Nutella Swirl Cookie Bars

These easy cookie bars are fun and flavorful. Rich with caramel flavor and swirled with the deliciously classic hazelnut and chocolate flavor of Nutella spread that melts in your mouth with every bite, these cookie bars are soft and chewy with crispy golden brown edges. Simply perfect!

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Why you’ll love Nutella swirl cookie bars

These easy cookie bars are fun and flavorful. Rich with caramel flavor and swirled with the deliciously classic hazelnut and chocolate flavor of Nutella spread that melts in your mouth with every bite, these cookie bars are soft and chewy with crispy golden brown edges. Simply perfect!

I’ve always loved this flavor combination in a cookie, and now it’s even easier to make as a bar- you can mix all the ingredients in just one bowl and bake them up in one 8 x 8 inch baking dish! So easy to make and even easier to clean up!

Recipe Tips for the best Nutella swirl cookie bars

When you are creating the swirl of Nutella on top of the bars right before they go in the oven, keep the Nutella on the clumpier side and try to avoid mixing it into the batter too much. Just a light swirl with the knife will do the trick, you want to see lots of dough peeking through still!

Do not over bake them. The key to a soft and chewy cookie is to pull them out of the oven as soon as they puff up in the center and turn light golden brown around the edges. The same is true for cookie bars. This is not a secret, but it makes a HUGE difference in the texture of your cookie, and I think it also makes them last a little longer too!

Recipe Variations

If you aren’t a fan of hazelnuts or Nutella, you can try this recipe with your favorite chocolate nut butter such as almond cocoa spread, or with a plain nut butter like peanut butter. It will taste just as good!

FAQ

• So why is it called a cookie bar?

  Cookie bars are actually a bar dessert rather than a cookie. Cookies are shaped or dropped onto a pan in individual serving sizes, while cookie bars are baked in a baking dish as one piece and sliced into individual sized pieces. The flavor outcome is very similar, and I find bar cookies to be even faster and easier than cookies!

• Why are my cookie bars dry?

  You either have too much flour in the recipe

  • Your dough will look crumbly and be hard to compact together. Add 1 tablespoon of melted and cooled unsalted butter at a time until until the dough is just able to stick together.

  Or you left the pan in the oven too long

  • Sorry, there is really no way to fix this. The next time you bake this recipe, set a timer and check the bars five minutes early, then you can watch them closely until they are ready - they should be just lightly golden brown around the edges and puffy in the middle.

• What flavor is Nutella?

  Nutella spread is a cocoa nut butter that is rich with the flavor of cooca powder and hazelnuts.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

• Spatula

• Stand mixer or hand mixer

• parchment paper

• 8 x 8 inch baking dish

Ingredients

• 
  1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

• 1 egg

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup nutella for marbling

How to make Nutella swirl cookie bars

Prep

Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper.

Mix the Dough

In a large bowl mix granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

Add the butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Add the flour and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Bake

Pour just half of the dough into the parchment lined pan and spread it evenly to each corner. Add half of the Nutella (about 1/4 cup) in dollops on top and swirl it into the dough dough with a knife. Add the remaining half of the dough in dollops and spread out each dollop flat, leaving cracks where some of the Nutella that you’ve already added is exposed. In those cracks, drop additional Nutella and lightly swirl it into the cracks with a knife.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown and the middle puffs up slightly.

Let cool and set in the pan for about 1 hour or until the bars are completely cooled.

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How to Store

Store Nutella swirl cookie bars at room temperature at room temperature in an air tight container for up to five days, or store in the refrigerator for up to five days. If stored in the refrigerator, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or pop in the microwave for five to ten seconds to warm to room temperature.

You can also freeze Nutella swirl cookie bars easily. Just place (fully baked and cooled) in an air tight freezer container and store in the freezer for up to three months. Remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator 24 hours prior to serving.

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More cookie bars, please!

Try these:

• Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

• Cookies ‘n Cream Cookie Bars

• Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

• Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

• Cowboy Cookie Bars

• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Bars

• Red Velvet Cookie Bars

the best blondies, the best chocolate chip cookies, easy cookies, fun baking, recipes to try, hazelnut spread, nutella desserts, sweet snacks

dessert, bars, cookies

american

Servings: 16

Author: Jessie Cagliero

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Nutella Swirl Cookie Bars

These easy cookie bars are fun and flavorful. Rich with caramel flavor and swirled with the deliciously classic hazelnut and chocolate flavor of Nutella spread that melts in your mouth with every bite, these cookie bars are soft and chewy with crispy golden brown edges. Simply perfect!

Prep time: 30 minutesTotal time: 30 minutes

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup nutella for marbling

Directions

1. Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl mix granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
4. Add the butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
6. Add the flour and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
7. Pour just half of the dough into the parchment lined pan and spread it evenly to each corner. Add half of the Nutella (about 1/4 cup) in dollops on top and swirl it into the dough dough with a knife. Add the remaining half of the dough in dollops and spread out each dollop flat, leaving cracks where some of the Nutella that you’ve already added is exposed. In those cracks, drop additional Nutella and lightly swirl it into the cracks with a knife.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown and the middle puffs up slightly.
9. Let cool and set in the pan for about 1 hour or until the bars are completely cooled.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

168

Fat

9 g

Sat. Fat

6 g

Carbs

21 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

20 g

Sugar

14 g

Protein

2 g

Sodium

90 mg

Cholesterol

25 mg

*Nutrition is auto-calculated by recipes generator.

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