Brown Butter Nutella-Stuffed Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cash for Junk Autos NJ's co-owner loves to bake during the Fall season. She thought she would share one of her favorite recipes! Remember, if you would like to earn CASH on the spot for your junk car, give us a call at 973-699-6005. Make sure to let them know you loved the cookie recipe!

Nutella Stuffed Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

·      1/2 cup butter

·      1/2 cup brown sugar

·      1/2 cup granulated sugar

·      1 teaspoon vanilla

·      1 egg white (NOT THE FULL EGG)

·      1/4 cup pumpkin puree

·      1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

·      3/4 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/4 teaspoon salt

·      1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

·      1/4 teaspoon ginger

·      pinch of nutmeg

·      pinch of cloves

·      1 cup chocolate chips

·      1 small jar of nutella (you use about 15 teaspoons), chilled

INSTRUCTIONS

1.          Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning (make sure you scrape all of it out of the pan - every last drop!). Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

2.          With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg white, vanilla and pumpkin puree until well combined.

3.          In a separate medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. With electric mixer on low speed, slowly add in flour and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips. Place plastic wrap over bowl and refrigerate dough for one hour so that the flavors meld together and the butter has a chance to solidify a bit. Alternatively you can place plastic wrap over the dough and place in your freezer for 20 minutes to speed up the process. Either way you want the dough to be fairly cold so that that it's easier to work with and stuff with nutella.

4.          Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball -- it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand just a tiny bit!

5.          Once ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes then remove and transfer to wire rack. Because of the pumpkin, the cookies will stay soft for days. In fact they will soften up, so if you want your cookies to have crispy edges then it is best to enjoy them the first day you bake them (or bring them to a party!). Makes about 15 cookies.

NOTE:

If you happen to have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can sub 1 1/2 teaspoons for all of the spices called for in the recipe.