Irresistible Chewy Nutella Bars: The Ultimate Easy Chocolate Hazelnut Dessert Recipe
Prepare to fall in love with these **Irresistible Chewy Nutella Bars**, a dessert sensation that perfectly marries the classic comfort of chocolate chip cookies with the luxurious, creamy indulgence of Nutella. Imagine a decadent chocolate chip cookie sandwich, but elevated, with a rich layer of chocolate hazelnut spread nestled within and swirled on top. This remarkably easy recipe starts with a simple chocolate chip cookie dough, pressed into an 8×8 pan, generously layered with Nutella, then topped with more cookie dough and a signature Nutella swirl. The best part? It only requires a mere 15 minutes of prep time, making it an ideal treat for any occasion!
Desserts featuring that luscious chocolate hazelnut spread are always guaranteed to please, and these delightful chocolate chip cookie bars infused with Nutella are an absolute showstopper. Each bite offers an ooey, gooey texture, generously packed with melty chocolate chips and the unmistakable flavor of Nutella. For any true chocoholic or hazelnut enthusiast, these bars are nothing short of a dream come true, delivering deep, satisfying flavors and a wonderfully soft chewiness.
I am particularly fond of cookie bars because they consistently offer a higher ratio of soft, chewy center compared to a crispy edge – a texture I find utterly irresistible in any cookie. The overall texture of these Nutella dessert bars is incredibly soft and delightfully chewy. What’s more, the beautiful Nutella swirls on top maintain their wonderfully melty, inviting appearance even after the bars have completely cooled, adding to their visual and textural appeal. These bars are a testament to how simple ingredients can create an extraordinary dessert experience.
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Why You’ll Adore This Nutella Bar Recipe
These Nutella Bars are more than just a sweet treat; they’re an experience waiting to happen. Here’s why this recipe will quickly become a favorite in your baking repertoire:
- **Unforgettable Flavor with Nutella:** Nutella is renowned for its incredible, rich flavor profile, perfectly blending sweet chocolate with roasted hazelnuts into a creamy, dreamy spread. It’s a versatile ingredient that’s not just fantastic for baking, but also incredibly tempting to eat straight from the jar (we won’t tell!). In these bars, Nutella plays a starring role, featuring prominently in a luscious layer in the center and beautifully swirled on top, much like the delightful swirls in my popular banana Nutella muffins. This dual application ensures that every bite is bursting with that beloved chocolate hazelnut goodness.
- **Effortless & Impressive Baking:** This is a fantastic “one-bowl” dessert recipe, designed for simplicity and convenience. You’ll be amazed at how easily it comes together in just a few straightforward steps, minimizing cleanup and maximizing your enjoyment. Despite its ease, the resulting flavors are so complex and satisfying that these Nutella cookie bars are guaranteed to impress anyone you serve them to, making them perfect for both novice and experienced bakers alike.
- **The Perfect Portable Treat:** Cookie bars are inherently wonderful for their portability and ease of serving. They’re an excellent choice for a variety of occasions, whether you’re heading to a casual picnic, contributing to a bustling bake sale, or simply want a delicious batch of treats to enjoy throughout your week. For added convenience and a touch of elegance, simply cut them into individual pieces and serve them in cupcake liners, making them easy to grab and enjoy without any mess.
Essential Ingredients for Your Easy Nutella Cookie Bars
To whip up these wonderfully **easy Nutella cookie bars**, you’ll need a selection of common pantry staples. Each ingredient plays a crucial role in creating the signature chewy texture and rich flavor that makes these bars so irresistible. Here’s what you’ll gather:
Ingredient Notes for Perfect Nutella Bars:
- **Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread):** This iconic spread is the star of our show. Nutella is a delightful Italian creation, celebrated for its rich, sweet, and wonderfully creamy texture, which is typically slightly thinner than peanut butter. You can easily find it in most grocery stores and convenience stores, usually located near other fruit spreads and nut butters, or order it online for convenience. While Nutella is my personal favorite for its consistent quality and flavor, feel completely free to use any brand of hazelnut chocolate spread you prefer or have on hand!
