Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

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Chocolate Chip Hazelnut cookies (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

"FOR a 95-year-old lady, I still do a lot of baking," writes Mildred Giesbrecht, who will be celebrating this Christmas with lots of homemade baking, including these fudgey treats, sort of a charged-up version of the classic chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

250 ml (1 cup) hazelnut spread (like Nutella)

175 ml (3/4 cup) spreadable butter

250 ml (1 cup) white sugar

2 eggs

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla

750 ml (3 cups) all-purpose flour

5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda

2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

1 x 250 g package (about 1 1/2 cups) dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream hazelnut spread, butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving 5 cm (2 in) between cookies. Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until edges are just crisp and bottoms are set. Yields about 5 dozen.

Tester's notes: Rich and dark, these cookies could be fancied up even more with the addition of hazelnuts or dried cranberries to the dough, or a drizzle of white chocolate at the end. Spreadable butter can be found in the dairy section. I thought at first that I'd just use softened butter, but the spreadable variety is made from butter, canola oil and water, so substitutions might affect the cookie's consistency. Be careful not to overbake.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 17, 2011 G2