Pumpkin Spice Nutella Sandwich Cookies

Are you tired of pumpkin yet? I certainly hope not. I, for one, am in full pumpkin mode over here and won’t stop until the first signs of spring. Seriously. And once you taste my latest cookie creation, you pumpkin skeptics just might be doing an about-face and running straight towards my kitchen. I’ll be there, waiting for you with a batch of these heavenly morsels close at hand.

I don’t mean to brag, but this may be the most drool-worthy cookie that I have ever created. Fall is here, and that can only mean that winter is coming. There’s no better way to prepare for the coming cold season than with a little bit more indulgence than usual.

These cookies are sweet, a little spicy, and wonderfully soft and cake-like. Oatmeal gives them a toothsome texture, while pumpkin provides just enough moisture. Nutella is spread in between two cookies, and then you eat them as you would a sandwich. Elevated pumpkin cookie sandwiches, if you will. Double the cookies equals double the fun, and I have a feeling I will be making these over and over again for the rest of 2018 and into 2019. Hopefully you love them, too!

Note: For this recipe, I use a European version of organic Nutella that I purchase from a local organic grocery store in Ottawa. Use your favourite store-bought chocolate hazelnut spread or a homemade version if you are feeling industrious!

Pumpkin Spice Nutella Sandwich Cookies 

Servings: 16 cookies or 8 sandwiches
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients: 

• ½ cup butter, softened, or virgin coconut oil
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup whole spelt flour
• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 16-24 teaspoon chocolate-hazelnut spread of choice

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer in a large bowl.
3. Add the egg yolk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. If the dough is too wet to roll into balls, add more all-purpose flour, a tablespoon at a time, until dough can be rolled between your hands without sticking.
6. With wet hands, divide dough into sixteen equal-sized balls. Place 8 balls on cookie sheet, leaving plenty of space for them to spread out during baking. Flatten lightly with slightly wet fingers.
7. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until golden and crisp around the edges.
8. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan and placing them on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining 8 cookies.
9. Once cookies have cooled completely, spread 2-3 teaspoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread on the bottom of a cookie. Top with a second cookie. Repeat the process for the entire batch. You should end up with 8 cookie sandwiches.
10. Cookies will keep at room temperature for five days, although they tend to mysteriously disappear within 48 hours.