- **Brown Sugar, Vanilla Extract, and Unsalted Butter:** These three foundational ingredients are essential for creating the classic, deeply satisfying chocolate chip cookie flavor and the signature chewy texture of our bars. The brown sugar not only adds sweetness but also contributes to the moistness and chewiness. You can use either light or dark brown sugar, depending on what you have in your pantry; both will yield delicious results. Unsalted butter allows for better control over the saltiness of the final product, and vanilla extract boosts all the sweet flavors.
- **Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips:** The choice of mini chocolate chips for this recipe is deliberate. Their smaller size ensures that you get a generous burst of extra chocolate in literally every single bite of these bars, creating an even more harmonious blend with the Nutella and cookie dough. Semi-sweet chips offer a balanced sweetness that complements the rich hazelnut spread without overpowering it.
- **All-Purpose Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt:** These dry ingredients form the structure of our cookie bars. All-purpose flour provides the bulk, baking powder ensures a slight lift and tender texture, and salt balances the sweetness, enhancing all the other flavors.
For a precise list of all ingredients and their exact measurements, please refer to the comprehensive recipe card located further down this page.
Creative Substitutions & Delicious Variations
While these Nutella bars are perfect as is, feel free to experiment and customize them to your taste or dietary needs with these suggestions:
- **Elevate Flavor with Browned Butter:** For an added layer of depth and a delightful nutty aroma, consider browning the butter before incorporating it into your cookie dough. This simple step, similar to what I do in my easy brown butter blondies, infuses the bars with a rich, caramelized note. Just be sure to let the browned butter cool and re-solidify at room temperature before you start mixing it with the sugar.
- **Nutella Oatmeal Bars:** Transform these into a heartier, more textured treat by replacing ¼ cup of all-purpose flour with ¾ cup of old-fashioned oats. This substitution will give your Nutella bars a lovely chew and a wholesome, comforting appeal.
- **Alternate Chocolate Chips (or Omit Them!):** Don’t limit yourself to mini semi-sweet chocolate chips! You can easily swap them for peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, or even butterscotch chips to create a different flavor profile. If you prefer a pure chocolate-hazelnut experience, you can certainly omit the chocolate chips altogether.
- **Add a Hazelnut Crunch:** To intensify the hazelnut flavor and add a satisfying crunch, mix in about ¼ to ½ cup of finely crushed hazelnuts into the cookie dough batter. For extra visual appeal and texture, sprinkle some additional crushed hazelnuts over the top of the bars before baking.
- **Explore Other Spreads:** If Nutella isn’t your preference, or if you’re looking for a different flavor adventure, these bars are incredibly versatile. You can use creamy peanut butter for a classic chocolate-peanut butter combination, or try other delicious spreads like Biscoff cookie butter, almond butter, or even sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option (ensure other ingredients are also nut-free if a strict allergy concern).
Please note that this particular recipe has been specifically tested with the ingredients and variations listed above. If you choose to replace or add any other ingredients, we kindly ask you to share your results in the comments section below so others can benefit from your culinary experiments!
How to Effortlessly Bake Your Own Nutella Bars
Creating these delightful Nutella bars is surprisingly simple, even for those new to baking. Follow these easy steps to achieve perfect, gooey, chocolate-hazelnut goodness.
Quick Recipe Video
Step-by-Step Instructions for Perfect Nutella Bars
Step 1: Cream Wet Ingredients. In a spacious mixing bowl, combine the softened unsalted butter and brown sugar. Using an electric mixer (or vigorous hand mixing), cream them together on medium speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture becomes wonderfully light and fluffy. This aeration is key for tender bars. Next, incorporate the egg and vanilla extract, mixing thoroughly until everything is well combined and smooth.
Step 2: Add Dry Ingredients & Chocolate Chips. Gradually mix in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix gently until just combined, ensuring that no dry streaks of flour remain, but be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough bars. Once the dough is mostly incorporated, fold in the mini chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the rich cookie dough. This ensures every bite is loaded with chocolatey goodness.
