You know what flavors go really well together? Raspberry, chocolate, and hazelnut. And when I say this, I mean really really well.
Nutella has that sweet, milk chocolate flavor mixed with a bit of hazelnut. But what happens when you take that, add some extra toasted hazelnuts to amplify the nuttiness of the spread, and then toss in some tart, freeze-dried raspberries? You get these Raspberry & Nutella Cookie Bars. These are sweet and nutty with a pop of both color and tartness from the raspberries.
It is safe to say that it will not be easy to keep your hands away from going back to the container you’re storing these in and grabbing another. Nutella is spread in between two layers of the cookie base and is drizzled on top to make the flavor prominent. Not to mention, it gets a bit of an extra boost from the toasted hazelnuts folded into the dough.
One of the main comments I received when I first tried these out of coworkers both old and new was that the raspberries overpowered the Nutella (which was funny, because I thought I had added way too much and made a note the first time I made these to cut down on the Nutella…looks like I was wrong!).
So I added more hazelnuts & more Nutella to these cookie bars and cut down just slightly on the raspberries. Now, you get the favored spread at the forefront of every bite with a sharp note of raspberries at the end to keep you on your toes. Add a little extra freeze-dried raspberry to the top of these and not only do you get a little extra pop of flavor, but you get a bar that just looks absolutely gorgeous and impossible to resist!
On top of all of that, a sprinkle of sea salt goes a long way. It’s basically my secret weapon when it comes to baked goods (okay, okay…it’s not that secret), and it helps to keep the flavors balanced and prevents them from becoming overly sweet. Not that these were overwhelmingly sweet beforehand–the nuttiness of the brown butter and the hazelnuts, the tartness of the raspberries–there’s enough in there to tame that milk chocolate sweetness of the Nutella. But the tiny bit of salt on top takes these from something where the flavors separately go well together, to something that completely marries the flavors into one tasty bite.
Can we also just take a moment to discuss the texture of these cookie bars? They’re chewy and tender with just the right bit of crisp at the bottom (and along the edges–always go for an end piece if you like your cookie bars a bit crispier). Not to mention, these come together quickly, are no chill (unless you really want to, see note below), and bake perfectly within 25-30 minutes. I don’t think you can go wrong with that!
| Prep Time | 15 mins |
| Cook Time | 25-30 mins |
| Servings |
bars
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- 1 cup brown butter
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs large
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped hazelnuts toasted
- 1 cup freeze-dried raspberries plus extra for crumbling on top
- 1 1/2 cups Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread split into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
- coarse/flaked sea salt for sprinkling over the top
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9"x13" pan with parchment paper. (Spray the pan with a little bit of oil or cake release spray to keep the parchment paper in place).
- Brown your butter: Slice 1 cup of butter into equal sized squares and line on the bottom of a large saucepan. Over medium heat, allow the butter to melt, stirring occasionally. Allow it to bubble and foam for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula to keep the heat evenly distributed and to keep the milk solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan. After five minutes, remove the pan from the heat and swirl for 15 seconds. It should start to smell a bit nutty and the color of the butter will be noticeably darker. Transfer to a bowl or a measuring cup and leave to cool in the freezer for ten minutes.
- While the butter is cooling, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, corn starch, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat together the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fully combined and fluffy. Add in the eggs and the egg yolk one at a time, beating until fully combined after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients, 1/2 at a time, and mix until the dough just begins to come together. Fold in the toasted chopped hazelnuts and the freeze-dried raspberries until evenly dispersed.
- Transfer half of the dough into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly so that it reaches all of the edges.
- In a bowl or a mug, warm 1 cup of Nutella in the microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until it is loose and easy to spread. Pour the Nutella over the first half of the cookie dough in the pan and spread it evenly across the surface. Layer the second half of the cookie dough on top of the Nutella.*
- Bake 25-30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft to the touch. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
- Once cooled, you can either leave the baked dough in the pan or, using the parchment paper along the long sides of the pan, lift the cookie dough out and place it on the counter--pull the parchment away from the edges. Heat up the remaining 1/2 cup of Nutella in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds. Transfer to a piping bag and drizzle over the top of the uncut cookie bars. If you don't have a piping bag, you can also do this with a whisk or with a spoon.
- Crumble freeze-dried raspberries over the top of the Nutella drizzle, sprinkle with a bit of coarse or flaked sea salt, slice, and enjoy.
*The Nutella might spread as you do this. Since you're just going to cover it with drizzle, it doesn't matter if the Nutella peeks through here or there, but I'm mostly just impatient and usually want to get these in and out of the oven so that they can cool and be ready to eat right away. If you have more patience than I do or want to forego the drizzle on top, layer the Nutella on top of the cookie dough and then cool in the fridge about 5-10 minutes until the Nutella firms up a bit. Then cover with the other half of the cookie dough.
Store in an airtight container with layers of wax paper to keep the bars from sticking to each other as the Nutella drizzle doesn't fully dry.