These Nutella Bars are like a chocolate chip cookie Nutella sandwich! This easy dessert starts with chocolate chip cookie dough pressed into an 8x8 pan. Chocolate hazelnut spread goes over it and then another cookie dough layer is added and topped off with a Nutella swirl! And, it only takes 15 minutes to prep!
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Dessert with chocolate hazelnut spread is always a crowd pleaser, and these chocolate chip cookie bars with Nutella are no exception. They are ooey, gooey, and packed with chocolate chips and Nutella. A chocoholic's dream!
I personally love cookie bars because they have more chewy center than crispy edge, which is my preferred cookie ratio. The texture of these Nutella dessert bars is soft and chewy, and the swirly tops stay melty even after the bars have cooled!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Nutella has such an amazing flavor, combining chocolate and hazelnut into a spread. It's a delicious ingredient to bake with or just eat by the spoonful from the jar. These bars have Nutella in the center and swirled on top, like in my banana Nutella muffins!
- This one-bowl dessert recipe is so easy to make in just a few simple steps. But despite it's simplicity, the flavors are so amazing that they will impress anyone you serve them to.
- Cookie bars are great to make for picnics, bake sales, or just to have throughout the week. Cut them into pieces and serve them in individual cupcake liners for easy serving.
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make these easy Nutella cookie bars:
Ingredient Notes:
- Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread that is rich, sweet, and slightly thinner than peanut butter. It's typically found in grocery stores and convenience stores near the fruit spreads and nut butters, and can also be ordered online. Feel free to use any brand of hazelnut chocolate spread!
- Brown sugar, vanilla, and unsalted butter give the cookie dough the classic chocolate chip flavor and chew. Use light or dark brown sugar - whichever you have in your pantry!
- Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips ensure you get extra chocolate in every bite of these bars.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- For added depth and nuttiness, brown the butter (like in my brown butter blondies) and let it cool and solidify at room temperature before making the bars.
- Replace ¼ cup flour with ¾ cup old-fashioned oats for Nutella oatmeal bars.
- Use peanut butter chips or any other flavored chips in place of the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, or omit them altogether.
- Add crushed hazelnuts into the cookie dough batter and/or sprinkle over the top of the bars before baking for extra flavor and a crunch.
- If you don't like Nutella, use peanut butter or another spread like Biscoff or almond butter.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How to Make Nutella Bars
Quick Recipe Video
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
Step 3: Spread half of the cookie dough into the bottom of a parchment paper-lined 8x8 inch pan. Spread a little over half of the Nutella on top.
Step 4: Drop and press the remaining cookie dough on top of the Nutella layer. Swirl the remaining Nutella on top using a knife, and then bake at 350°F until the edges are tan.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a digital scale to weigh the flour for the best results (see "metric" tab in recipe card below). Weighing flour in grams is much more accurate than measuring with cups.
- Grease the pan and line it with parchment paper hanging over the sides like a sling to make it easy to lift out of the pan after baking. You can secure the parchment with metal binder clips (make sure there is no plastic!) so the sides don't fold over onto the dough.
- Want gooier Nutella bars? Take them out immediately when you notice the edges starting to tan! However, if you prefer a crunchier bar, you can bake them a little longer.
- Let the bars cool in the pan before lifting them out and cutting into squares.
- Serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for an extra indulgent treat!
Common Questions
Nutella is an Italian chocolate hazelnut spread that is rich, sweet, and very creamy. There are other brands of this spread which can be substituted, although Nutella is my favorite.
Yes - absolutely. Allow them to cool, slice them into bars, and then freeze.
This is likely from over-measuring the flour or over-baking the dough. Using a scale to weigh the flour is SO important because it often gets packed in with measuring cups, which adds too much flour.
I like to slice mine into 16 small squares (4x4), but you could also cut them into 9 larger ones (3x3).
Storage
Room Temperature
Store cooled Nutella bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Add a slice of bread in the container with them (not touching the bars) to keep them extra soft!
Freezing Instructions
Freeze the completely cooled and sliced bars in a freezer-safe container for 1 month. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
📖 Recipe
The Best Easy Nutella Bars
Equipment
- 8x8 inch metal pan greased and lined with parchment paper
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Electric mixer recommended
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups (208.33 g) all-purpose flour weighed in grams or spooned and leveled
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (80 g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (150 g) Nutella or any brand of chocolate hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper folded over the sides.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium speed with a mixer). Mix in the egg and vanilla extract well.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt into the wet ingredients just until the dry streaks disappear. Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Press half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Dollop and spread a little over half of the Nutella across the top, followed by the remaining dough. Drop spoonfuls of Nutella over the top dough layer and swirl them around with a knife.
- Bake the Nutella bars on the oven's middle rack until the edges are tan but center is still slightly gooey (about 25-30 minutes). Once they're firm enough, lift out of the pan and let them cool on a wire rack.
- Slice into 9 or 16 equal squares and enjoy!
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Shak says
Sadly the Nutella on top gets crunch 🙁
Kayla Burton says
Hi Shak! That sounds kind of good, but definitely not the intention here 🙂 I'd double check your oven temperature and make sure it bakes on the middle rack just until the edges start to tan.
Kathleen says
Nutella doesn't swirl or spread easily on the cookie base. Once you dollop it on the cookie base and try to spread, it tears up the base and then you just get a clumpy mess.
Kayla Burton says
I'm sorry you had issues with the Nutella spreading! I hope they still tasted good 🙂