Step 3: Layer the Dough and Nutella. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare an 8×8 inch metal baking pan by greasing it lightly and lining it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides to create a “sling” for easy removal. Press approximately half of the prepared cookie dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Then, dollop and carefully spread a little over half of your Nutella over this first cookie dough layer, ensuring it covers the surface from edge to edge.
Step 4: Top & Swirl. Gently drop small spoonfuls of the remaining cookie dough over the Nutella layer, then carefully press it down to form the top layer. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly smooth; a rustic look is charming! Finally, take the remaining Nutella and dollop it across the top dough layer. Use a knife or a skewer to create beautiful swirls, dragging it through the Nutella and dough. Bake the bars at 350°F (175°C) for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until the edges appear lightly golden brown and the center is still slightly soft and gooey. This ensures maximum chewiness!
Expert Baking Tips for Flawless Nutella Bars
Achieving bakery-quality Nutella bars is easy with a few insider tricks. Keep these expert tips in mind for the best possible results:
- **Precision with a Digital Scale:** For consistent and superior baking results, always use a digital kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients, especially flour. Measuring flour in grams (g) is significantly more accurate than using measuring cups, as flour can compact differently each time, leading to varying amounts. Accurate measurements are crucial for preventing dense or dry bars.
- **The Parchment Paper Sling Trick:** To ensure your bars lift out of the pan effortlessly and cleanly after baking, always grease your pan and then line it with parchment paper. Let the parchment paper hang over two opposite sides of the pan, creating a “sling.” This ingenious method, demonstrated in many baking tutorials like this YouTube video, makes removal a breeze. You can even secure the overhanging sides with metal binder clips (ensure no plastic parts are near the hot pan!) to keep them from folding onto your dough during baking.
- **Customize Your Gooeyness:** The key to perfectly gooey Nutella bars is knowing when to pull them from the oven. For that ultra-gooey, melt-in-your-mouth center, remove the bars as soon as you notice the edges just beginning to turn a light golden tan. The residual heat will continue to cook them slightly. If you prefer a bar with a slightly firmer texture and a bit more crunch, you can bake them for a few minutes longer, but be careful not to overbake them into dryness.
- **Patience is a Virtue (Cooling):** It can be tempting to slice into these delicious bars immediately, but resist the urge! Allowing the bars to cool completely in the pan before lifting them out and cutting them into squares is essential. This cooling period allows the bars to set properly, ensuring clean cuts and preventing them from crumbling.
- **The Ultimate Indulgence:** While these Nutella bars are fantastic on their own, for an truly decadent treat, serve them warm! A quick reheat in the microwave for 10-20 seconds can bring back that melty, gooey texture. Top them with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or even an extra drizzle of Nutella for an unforgettable dessert experience.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nutella Bars
Got questions about making these scrumptious Nutella bars? We’ve got answers! Here are some common queries to help you bake with confidence:
Nutella is a globally popular Italian sweet hazelnut cocoa spread, known for its rich, sweet, and incredibly creamy texture. It’s made from a blend of sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, skimmed milk powder, whey powder, lecithin (as an emulsifier), and vanillin. While Nutella is the most famous brand, there are many other delicious chocolate hazelnut spreads available that can be used as substitutes, though Nutella remains my personal favorite for its distinctive flavor.
Absolutely, these Nutella bars are perfect for freezing! Once they have completely cooled, slice them into individual bars. Then, layer them between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-safe, airtight container or freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to enjoy, simply thaw them at room temperature for a few hours, or warm them slightly in the microwave for a quick, gooey treat.
Dry, thick bars are a common issue in baking, and it’s most likely due to two factors: over-measuring the flour or over-baking the dough. Flour is notorious for getting compacted in measuring cups, leading to significantly more flour than intended. This is why using a digital kitchen scale to weigh your flour in grams is so incredibly important for accuracy. Additionally, over-baking even by a few minutes can dry out cookie bars quickly. For gooey centers, look for edges that are just barely tan, not deeply golden brown.
