Nutella Sandwich Cookies (a.k.a. Yo-yos)

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These buttery shortbread cookies joined with a layer of creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread are cute and delicious!

Jar of Nutella with Nutella cookies.

These have got to be some of the world’s cutest cookies. They look just like little yo-yos, thus the name, and are popular in Australia. You make them by joining together two buttery shortbread disks with a layer of creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread. So delicious and perfect for the holidays!

Cookie ingredients including cornstarch, baking powder, and butter.

Begin by whisking the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Whisk in a bowl of dry ingredients.

Next, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and creamy.

Creamed butter and confectioners sugar in a stand mixer.

Mix in the vanilla, then add the dry ingredients.

Dry ingredients pouring into a stand mixer of butter mixture.

Stir until the dough comes together.

Cookie dough in a bowl.

Roll the dough by teaspoonfuls into balls (they will be quite small), and then flatten the balls slightly with a fork.

Fork pressing balls of cookie dough on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Lined baking sheets of cookies.

Cool the cookies completely on a rack.

Cookies on a wire rack with parchment paper.

Then spread a thin layer of nutella on half of the cookies, and top with the remaining cookies to make sandwiches.

Jar of Nutella with Nutella cookies.

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Nutella Sandwich Cookies (a.k.a Yo-yos)

These buttery shortbread cookies joined with a layer of creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread are cute and delicious!

Servings: About 36 small cookies
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
  • ⅓ cup cornstarch, packed
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • ⅔ cup Confectioners' sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • About ½ cup Nutella, or other chocolate-hazelnut spread

Instructions

  1. Set the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and Confectioners' sugar until soft and light, 3-4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Lower the speed and beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Roll the dough into teaspoon-size balls (these are bite-sized cookies, so the balls will be very small), and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1½ inches apart. Press each cookie with the back of a fork to flatten the cookies slightly (dip the fork in flour if it sticks to the dough). Bake the cookies, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through, for about 15 minutes or until very lightly golden. Cool the cookies completely on a rack (if you add the filling while the cookies are warm, it will melt).
  4. Spread a thin layer of Nutella on the flat side of half of the cookies, and then cover with the remaining cookies to make sandwiches. Store the finished cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a cookie tin or container with a tight-fitting cover.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (18 servings)
  • Serving size: 2 cookies
  • Calories: 173
  • Fat: 10 g
  • Saturated fat: 7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19 g
  • Sugar: 9 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 1 g
  • Sodium: 47 mg
  • Cholesterol: 20 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • HI: If I want to freeze these ahead of serving or gifting them, would it be better to freeze totally assembled, or freeze the cookie pieces, take them out when ready, thaw them, and then put them together with the Nutella? Would like to do what’s easiest, but also what looks and tastes the best.
    Thanks!

    • — Jane on March 22, 2024
    • Reply
    • Hi Jane, they will still taste great if you assemble them with the nutella, bit if you’re concerned with how they look, the nutella, will likely lose some of its shine if frozen.

      • — Jenn on March 24, 2024
      • Reply
  • I wasn’t sure whether there were 36 sandwich cookies or 18. I made my balls small, I thought, and I ended up with 24 cookies. Reading the comments, though, makes me think I should have made them even smaller! They are delicious, but mine are crispy, not soft. Did I bake them too long or do something else wrong?

    • — Florence on December 13, 2022
    • Reply
    • Hi Florence, this should make 36 little sandwich cookies, so it sounds like your dough balls were a little too big. They’re really quite small when you roll them. And if yours are really crispy, it may be that you baked them for a bit too long. Please let me know if I can help in any other way.

      • — Jenn on December 14, 2022
      • Reply
  • They turned out great, and yummy 🙂

  • I love them

    • — Brandon Gonzales
    • Reply
  • I made these for Valentine’s Day in the shape of hearts and they came out delicious. I ran out of all purpose flour so used garbanzo bean flour instead and the texture was perfect.

  • I found this recipe when looking for a cookies recipe. I decided to try it and I’m so glad I did!! And later I realized an error I made: I put more salt than the recipe asked for and the results where amazing! My husband said that they were the BEST cookies he’s ever had. The extra salt gave them just a little punch to enjoy the sweetness of the cookie.
    I’ve been doing cookies on a regular basis since that day.

  • I just made these for a New Year’s Eve party and I keep eating them and my party starts at 9;00 pm!!! Haha. The dough was a little flaky, so I wet my hands and added a drop of water and they rolled perfectly…sweet little cookie that is sooo pretty on a plate:). Jenn, I try all of your recipes and you never disappoint 😀 You are my go-to girl for family meals..

  • This recipe is great!

  • Hi. If these are made up completely, how long will they keep in an airtight container on the counter? Is it better to keep them in the refrigerator until gifted? I’d like to give them as a gift but have to make them up a few days ahead.

    • Hi Jane, I’d keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Hope that helps!

      • Thanks! Also, after being in the fridge for 3 days, how long are they good for in an airtight container on the counter? I want to be able to tell my “gifts” that info. Happy, healthy New Year!

        • I’d say no longer than a day or two. And happy and healthy new year to you!

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