Cooking with Kids

Nutella Crackle Cookies

Posted by Michelle on Jan 18, 2012 in Baking, Cooking with Kids, Recipes | 0 comments

Nutella Crackle Cookies -- best enjoyed with a cold glass of milk! <3

One Saturday afternoon, my 3 year old The Little Empress (TLE) was running around in circles, two hours overdue for her nap. In desperation, I promised her that if she took an hour long nap, we’d do something really fun together. Her interest piqued, she paused for a half-second mid-twirl during which I quickly gave her the choice between painting or making cookies with Mommy.

“Cookies!” TLE declared, gracefully turning her twirl into an excited hop, her arms raised in glee. “Chocolate cookies!” But not chocolate chip cookies, she clarified in between hops. Chocolate cookies.

I promised that the second she woke up, we’d start making a batch of chocolate cookies. Just like that, she ran up the stairs. Two minutes later, she was tucked into bed and sound asleep.

Moral of this story? Bribery: it works.

As luck would have it, I’ve never made just plain chocolate cookies before. But I was determined to deliver. While she napped, I rifled through the pantry to figure out what we could make together and then it dawned on me: crackle cookies. I had never had them before but I love the look of them — powder sugar dusted cookies with cracks that reveal a fudgy center. Plus, they’re perfect make-with-kids cookies, from rolling the dough into balls to covering them with powdered sugar. We also happened to have on hand a large jar of Nutella. TLE loves Nutella (who doesn’t?) so I figured I’d adapt a recipe to use it.

So here we go… Nutella Crackle Cookies. Just I suspected, they were a great hit! TLE loved rolling up the dough balls and then coating them in sugar. “They’re footballs!” she declared, tossing them in the sugar with glee. Who am I to argue?

My only reservation is that they didn’t come out as white as I’d have liked. Bakerella has this great Martha Stewart recipe that came out with far more pronounced crackles that looks awesome. No Nutella in the recipe but I may have to try this for the next time I make these cookies. And yes, there will be a next time.