What if I told you that Nutella thumbprint cookies might be the easiest cookie recipe you'll make this year? Nutellotti only require 3 ingredients and less than 30 minutes of your time. Add a 4th ingredient - whole hazelnuts - and you'll have show-stopping hazelnut thumbprint cookies on your table with very little effort.
Nutellotti are Italian cookies made with Nutella. Any hazelnut spread, really, but Nutella is definitely the most famous and widespread. The famous hazelnut spread gives these cookies their name, along with the suffix -otti to recall the word biscotti, Italian for cookies. "Biscotti" in Italian is a general term that includes all sorts of baked cookies, not just the hard ones with nuts as they're known in English (those are called cantucci in Italian).
Nutella is a delicious spread to enjoy on its own, but it's also a great ingredient to use to make other wonderful desserts, like Nutella panna cotta.
Ingredients & equipment
- Nutella - or any equivalent hazelnut spread
- Flour
- Egg
- Roasted hazelnuts
For detailed quantities, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Nutellotti are probably the easiest recipe in the world, as they basically only require 1 bowl and 1 fork! You will also need an oven tray lined with baking paper to bake them, and a pastry bag with a small round tip to pipe the Nutella.
How to make Nutellotti (nutella thumbprint cookies)
1. Combine 180 g of hazelnut spread and the egg in a bowl and give it a nice whisk with a fork. When the egg has been incorporated and the mixture looks homogeneous, sift half of the flour and mix it in. When smooth, sift the remaining flour and keep mixing until your dough comes together.
2. Divide the dough into small balls weighing 15 g each. Place dough balls on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Press a finger in the centre of each ball to create a little well in the middle. Bake in the preheated oven at 175°C for 10 minutes and remove from the oven tray as soon as you take them out.
3. When cooled to room temperature, add remaining Nutella to a piping bag and fill the thumbprint holes with a small amount of it.
Gently press a whole hazelnut into the Nutella-filled thumbprint hole.
Nutellotti Nutella thumbprint cookies tips
Nutellotti shouldn't grow much in size in the oven, but you can expect them to flatten down a little, or the bottom of the thumbprint hole to lightly rise, so that it will not appear as deep as it was when unbaked.
Toasted hazelnuts are to be preferred, as toasted nuts possess a beautiful depth of flavour. If you don't have access to whole hazelnuts, you can as well top your nutellotti with coarsely ground hazelnuts. These are generally easier to find among baking ingredients in stores, and are also generally cheaper than whole hazelnuts.
I have made nutellotti several times and I have always used Nutella. As provider of the sugar and fat needed with the egg and flour to make these cookies, original Nutella works perfectly with the proportions listed in this recipe. I believe that using other brands could yield similar results, but you may have to adjust the amount of flour due to a potentially different fat content in a hazelnut spread from a different brand.
More Nutella desserts (and a bonus recipe)!
For all chocolate and hazelnut lovers, here are three more recipe that you might want to check out. I am adding a 4th recipe as a bonus - it's not one that features hazelnuts or hazelnut spread, but if you liked how easy it was to make nutellotti, you may also want to try kladdkaka, as that's another recipe that basically just calls for a bowl and a fork as your equipment. Click on the pictures below to access more recipes and have fun!
If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you're planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.
Nutellotti, Nutella thumbprint cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Fork
- Oven tray
- Baking paper
- Piping bag with small round tip
Instructions
- Combine 180 g of hazelnut spread and the egg in a bowl and give it a nice whisk with a fork. When the egg has been incorporated and the mixture looks homogeneous, sift half of the flour and mix it in. When smooth, sift the remaining flour and keep mixing until your dough comes together.
- Divide the dough into small balls weighing 15 g each. Place dough balls on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Press a finger in the centre of each ball to create a little well in the middle. Bake in the preheated oven at 175°C for 10 minutes and remove from the oven tray as soon as you take them out.
- When cooled to room temperature, add remaining Nutella to a piping bag and fill the thumbprint holes with a small amount of it. Gently press a whole hazelnut into the Nutella-filled thumbprint hole.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in March 2016 and has been updated in October 2026 with new text and photos.
Wow! I'm very tempted to try making these immediately. Great recipe and thanks for sharing! Happy Easter! 🙂
Go for it, they're really effortless and so worth it! Happy Easter Lili 🙂
These look so delicious, yum! 🙂
Thanks!! They taste as good as they look and are so cheap to make. Give this recipe a try 😉