Nutella Bites

Is there anything better than Nutella? Seriously. I used to think the most divine spreadable food was peanut butter, and while it still holds a very special place in my heart, it was knocked off it's ooey gooey pedestal once I discovered this chocolate, hazelnut counterpart. I love Nutella. I eat it on graham crackers, bananas, over my ice cream....sometimes straight out of the container....don't say you never have!

However, when I'm in the company of other people (hence, it is not appropriate to take my Nutella straight up) I find a more civilized, and very cute, way to eat this chocolatey spread is sealed in pastry. When you combine Nutella and pastry dough, something magical happens. Words won't do it justice, but I'll try. The buttery dough bakes to flaky perfection on the outside while Nutella melts ever so slightly inside the pastry pocket. The end result, buttery pastry with a smooth, gooey chocolate, hazelnut center. This is the perfect way to get your chocolate fix!

This recipe is extremely versatile. I love using equal parts butter and cream cheese in my dough, but you may use your favorite pie dough recipe or store bought pie dough. You can also substitute the Nutella for another filling, like peanut butter, but I've found the peanut butter tends to dry out a little during baking if it's of the crunchy variety. Experiment. Find a filling/dough combination you love! This recipe as I've written it here yields 2 dozen Nutella Bites.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.  

 

Make sure your unsalted butter and cream cheese are at room temperature. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.

  

In a separate bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Add to butter, cream cheese mixture with the mixer on low speed. Mix until just combined.

 

 

With a rubber spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.  

 

Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Cover with the plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

  

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/8" thickness (think of the height of 2 quarters stacked on top of one another). Using a round biscuit cutter, cut as many rounds as you can from the dough, gathering and re-rolling the scraps to cut more.

 

Assemble the bites in batches. Keep the pastry rounds you're not filling in the fridge. It's important not to allow the butter in the dough to warm to room temperature. This will result in a less flaky dough. If you're not up to baking all the bites in one go, you can store the extra dough, stacked with a little plastic wrap between each layer, in a ziploc bag in your freezer for up to 1 month. 

To assemble the bites, scoop a tiny spoonful (1/2 tsp) of Nutella onto each round. Do not overfill or the Nutella will squeeze out of the sides when you fold the pastry dough in half. Dip your index finger in water and wet the edges of the pastry round. 

Fold pastry round in half, pressing gently with fingers to seal edges together. Using a fork, seal the edges completely. If making the Nutella bites ahead, assemble them to this point, then lay them flat on a cookie sheet and freeze for a few hours. Once they are frozen, you can store them all in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, follow the regular baking instructions. 

Place the Nutella bites onto your silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake in your preheated oven until the bites are golden brown, 15-18 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly, but not all the way as these are the very best when warm. When ready to serve, dust with powdered sugar.

Nutella Bites 

recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com 

Ingredients: 

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

4 oz cream or neufchatel cheese, room temperature

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

4 Tbsp Nutella, creamy peanut butter, jam, etc

powdered sugar for dusting 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk flour and salt together. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to butter, cream cheese mixture until just incorporated. Scrape down sides and bottom of mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. 

Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten into a disc 1 inch thick, and wrap completely in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut rounds out of the rolled dough, gathering and re-rolling the scraps to make more rounds. 

When assembling the bites, work in batches, keeping the extra pastry dough rounds cold in the fridge. Place 1/2 tsp Nutella on each round. Dip your index finger in some water and wet the edges of the pastry dough round. Fold the dough in half, lightly pinching the edges together to seal. Use a fork to seal the edges of the pastry dough completely.

Bake bites on the prepared baking sheet for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly, then dust with powdered sugar.