Chocolate Lava Nutella Cookies
This post may contain affiliate links.
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.
Chocolate Lava Nutella Cookies
The cookies are cookies stuffed with chocolate that flows like lava and if you’re craving chocolate, these are the cookies to make. 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 keeps the cookies extra moist. The cookies are baked in a muffin pan so you don’t have to chill the dough. The cookies rise while baking, but once out of the oven they sink in the center as they cool, readily exposing the luscious melted chocolate. They’re ready in 30 minutes and perfect when you need chocolate in a hurry.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- heaping 1/3 cup Nutella (stir well before adding)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 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 Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 450Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 137mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 4gSugar: 37gProtein: 5g
Related Recipes
Soft and Chewy Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies – Thick, rich, chocolaty cookies that are so soft you won’t be able to resist them!
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter-Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookie Cups – Two kinds of PB in one thick, soft and chewy cookie
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups – The browned butter adds so much incredible flavor
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups – Supremely soft cookies & impossible to spread or goof up
Nutella Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies – Nutella and peanut butter are used in the dough based, along with big chocolate chunks
Quadruple Chocolate Soft Fudgy Pudding Cookies – For true chocolate lovers, these super soft cookies are loaded with chocolate
Caramel-Stuffed Quadruple Chocolate Cookies
Andes Mint Chip Soft Fudgy Chocolate Cookies – Big, thick, fudgy chocolate cookies with a hint of mint and loads of chocolate in every bite
Dark Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies – Rich, soft chocolate cookies with chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips
Thick and Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies – Richly and intensely chocolate-flavored cookies with NO Flour, NO Butter, and NO White sugar used. They’re thick, dense, soft, chewy and like peanut butter brownies
Soft and Chewy Brownie Cookies – A soft, scrumptious, and nearly flourless brownie-like batter is baked into cookies that are rich, decadent, and lined with hidden chunks of dark chocolate
Black & White Cookies: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip & Dark Chocolate Dark Brown Sugar – The best of both worlds in one cookie
Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins with Nutella
Nutella-Swirled Peanut Butter Chip Blondies
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
106 Comments on “Chocolate Lava Nutella Cookies”
I tried these in a 24 count mini muffin pan. They turned out perfectly! I baked them at the same temperature for 8-9 minutes. My Dad is going to love these! ?
Glad they worked great for you in a mini muffin pan!
Theses turned out great! I have a question though. Do you think these could be made smaller, using a mini muffin tin? I am making these to mail to my Dad in Florida and I am not sure how the would hold up being mailed from Colorado. If I use the smaller tins, do you think 6 minutes would be an appropriate baking time?
Thanks!
I’m not sure how you’d adjust baking time given the size of the muffin pan. It would really be trial and error.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you!
OMG. Needed a spectacular cookie for my husband’s Cookie Bake-Off at work, and these Lava Cookies are incredible! Baked them for exactly 12 minutes, and they were gooey and perfect!! The only thing I couldn’t do was form them into balls (user error!), but even spooning the batter into the muffin cups worked out well. Love the site and can’t wait to try more recipes!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad they were a cookie bake-off success!
search in : http://womensplus.blogspot.com
yum these sound super delicious, thanks for sharing this.
Simon
I loved this recipe!! :> One of the things I couldnt get right was that the top always cooked faster than the bottom and when I try to get the cookie out of the tin, it splits in half. Any suggestions? other than that they turned out really well!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad they taste is great for you! Move your oven rack down one notch lower (that may help the browning situation) and wait til they’re cooler in the pan before removing, as in almost ‘cold’ so they firm up and won’t split upon being transferred.
Hi!
I just came across these cookies and they look so good! I’m going to bake them as soon as I can! But I wanted to ask you, when I stuff the cookie with the piece of chocolate, should I add more cookie dough on top of it or is the chocolate meant to remain visible?
I purposely leave exposed chocolate so that it really POPS and stands out but do what you think is best.
