Cranberry Nutella Sandwich Cookies

I created these cookies for my family after I realized that we had been without Nutella for far too long!

Tart dried cranberries are a natural pairing with the hazelnut flavor. We can’t get enough of these sweet sandwich cookies!

Nancy Mock, Colchester, VT

Prep: 25 min. + chilling

Bake: 20 min./batch + cooling Makes: 16 sandwich cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

3 tsp. vanilla extract

21/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

1/4 cup

2% milk

3/4 cup Nutella

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in the cranberries. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.

2. Preheat the oven to 325°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. diamondshaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with milk.

3. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 18-20 minutes. Remove cookies from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Spread Nutella over bottoms of half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container.

1 SANDWICH COOKIE 284 cal., 16g fat (8g sat. fat), 31mg chol., 47mg sod., 34g carb. (19g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g pro.

TEST KITCHEN TIP Turn this treat into an ice cream sandwich. Add a small scoop of chocolate, vanilla, coffee or strawberry ice cream on top of the Nutella layer and then freeze until ready to serve.