I’ve always wanted to make a chocolate lava cake.
I still haven’t made one, but cookies stuffed with chocolate that flows like lava is more than okay.
If you’re craving chocolate, these are the cookies to make because there’s chocolate incorporated three ways: Nutella, chocolate chips, and dark chocolate chunks. They’re rich, bold, and supremely fudgy.
The cookies are thick, slightly chewy on the outside with super soft and tender interiors. The puddles of melted chocolate keep the cookies extra moist.
The cookies are baked in a muffin pan so you don’t have to chill the dough. They’re ready in 30 minutes and perfect when you need chocolate in a hurry.
The recipe is adapted from Soft and Chewy Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies, a reader favorite. Form 12 equal-sized mounds with the dough, place them into the muffin pan, and stuff each mound with a chunk of dark chocolate.
Chocolate chunks melt in a free-flowing way as opposed to chocolate chips which have stabilizers in them that prevent easy-melting. For a true lava-like center, use a hunk of dark chocolate from a baking bar or candy bar. I used Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus bar.
The cookies rise while baking, but once out of the oven they sink in the center as they cool from the chocolate chunks weighing down the centers.
If you take them out of the muffin pan when they’re still warm, they’ll have a tendency to flatten and almost ‘break’ into bite-sized pieces. It was so easy to grab a piece, then another, and another.
Sinking your teeth into the squishy soft, super chocolaty interior is what dreams are made of.
A friend said she felt euphoric after there. I guess there’s some truth to the proverbial ‘chocolate high’ after all.
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Chocolate Lava Nutella Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- heaping 1/3 cup Nutella, stir well before adding
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 12 1/4- ounce chunks dark chocolate, divided (one chunk per cookie; I used Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus bar and 1/4-ounce is half of one square)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 12-cup standard-sized muffin pan with cooking spray or floured cooking spray; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, Nutella, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the chocolate chips, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 12 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly.
- Transfer dough to prepared pan, placing one mound of dough in each cavity. Tip – Strategically place a few chocolate chips right on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.
- Stuff one 1/4-ounce chunk of dark chocolate in the center of each cookie, pressing the chocolate down so it’s flush with the top of the dough; repeat for all remaining cookies.
- Bake for about 11 to 12 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set (I bake for 11 minutes exactly); don’t overbake. Cookies will rise in the oven, but fall as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before carefully removing. They should pop out easily but if they don’t, rim each muffin cavity with a table knife to help dislodge. Cookies will have a tendency to flatten and break apart somewhat after being removed from muffin pan.
- Cookies are best warm and fresh but will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
- Adapted from Soft and Chewy Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Holy yum, these look amazing!! Love the way they ooze, they look just stunning :)
Love your pictures! Personally, I would prefer cookie over cake so this is right up my alley! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comments today and compliments :)
Lava cookies?! That’s amazing, cookies are pretty much always better than cake anyways! Pinned!
Thanks for the pin!
Averie, how have you never made a chocolate lava cake?! Well, I guess since you have these fabulous chocolate lava Nutella cookies, you don’t need to huh? freaking love this. You are seriously the queen of baked treats!
Thanks for the compliments and not sure how I never have either…maybe that’s bucket list 2015, huh!
Oh, my friend. I love you! Best cookie cup in the whole world!!
These were the cookies I was thinking of when I saw your Rolo ones the other day! I honestly couldn’t remember if these were this week’s post or next. LOL #islandbrain
well now doesn’t this look INSANELY DELICIOUS! I love the pocket of rich ooey goodness in the center.
These cookies are by far way better than any lava cake!
I have no willpower when it comes to warm melty chocolate it’s my kryptonite. These cookies definitely make me weak…It’s a very good thing I live on the opposite coast.
LOL:) And I don’t know why but I thought you lived in like San Fran? Ok I was way off!
You had me at nutella, Averie! And, of course, lots of chocolate, too! These cookies look AMAZING! Excuse me while I wipe up my drool off the keyboard! :) Definitely have to try this out!
Lava cookies? Sounds so decadent! Sign me up! I love that you used those 72% Trader Joes bars, YUM.
The best! Couldn’t have written cookbooks without the 72% bars! :) They melt so easily and smoothly!
I’ve never made a lava cake, either! But, because of nutella, I think these cookies are even better :)
I don’t know of many words more beautiful than ‘stuff with a chunk of dark chocolate’. This looks amazing!
These make me die. I have also been wanting to make a lava cake, but I never get around to it. However, my opinion is that cookies > Cake….and stuffed with Nutella? You are amazing. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and glad you agree that these cookies would trump cake :)
These look fabulous, who needs lava cake when they can have lava cookies? Besides, cookie cups>cookies>cake. Just a fact, I’m sure.
Amen! Totally agree!
This had me at chocolate lava—what a delicious sight to wake up to this morning!! All of your cookies are to die for but it’s fun to have a surprise in the middle. This is such a quick recipe…they look like they would take more time to make.
All my recipes = quick. Well almost all, but you know what I mean :) I can’t even deal with fussy and complicated!
The chocolate high is very real! And these cookies would accomplish it in about a tenth of a second. They look amazing!
They pretty much did :)