I topped mine with left over cookie dough and they came out great!!!!
I can’t help but sit and stare at your photos in this post! If only real lava were made out of chocolate, Pompeii would have been a completely different story!
Thanks for the photo compliments!
Wow! I just made these cookies today and they are among the best cookies I have ever tasted! (and that’s saying something because I eat A LOT of cookies ;) ). The gooey chocolatey center is to die for!
Your blog has become one of my favorites this past year and I have made about fifteen of your recipes, all amazing! Friends and family always ask me where I get these amazing recipes from and now they have also become obsessed with your blog!
Greetings from Iceland! x
Thanks for trying so many of my recipes and that’s wonderful your friends & family always ask where you get them from – so nice to hear! Thanks for reading all the way from Iceland and so glad these cookies are among the best you’ve ever had!
Hi Averie!
Today we tried to make your nutella chocolate lava cakes…. they turned out so well! One of the few recipes where the result looks (and seemingly tastes) like the picture. This is definitely a front runner for the Santa cookies this year!
Thanks!
Bryanna (13) and Ashley (10)
That’s wonderful that you girls were baking today and that the cookies turned out so well and that they look (and taste) like my photos. Fabulous! Merry Xmas!
Hi Averie!
If i rolled the chocolate chunk in the center of a ball of dough, do you think they will come out the same or would they collapse? I currently don’t have a cupcake tin!
You won’t get the same results baking on a cookie sheet as in a muffin pan. It’s just not possible; but I think you could make the recipe as written and just bake as cookies on a baking sheet and then plunk a chocolate chunk in the center and see how it goes. All of baking is an experiment so just try it and see how things go with a few test cookies and change up from there if necessary.
These look amazing! Will definitely have to try them. Only problem is I don’t like dark chocolate so i’m thinking of swapping that for milk chocolate. Do you think they would they still taste as good as they look?
I personally do love dark chocolate in cookies like this but if you think milk would be better, than go for it. I mean I would prefer the taste of using dark, but use what you like.
Hey Averie! Do you think I would get away with substituting half of the butter with applesauce or would it really mess things up? I soooo want to try these!
No possible way. Use butter and enjoy!
Just tried this recipe. I barely ever bake cookies and these were so simple! They were also delicious!! Thanks so much! I only omitted the extra 1/4 cups granulated sugar and they still tasted very sweet :)
Glad they came out great for you even though you don’t bake that often! That’s wonderful!
Haha, I love Kayle’s comment! ^ That’s exactly my feelings for these cookies!! They look so decadent and AMAZING!! Pinned! :)
Thanks girl!
GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY! must. make!!!!
Yummy! love it! looks deliciously good!
Averie, this recipe looks amazing! I’m curious, have you tried using mini muffin pans to make them bite size? How did it come out?
Haven’t tried them as mini.
My family would go crazy for these!
Totally delicious!
Mmmm, anything that oozes gooey chocolate is a win on my list, especially if its cookies that are oozing that gooey chocolate. Great recipe, Averie!
I’m pretty sure the secret to happiness in life is in the middle of that pool of melted lava ;)
I am drooling over your pictures here! I love your combo of dark chocolate and nutella; it doesn’t get much better than that :) YUM!
Chocolate Nutella Lava Cookies? Could a cookie ever top this? Probably not!
Wow, now this is a desert! I can’t wait to make these.
Wowzers! These cookies are phenomenal, Averie!!
Thanks, Russell, and for the tweet too! You’re awesome :)
These little cups of melted chocolate deliciousness would be gone in no time at my house! Thanks for having the recipe only make 12… You should try lava cakes though; they’re really quite simple to make and delicious topped with vanilla ice cream.
It’s a bucket list recipe for sure!
Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bars are the best! I like that this recipe only makes a dozen. They look like the perfect little chocolate treat!
Love the bars, too! Lifesavers!
These cookies just caused my heart to skip a beat. So gooey and chocolatey. Pinned.
