These Nutella Pockets are absolutely unforgettable. Buttery, flaky, full of the absolutely addictive chocolate hazelnut spread, and topped with the crunch of coarse, raw sugar–these are incredibly simple and hard to resist.
These Nutella Pockets are even more enticing when you realize that there’s more than one way you can put them together: you can go the super quick and easy way and use a store bought puff pastry to throw together a treat with big flavor, or you can go the extra step to make your own rough puff pastry to impart even more buttery flavor into your bake (you can also make full puff if you have the time and dedication for that–I usually stick to the rough variety so full puff instructions have not been provided).
Imagine this. Your friend or a family member comes into town and calls you up to say they want to see you so you invite them over for coffee. You want to give them something to go along with their brew but don’t have much around the house but you do have a box of puff pastry in the freezer and a jar of Nutella in the pantry. With the quick-fix method, these can be tossed together and out of the oven just in time for your surprise visitors to still enjoy these while they’re warm and the Nutella is melty.
Now, consider that you have a bit more time to plan ahead. You have a couple of hours notice and have the time to roll out dough and allow it to chill in between folds. The homemade pastry makes these really stand out, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the store-bought variety. After all, it’s flaky, buttery pastry and Nutella. It’s a pairing that was meant to be together.
The secret to making a successful rough puff is to keep the butter cold. Really, that’s the secret to most good pastry. If the butter is already beginning to melt before it makes it into the oven, it will melt out of the pastry and will leave you with what is essentially a greasy pie crust. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. It will taste absolutely fine, but allowing the pastry time to rest and chill so that the butter stays firm is important to creating layers so flaky that you’ll need to be careful when removing these from the baking sheet.
The added crunch of the raw sugar on top of these Nutella Pockets adds an extra bit of texture that makes every bite just a little more exciting. Simple yet unforgettable, these will likely become a go-to bake for any occasion.
| Prep Time | 10-90 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25-30 minutes |
| Servings |
pockets
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- 2 sheets puff pastry or 2x rough puff pastry* *quantities & instructions below
- 10-12 spoons Nutella heaping
- 1 egg wash (1 egg + 1 Tbsp water, whisked)
- raw sugar for sprinkling
- 250 grams all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 280 grams unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
- 1 cup ice cold water
Ingredients
Nutella Pockets
Rough Puff Pastry**
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- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Thaw the puff pastry according to the box (40 minutes at room temperature). Unfold the puff pastry and cut each sheet at the folds so that you have six long rectangles. Cut these rectangles in half so that each is only about 4 inches long.
- Brush egg wash around the edges of the puff pastry rectangles. Using a small spoon place a heaping scoop of Nutella on one side of the rectangle, leaving space around the edges for folding. Fold the other half of the puff pastry over the Nutella. Use your fingers to press down along the edges. Then, use a fork to crimp the edges so that they don't pop open while baking. Line each pocket up on the prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Brush the tops and size of each pocket with the egg wash. Sprinkle with raw sugar and cut 1-3 slits on the top. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add in the cubes of butter and, using your fingertips, rub in the butter until coated in flour. The mixture should be crumbly and the butter might be in different sizes though most should be about the size of a pea. Add water 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring with a knife until the dough begins to come together. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball.
- Flour your countertop or work surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 12" x 6" rectangle. Add more flour on top of the dough or underneath as needed to prevent the butter from sticking. Fold the bottom 1/3 of the dough up toward the middle. Then fold the top 1/3 toward the middle so that the all thirds overlap--similar to an envelope or folding a piece of paper into thirds. Rotate the dough 90° and repeat the rolling and folding process. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.
- Return the dough to your lightly floured surface so that one of the open ends is facing you. Roll to a 12" x 6" rectangle and repeat the process of folding into thirds. Rotate the dough 90° and fold again. Chill the dough for another 15-30 minutes.
- Repeat the rolling and folding process two more times. Roll the dough out to a 24" x 8" rectangle. You may need to cut off any rough edges to create a straight-sided rectangle. Depending on how much you need to cut off, slice the pastry into 5 or 6 long rectangles, about 3 inches wide. Cut each of those rectangles in half. You should be left with 10-12 pieces of pastry about 3" x 4" in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Brush egg wash around the edges of the puff pastry rectangles. Using a small spoon place a heaping scoop of Nutella on one side of the rectangle, leaving space around the edges for folding. Fold the other half of the puff pastry over the Nutella. Use your fingers to press down along the edges. Then, use a fork to crimp the edges so that they don't pop open while baking. Line each pocket up on the prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Brush the tops and size of each pocket with the egg wash. Sprinkle with raw sugar and cut 1-3 slits on the top. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
** Rough Puff Pastry quantities doubled from Chocolate & Zucchini