Soft and chewy double chocolate cookies, with chunks of melty, chewy nougat. This recipe makes 20 cookies! You can also freeze the cookie dough balls and cook individually if want snacks on hand for one.
Are you on the chewy cookie team or the crunchy cookie team?
Personally I like my honey/coconut/butter based cookies to be crisp, and my chocolate/oat/almond cookies to be chewy. Although if you give me a crisp chocolate, oat & almond cookie, I’m really not going to complain!
These cookies include a little espresso powder to bring out the taste of the chocolate. Not enough that they taste like coffee, a teaspoon is plenty to give an extra depth of flavour.
Then of course with have chocolate chips, a little almond extract – which brings out the taste of the nougat. And then there’s the nougat itself.
No need for buying the posh, expensive nougat – good old pink and white (<–affiliate link) does the job perfectly. Personally, I only use the white part, as I think that looks better in the cookies, then I eat the pink part whilst the cookies are in the oven 😁
The nougat melts down in the oven, so be sure to use a non-stick baking mat so you don’t leave any of that chewy deliciousness behind.
Once the cookie dough is mixed together, I like rest it in the fridge for a couple of hours. This really helps the flavours to develop and gives the cookies a better texture. Plus it’s easier to roll the dough into balls once the dough has firmed up in the fridge.
I performed an extremely scientific cookie experiment a few years back to help me to figure out how to make the perfect cookie. Take a look at the post for a taste description and visual representation of cookies with different sugars, flour amounts, refrigeration, freezing etc. It definitely set me up to be a confidant cookie maker, even if I did gain a couple of pounds.
Once the cookie dough balls are rolled out, you can also freeze them, and then cook them from frozen. This is great for when you need a sweet snack, but only want to bake one or two cookies. It’s also good to have them on standby in the freezer for when the kids friends come round to play. I know I’ve always got winning snacks on hand!!
Here are some other cookie flavour ideas:
- White Chocolate and Cranberry – replace the cocoa and espresso powder with 60g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour. Replace the nougat and chocolate chips with dried cranberries (115g/1 cup) and white choc chips. Replace the almond extract with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Chocolate Orange – replace the cocoa and espresso powder with 60g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour. Replace the nougat with the zest of two oranges. Replace the almond extract with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Rolo/Caramel stuffed Chocolate Cookies – Don’t use the nougat, chocolate chips or almond extract. Instead roll the cookie dough into balls, flatten into a disc and place a Rolo in the middle of each disc. Wrap the disc around the Rolo to create a ball. Once cooked and cool, drizzle a little melted chocolate on top.
- White Chocolate dipped Pistachio Cookies – replace the cocoa and espresso powder with 60g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour. Replace the nougat and chocolate chips with roughly chopped pistachios (120g/1 cup) Replace the almond extract with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract. Melt 200g white chocolate, and half dip the cooked and cooled cookies before leaving the chocolate to set.
The Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Nougat Recipe
Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Nougat
Ingredients
- 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 35 g (4 1/2 tbsp) cocoa powder sifted
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1.5 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ tsp salt
- 180 g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter softened
- 200 g (1 cup) light brown muscavado sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 150 g (5.3 oz) plain nougat chopped into small chunks I use pink and white nougat
- 85 g (3 oz) milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, bicarbonate of soda, cornflour, and salt in a bowl and mix together.240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 35 g (4 1/2 tbsp) cocoa powder, 1 tsp instant espresso powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1.5 tsp cornflour (cornstarch), ½ tsp salt
- In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Whisk again until combined. Now add the flour mixture and fold everything together using a wooden spoon.180 g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter, 200 g (1 cup) light brown muscavado sugar, 1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp almond extract
- Add the nougat and chocolate chips and mix again. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (up to 2 days), to allow the flavours to develop, and the dough to firm up (stops the cookies from spreading too much during baking).150 g (5.3 oz) plain nougat chopped into small chunks, 85 g (3 oz) milk chocolate chips
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 170C/325F (fan). Line 4 large baking trays with baking parchment or silicone baking mats (you can bake in batches if you only have one or two trays). Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and scoop out a heaped tablespoon full. Roll the dough into a ball with your hands, then squeeze the ball slightly to form a slighty cylindrical shape. Place, standing up on the baking sheet (this shape also helps to ensure thicker cookies). Repeat until you have used all the dough – you should get 20-22 cookies, approx. 5-6 on each baking sheet.
- Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely on the baking tray (if you try to remove too early, the nougat will stick). Once cooled, remove with a spatula before serving.
Notes
- White Chocolate and Cranberry – replace the cocoa and espresso powder with 60g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour. Replace the nougat and chocolate chips with dried cranberries (115g/1 cup) and white choc chips. Replace the almond extract with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Chocolate Orange – replace the cocoa and espresso powder with 60g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour. Replace the nougat with the zest of two oranges. Replace the almond extract with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Rolo/Caramel stuffed Chocolate Cookies – Don’t use the nougat, chocolate chips or almond extract. Instead roll the cookie dough into balls, flatten into a disc and place a Rolo in the middle of each disc. Wrap the disc around the Rolo to create a ball. Once cooked and cool, drizzle a little melted chocolate on top.
- White Chocolate dipped Pistachio Cookies – replace the cocoa and espresso powder with 60g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour. Replace the nougat and chocolate chips with roughly chopped pistachios (120g/1 cup) Replace the almond extract with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract. Melt 200g white chocolate, and half dip the cooked and cooled cookies before leaving the chocolate to set.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Beautiful, just beautiful. Keeper it is !