Thanks for pinning, Jennie!
Lava? Chocolate? Cookies? Its like heaven! Your cookies always look incredible – these are obviously no exception!
these look amazing averie.. definitely craving a bite! pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Thalia!
I could shove 10 of these in my face right in this moment! They look to chocolatey and delicious!
Thanks for pinning as always and I had to donate these to people in my building because they were too good to keep around…or 10 would have been me too :)
One of the first things I remember cooking when I first started getting into baking was a chocolate lava cake. I think it was from a Vegetarian Times cookbook and I remember following the recipe exactly (yes, I did that at one time!) and thinking that NO WAY would there be any pudding-like deliciousness in that cake. But LO. There was.
I made that recipe many many times, but it did not have nutella. Sad but true.
I love the muffin tin cookies too. Do you know why you don’t have to chill the dough?
(I never got your replies to my recent comments and I thought you were ignoring me. Turns out I’d typed my email wrong.)
Turns out I’d typed my email wrong <--- that's something I'd do LOL. And no, would never ignore you! Don't have to chill b/c since they're not being baked free-form on a baking sheet where they could spread and are instead in a muffin tin, whether the dough was warm, cool, or sideways, it really wouldn't matter. And that cake sounds delish!
These are INTENSE…in such a good way! I love anything with a gooey, chocolaty center!
Intense is the right word for these, you are so right!
Lava cakes are so cool and I wish I had the guts to make one! I just know mine would be a hot mess and not in a delicious, fudgy way, haha. These cookies take the guesswork and pain out of making a cake into something even more delicious — because who doesn’t want a thick, chewy chocolate chip cookie with molten fudge in the middle?!
take the guesswork and pain out of making a cake into something even more delicious = and taking the guesswork/pain out of ANY unknown recipe, yeah, that’s what I’m all about :)
I think these are what my dreams are made out of.
I love gooey center anything! I am going to make this but sub the Nutella for peanut butter. My daughter is allergic to treenuts, and we LOVE peanuts. Which strange enough she is not allergic too. <— Thank goodness because we love some peanut butter!!
http://everydaymadefresh.com
Glad they’ll work for you!
That lava center is perfection, love these cookies. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Laura!
Ooh. I’m sure it’s been scientifically proven that combining chocolate and Nutella help with hormonal balance. Therefore, it is my duty to make and eat these for my health.
These are pure PMS food :) Or 3am food after a long night out…or really anytime but you know, certain times they just taste extra good. :)
Chocolate lava cake is my favorite, I love the idea of trying chocolate lava COOKIES! And the fact that you used Nutella makes these even better!
Hold the phone… you can put lava-y goodness in a cookie?! And it can have Nutella in it?! And it will be monstrously satisfying because it’s in a muffin pan?!
*Mind. Blown.* This looks amazing!
Thanks, Jessica!
Chocolate puddles are what dreams are made of. Oh my goodness Averie, you seriously outdid yourself on these. This is my new definition of fudgy. Just look at them! I can’t even … :)
Thank you! :)
These are some of the most beautiful cookies I’ve seen on your blog!
In the directions it says to mix in the butter – how much butter goes into these cookies? It seems that the measurement has been left out :)
Ohmygosh, thank you! I cut/paste from the recipe these cookies were adapted from and I guess I cut off the butter! It’s 1/2 cup and it’s fixed now! Thank you!
Lava cake is my idea of heaven, but with nutella and in cookie form… They look so irresistible with that pool of melting dark chocolate and the muffin size! What is better than a triple chocolate cookie? A lava triple chocolate cookie of course!
Oh my goodness!! These look amazing! I’m craving for chocolate right now!
Pools of melted chocolate can never be bad!
Oh goodness, I have a nutella problem right now and these are totally calling my name!
Thank you for pinning :) and you and me both with the Nutella problem!
I am all about the lava cake, and these cookies look WAY better :) my kiddos would flip to come home to these
Mine did flip :)
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 :)