Nutella and Almonds Stuffed Soft Cookies

By Harini

I am a big fan of those soft chewy cookies we get in local bakeries . These cookies are so soft and plump almost like cakes with some kind of delicious stuffing in it. I love to eat them when they are still warm and I buy them when they are freshly baked. For many days I have been meaning to try them at home. Usually we get coconut stuffed cookies but I wanted to try something with chocolate filling so I used my most favorite chocolate spread nutella and added almonds to give the filling some texture.I just love nutella and always have it handy.There are numerous desserts one could make with nutella like milkshake,fudge etc.It is also best suited to use a spread or frosting on cakes and it did not fail me in these cookies too. These cookies turned out absolutely delicious,crispy puffed outside layer with gooey chocolate inside.The hazelnut flavor in nutella perfectly complimented the almonds and it was extremely rich with not overly sweet. I used a combination of maida+wheat flour,you can also use wheat flour alone.
Ingredients
1/2 cup all purpose flour1/2 cup wheat flour3 Tbs butter1 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup milk4 Tbs sugarA pinch of saltFew strands of saffron
Filling:
20 almonds4 Tbs nutella2 tsp sugarPure vanilla extract
Method:
For filling: - Dry roast almonds and grind them coarsely .Mix ground almonds, nutella and icing sugar into a uniform mixture and set aside. 
Cookies-sift maida and baking powder together,add sugar,salt,butter and make a crumbled mix,once butter is thoroughly mixed add milk and saffron and knead to a soft dough.
Take a small lemon sized ball of dough and flatten lightly,place a spoonful of filling and enclose it. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 20-25 mins or slightly browned at the edges.
Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 10 cookies

Notes: 
1.These cookies are chewy and lil bit dense almost like small stuffed puff.
2. Another variation for filling -Mix coconut flake with sugar,condensed milk and cardamom powder and use as stuffing.