Festive Nutella Lava Cookies

We're a little bereft over at magazine.co.uk now the Great British Bake Off is finished - but wait! Our Account Strategist Kate has saved the day with her festive Nutella lava cookies! Bake on a day when all you want to do is grab a spoon and dive into the Nutella jar...

This recipe comes from the magical Gastro Sense blog, which is full of fantastic recipes and well worth a look. These Nutella lava cookies are the perfect antidote to Mondays - they're chocolatey, gooey, sinful and delicious! Who wouldn't want a melt-in-the-middle cookie to brighten up a cold and wintry morning?  Here's how to make them:

Ingredients

• 280g/10oz plain flour
• 3 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
• 112g/4oz granulated sugar
• 43g/1.5oz brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 225g/8oz butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 100g/3.5oz unsweetened cocoa powder
• 24 tablespoons Nutella, chilled
• 100g/3.5oz semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping

Method

1. Scoop 24 tablespoons of Nutella onto baking paper or a silicon mat. Freeze for 1 hour.
2. In the meantime, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl, whip the butter until soft and fluffy. Add both sugars and whisk together for another few minutes.
4. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until smooth and gradually add cocoa powder.
5. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips to the large bowl. Mix until combined.
6. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the dough mixture at a time and roll into balls. Place on the baking paper and repeat to make 24 equal dough balls.
7. Using the back of a spatula, make holes in the centre of the dough balls and place the frozen Nutella scoops in the middle.
8. Cover Nutella scoops completely inside by pulling the dough around the Nutella to form the balls. Work fast -Nutella melts quickly!
9. Sprinkle the tops with few additional chocolate chips and sea salt. Freeze the balls for at least 1 hour.
10. Preheat the oven to 350F/180c/Gas Mark 4 and space the balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
11. Bake for 12 minutes. Cookies will flatten out and get crispy on the edges but the centre will still feel soft. Don’t worry it will continue to cook outside the oven while resting.
12. Let the cookies rest for 15 minutes before serving (serve warm!)

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