Chocolate-Hazelnut Smooches

The original recipe can be found here: Chocolate-Hazelnut Smooches

You Will Need:  

1. 1 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
2. 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3. ½ teaspoon Salt
4. ½ cup Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (try Nutella)
5. 1 stick of softened Butter
6. ½ cup White Sugar
7. ½ cup Brown Sugar
8. 1 Egg
9. 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
10. ½ Raw Sugar
11. 9-ounce package of Chocolate Candy Kisses  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt (then set aside).
2. In another medium bowl, place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter and both sugars and cream together with a mixer.
3. Add the egg and vanilla, and then blend until well incorporated. Stir in the dry ingredients.
4. Shape the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls, then roll in raw sugar.
5. Place on a cookie sheet about four inches apart and bake for 8 minutes.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven and place a kiss in the middle of each. Return to the oven for another 3 minutes.

Changed: This recipe was good the first time around, but on my second attempt, I made some changes. First, instead of a half-teaspoon salt, I only used a pinch. Half a teaspoon was enough to make the salty taste noticeable, and I didn't like that. Second, I had a lot of whole-wheat flour left over from a previous recipe, so I decided to substitute it in for the all-purpose flour. The taste was the same and the chocolate made the dough already dark, so they didn't look any different. The cookies were even better for your heart! If you're hesitant about the switch, try mixing the two flours together to add some whole wheat into your cookies. The final change was less white sugar; I changed it from one-half cup to a one-fourth cup. They still tasted sweet and no one even noticed. 

I also changed the bake time for the cookies. I prefer chewy cookies over crunchy ones, so instead of the initial eight minute bake time, I kept them in for only six. Then, after taking them out and placing the kiss in the middle, I returned them to the oven for four minutes. Still cooked completely but more chewy!

The Verdict: These cookies are fast, easy, and very good. Be careful when placing the kiss in the middle since the dough is extremely hot. That seems like a very obvious observation, but one can sometimes forget.

The Calories: only about 100 calories per cookie (in a batch of 25)

Enjoy!