This recipe, when baked in an 8×8 inch pan, is designed to produce a generous batch of Nutella bars. I personally love to slice mine into 16 smaller, bite-sized squares (creating a 4×4 grid), which are perfect for sharing or portion control. However, if you prefer larger, more substantial servings, you could easily cut them into 9 larger squares (a 3×3 grid) for an even more indulgent treat.
While not strictly necessary, gently warming the Nutella slightly can make it much easier to spread smoothly, especially for the middle layer and the top swirl. You can do this by microwaving it in a microwave-safe bowl for 10-15 seconds, or by placing the jar in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. Just ensure it’s fluid enough to spread without being hot.
A light-colored metal baking pan (specifically 8×8 inches for this recipe) is ideal for achieving evenly baked cookie bars. Darker pans can sometimes lead to over-browning on the edges before the center is cooked. Ensure your pan is also sturdy and not warped, as this can affect baking consistency. Don’t forget to line it with parchment paper for easy removal!
Proper Storage for Your Delicious Nutella Bars
To keep your Nutella bars fresh and delicious for as long as possible, follow these simple storage guidelines:
Room Temperature Storage
Once your Nutella bars have completely cooled, transfer them to an airtight container. They will stay wonderfully fresh and chewy at room temperature for up to 5 days. For an extra touch to keep them incredibly soft and moist, you can add a slice of plain bread (like white bread) into the container, ensuring it doesn’t directly touch the bars. The bread helps absorb any excess moisture and keeps the bars from drying out.
Freezing Instructions for Long-Term Freshness
For longer storage, Nutella bars freeze beautifully. After the bars have completely cooled and been sliced into individual portions, arrange them in a single layer in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. If stacking, place a sheet of parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking. They can be safely stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to indulge, simply remove them from the freezer and allow them to thaw at room temperature. For a delightful warm and gooey experience, you can also gently reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds after thawing.
More Irresistible Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re a fan of these easy Nutella bars, you’re in for a treat! Explore more delicious and satisfying recipes from our collection:
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Easy Chewy Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
-
Swirled Banana Nutella Muffins
-
Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
-
Easy Brown Butter Blondies
Did you try this recipe? **Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating + review below** and **tag @brokenovenbaking on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest**! We love seeing your creations!
📖 Recipe Card
The Best Easy Nutella Bars
Kayla Burton
Pin Recipe
Equipment
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8×8 inch metal pan greased and lined with parchment paper
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Mixing bowls
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Measuring spoons
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Scale/measuring cups
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Electric mixer recommended
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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
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Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare an 8-inch metal baking pan by greasing it lightly and lining it with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend over the sides to create a convenient “sling” for lifting the bars out later.
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In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the softened unsalted butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined (this should take approximately 2 minutes on medium speed). Once smooth, thoroughly mix in the large egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
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Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until the dry streaks of flour have just disappeared. Be careful not to overmix the dough. Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
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Evenly press half of the prepared cookie dough into the bottom of your parchment paper-lined pan. Next, dollop and carefully spread a little over half of the Nutella across the entire surface of this bottom cookie dough layer. Then, drop spoonfuls of the remaining cookie dough over the Nutella layer and gently press it down to create the top layer. Finally, drop small spoonfuls of the remaining Nutella over the top dough layer and use a knife or skewer to create inviting swirls.
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Bake the Nutella bars on the oven’s middle rack for approximately 25-30 minutes. You’re looking for the edges to be lightly golden tan, but the center should still appear slightly soft and gooey – this is the secret to their irresistible chewiness! Once baked, if they are firm enough to handle, carefully lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper sling and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
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Once completely cooled, slice the bars into 9 generous larger squares (3×3) or 16 smaller, more manageable squares (4×4), depending on your preference. Now, it’s time to enjoy your perfectly baked, utterly delicious Nutella bars!
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Notes
**Chocolate Chip Flexibility:** Feel free to customize your bars by using any type of chocolate chips you prefer, such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. You can also leave them out completely if you desire a pure Nutella and cookie dough experience.
**Creative Extra Toppings:** Before baking, consider sprinkling a pinch of flaky sea salt over the top for a delightful sweet and salty contrast. Alternatively, add some finely crushed hazelnuts for an enhanced nutty flavor and satisfying crunch.
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.