After you check out the amazing recipe I’ve got for you here be sure to go over to Turnips 2 Tangerines! Its “Thursdays with Angela”and I’m sharing one of my very favorite panini recipes… an incredibly flavorful Italian Pork Panini! Lynn over at T2T tried this one out and had the kindest things to say about it!! You’ll definitely want to give it a try! Here ya go, another fantastic cookie for the holiday season! These Nutella & Mascarpone Cookies have Italian written all over it! They are crisp on the exterior and light and tender on the interior!

Nutella is one of those things I love indulging in, even if it is something as simple as dunking an animal cookie in there, and yes this is something me and my 3 year old enjoy doing. A while back I posted a recipe for Nutella Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, you should check them out too! If you’ve never had Nutella you are crazy you have been missing out big time!!! Its a wonderful chocolate hazelnut spread and the stuff is addicting!!! Then there is the mascarpone cheese. Its an Italian sweet cream cheese and just recently really started using it in my baking and cooking. I used it in the Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup I posted the other day, it adds a wonderfully richness to it. The mascarpone gives you a very tender cookie!

Nutella & Mascarpone Cookies
makes 2 dozen

3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup nutella
3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Oven at 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and mascarpone. Add in the sugar until combined.

Mix in the eggs until smooth, light and fluffy. Add in the Nutella and again mix until combined.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Again using the electric mixer add in half the dry mix at a time. Mix only until majority of flour is incorporated. Finish incorporating the rest with a rubber spoon.

Using an ice cream scoop,  scoop out the dough onto a lined baking sheet, 6 cookies at a time. Bake on a shelf on the lower half of the oven for 8 minutes then another 5 minutes on a shelf in the upper half of the oven. They will get just slightly browned on the edges.