Copycat Crumbl Hazelnut Sea Salt Cookies That Are Just Like The Original

Although all cookies are beautiful, I’m not generally the biggest Crumbl stan. What can I say? I
like my cookies small and crisp, preferably so I can try 4 different kinds before I reach the point
of feeling sugar sick.

That being said, this cookie is phenomenal. My only issue is the name, which is no way conveys
how delicious it is.

Sea salt? Ok, yes, I cannot take issue with this, there is undeniably sea salt sprinkled atop these
beauties.

Hazelnut? Sure, if you want to completely undersell the glory that is Nutella as merely tasting of
hazelnut.

But more importantly, why isn’t anyone talking about the brown butter??? The much loved, and
yes, nutty delight that is brown butter, elevate-er of everything it touches?

So yes, this cookie is basically perfect, but I would like to suggest renaming it, maybe the Salty
Brown Butter Nutella Dream Cookie? Just workshopping here.

Ingredients

3⁄4 cup brown butter (start with 1 cup of regular unsalted butter if making your own)
1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
2⁄3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1⁄2 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄4 cup Nutella
Sea Salt

Directions:

Heat butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.

Once butter begins foaming/bubbling, begin stirring more consistently.

Continue heating and stirring until butter begins to turn a more amber color and smell nutty. Little orange bits will begin forming on the bottom. That’s the good stuff.

You’ll want to remove the butter from the heat when the bits at the bottom START browning, but before they burn.

Remember, you can always brown your butter more, you can’t brown it less.

Once browned, letter butter cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, at least 2 minutes in a mixer.

Add egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Add flour mixture in two sections, and mix until just combined.

Make 6 equal balls of dough, then make a deep well in the middle of each. Similar to making a pinch pot.

Fill holes w 1⁄2 Tablespoon of Nutella, then seal the hole up and re-roll/pat into a ball.

Bake for 12 minutes, turning halfway through.

Let cool on a baking sheet for at least 30 minutes, then drizzle w Nutella by filling the corner of a piping bag/a ziploc and taking off a tiny bit of the tip.

Tips:

1. If you’re making your own brown butter, which I would suggest, use more butter than the final amount the recipe calls for, as it will lose water/mass while browning.
2. Keep a close eye on your butter once it begins browning, when little orange caramelized bits start forming on the bottom of the pan.
3. Although it may seem like it takes the butter forever to start browning (really closer to 6-8 minutes), it takes only seconds to go from brown to burnt.
4. This dough is very thick, so don’t worry if it’s ends up looking dry, the heat from your hands will help melt the dough together.
5. Try to keep the walls of your well in tact, so as not to risk any Nutella leaking out.

Variations:

1. You can make this with regular butter in a pinch, but you’ll lose all of the nutty flavor imparted by browning.
2. Fill this with any delicious nut butter you choose; peanut, pistachio, etc
3. Split the dough into 12 balls, and bake for 8-11 minutes for smaller cookies.
4. If you want more Nutella, which who doesn’t?, you can spread it over the cookie top rather than drizzling, or even make a Nutella frosting with some butter, cream cheese(optional), and confectioner’s sugar.