No Bake Salted Nutella Oatmeal Cookies

chocolate, Cookies, no bake, Nutella, recipes

posted on July 18, 2013 by Bianca Garcia

Pinterest has become sort of like a trend timeline for my recipes here on this blog. For instance, during the Fall, when it’s peak pumpkin season and everyone is craving comfort food, I see a lot of pins and likes for Smoked Gouda and Pumpkin Mac and Cheese. This past spring, when a lot of people were trying to shed winter weight gain, it was all about this No Carb Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower.

During the last couple of months, I’ve seen an uptake on repins and likes for my No Bake Desserts, particularly for these Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. And the trend makes sense: in this hot and humid weather, no one wants to turn on the oven to bake.

Which is why I came up with another easy, no bake recipe. It involves oatmeal, brown rice crispies, almond butter, and a little bit of milk. It’s up to you if you want to consider it breakfast.

It also involves a lot of Nutella. But isn’t Nutella marketing itself as a breakfast spread, anyway? And really, when I was in Italy, Nutella was always part of the breakfast spread. Who am I to argue against the Italians?

To add even more to the stellar list of ingredients, I included a generous pour of Frangelico. Fragrant and sweet, the hazelnut liqueur flavor intensifies after a few hours of chilling the cookies in the fridge (or better yet, the freezer). So on second thought, it’s probably not the best idea to eat these boozy cookies for breakfast. Unless, of course, you have the willpower to stick to just one cookie. The alcohol content is minimal, anyway, so you can get away with eating a liqueur-enhanced treat to start your day.

Otherwise, I suggest saving it for dessert. Maybe serve it with a sweet red wine, to complement the salty burst of flavor from the espresso salt. Or maybe bring it to a barbecue, and watch friends enjoy it with beers. Or maybe, for your friend’s birthday, buy a giant mason jar, fill it with the cookies, wrap a big bright ribbon around it, and voila – a gift made with love, no sweaty baking time required.

Yield: 42 cookies

No Bake Salted Nutella Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup almond butter
2 cups Nutella
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 cups brown rice crisps
1/2 cup Frangelico
1 tablespoon espresso salt (or any coarse salt)

Directions

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla extract, and whisk together until combined.
Stir in the dark chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add almond butter and Nutella, and stir until smooth. Turn off heat, pour in Frangelico, and mix until well incorporated. Fold in oatmeal and brown rice crisps.
Using a standard cookie scoop (or a heaping 1 tablespoon of dough), portion out the dough and place evenly on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle liberally with espresso salt or coarse salt. Refrigerate or chill in the freezer for at least an hour before serving.

Recipe

The salt really brings the flavors together, and if you can find espresso salt (I buy mine at a spice and specialty store), it adds another flavor dimension to these cookies. I’m a big fan of salted desserts, and if you’re looking for more salty-sweet treats, try one of these: