Soft and Gooey Nutella Marshmallow Cookies You’ll Love
Soft and gooey Nutella marshmallow cookies made with rich chocolate flavor. This easy homemade cookie recipe is perfect for dessert lovers.
📋 Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Marshmallow inside a cookie behaves badly unless it is managed. It is mostly sugar and air held in a gelatin foam, and oven heat makes it expand, liquefy, then collapse, often escaping through the side of the cookie on the way.
Freezing the marshmallow before it goes in is what keeps it contained. A frozen piece takes longer to melt, so the surrounding dough sets around it before it liquefies. Sealing the dough completely with no thin spots matters for the same reason.
Nutella brings its own quirk. It is high in oil, which behaves like extra fat in the dough and increases spread. Chilling the shaped cookies before baking counteracts that.
Eat them the day they are made, or at least warm them briefly before serving. Marshmallow that has cooled fully turns firm and chewy rather than gooey, and reheating brings it back.
Nutella Marshmallow Cookies (Soft & Gooey Chocolate Cookies)
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing well.
- Stir in the Nutella until fully combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Gently fold in the marshmallows.
- Scoop dough onto the baking sheet, leaving space between cookies.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes until edges are set but centers are soft.
- Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For extra gooey cookies, slightly underbake them.
- Chill the dough for 20 minutes if cookies spread too much.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Mixing and Baking Notes
For consistently soft Nutella marshmallow cookies, start with properly softened butter rather than melted butter. Butter that is too warm causes the dough to spread excessively, leaving the cookies thin and greasy. The butter should press easily with your finger while still holding its shape.
Measuring flour accurately is also important. Too much flour creates dry cookies that lose their gooey center. We recommend spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off instead of scooping directly from the bag.
Mini marshmallows work best because they distribute evenly through the dough and melt more consistently during baking. Larger marshmallows tend to burst and leak onto the pan. If marshmallows begin sticking to the baking sheet, gently tuck exposed pieces into the dough before baking.
One professional trick that improves both flavor and texture is allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. Chilling solidifies the butter slightly, helping the cookies bake thicker while deepening the chocolate flavor. During testing, chilled dough produced more defined crackled tops and softer centers.
Storage matters with marshmallow cookies because exposure to air quickly dries them out. Keep cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread placed inside. The bread helps maintain moisture without making the cookies soggy.
If reheating leftovers, warm them in the microwave for about 8 seconds. The Nutella softens again, and the marshmallows regain their gooey texture without overcooking the cookie.
Texture Is Set Before They Reach the Oven
Whether these come out thin and crisp or thick and chewy is decided mostly before baking, by butter temperature and by which sugar you use.
Butter is the main lever. Melted butter coats the flour and spreads freely, giving a flatter, denser result. Softened butter creamed with sugar traps air and holds more height. Cold butter cut in barely spreads at all. If a batch came out flatter than you wanted, the butter was warmer than the recipe assumed, and a warm kitchen is enough to cause it.
Chilling the dough does two separate things. Firm fat takes longer to melt in the oven, so there is less time to spread. And resting the dough lets the flour hydrate fully, which deepens the flavour noticeably. Thirty minutes helps; overnight is better, and the difference is real rather than superstition.
Sugar changes the outcome too. Brown sugar holds moisture and is slightly acidic, giving a softer, chewier, more spread-out result. White sugar gives crisper edges and a more even shape. Shifting the ratio between them adjusts the texture without touching anything else.
Finally, pull them early. Take them out when the edges are set and the centres still look slightly underdone. The tray holds a lot of heat and keeps cooking them for several minutes after it leaves the oven. Anything that looks properly done in the oven will be dry once it cools.
Other Versions Worth Making
These chocolate Nutella cookies adapt well to different mix-ins and flavors. Chopped toasted hazelnuts add crunch and deepen the nutty flavor already present in the Nutella. For a richer cookie, dark chocolate chunks can replace part of the marshmallows.
A pinch of espresso powder mixed into the dough intensifies the cocoa flavor without making the cookies taste like coffee. Some bakers also enjoy adding crushed graham crackers for a s’mores-inspired variation with extra texture.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour blends perform well in this recipe when measured carefully. For dairy-free baking, plant-based butter and dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spread create a similarly soft result. Vegan marshmallows can also be substituted successfully.
During the holidays, a few drops of peppermint extract or crushed candy pieces turn these cookies into a festive chocolate dessert without changing the soft texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Why are my cookies spreading too much?
This usually happens when the butter is overly soft or the dough is too warm. Chilling the dough for 20 minutes before baking helps cookies stay thicker. - Q: Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes. Scoop the dough into portions and freeze on a tray before transferring to a container. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the baking time. - Q: How do I keep the marshmallows from burning?
Try to keep marshmallows tucked inside the dough instead of exposed on top. Exposed marshmallows caramelize quickly and may burn around the edges. - Q: Can I use homemade chocolate hazelnut spread?
Absolutely. Homemade spreads work well as long as the texture is thick and creamy rather than oily or runny. - Q: Why do the cookies look underbaked in the center?
That soft center is intentional. The cookies continue setting while cooling, which keeps the inside chewy instead of dry.
