There’s nothing better than a soft pumpkin cookie in the fall—unless you decide to stuff it with Nutella. Taking inspiration from our Nutella-stuffed chocolate cookies, these are perfectly soft, pumpkin-spiced, and filled with a generous pocket of everyone’s favorite chocolate-hazelnut spread. Watch out—these cookies are taking the fall baking favorite to a whole new level.
The Nutella stuffing:
The key to stuffing these cookies is to freeze the Nutella into little individual mounds before trying to shape the cookies. This step can be a little messy, but I found in testing that a tablespoon measuring spoon and a small flexible spatula made it easy to portion out the Nutella onto the baking sheet. You could also spray the tablespoon with a little cooking spray to help the Nutella come out easier if it seems extra sticky.
Make sure the Nutella is completely frozen before trying to form the cookies. If it’s not, the cookies will turn into a Nutella-marbled mess very quickly—and the Nutella will definitely ooze out as it bakes.
Baking with pumpkin:
Canned pureed pumpkin contains a lot of additional moisture, which, left unchallenged, can lead to an overly sticky cookie dough. The best way to combat this is to press as much moisture out of the pumpkin as possible by spreading it onto a plate and blotting it with paper towels until the paper towels stay dry. (You can also use a clean kitchen towel, but just be aware that the towel will forever be stained orange.) By the time you’re done, the puree should have reduced from 1/2 to 1/3 cup, and you can add it to your dough without worrying about the extra moisture.
Make ahead & storage:
These pumpkin Nutella-stuffed cookies will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. The Nutella mounds will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Made these? Rate and review, and let us know how it went in the comments below!
