together butter, nutella, and sugars. beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. add the flour mixture to the batter in three parts, alternating with the milk. do not overbeat.

wrap the dough, which will be sticky, in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

after an hour, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. let cookies cool for a few minutes before removing them from the tray and placing on a parchment-lined wire rack. repeat until all of the cookie dough has been used.

image by katie. they're not the nutella cookies, but they're equally chocolatey and delightful, right?