In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment beat together unsalted butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg and vanilla, mix until well combined.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients 1 a cup at a time. Mix until dough forms and begins to come together and is well combined.
Take it out on the table, roll it into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. You want the dough to be firm and cold but not hard. If it is too hard let sit on the counter for a few minutes until it softens up and becomes easier to roll.
Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F.
On a clean, lightly floured surface roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. I usually work with one half of the disc at a time. Using your favorite 3 inch (7.5cm) cookie cutters, cut rounds, triangles or squares and place them about 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Using a smaller cookie cutter with the same or different shape, cut the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. It should be every other cookie so you can have even amounts of the bottom and top cookies. Working with the same dough, form a ball and roll again to cut out the remaining cookies. Repeat with the other half of the disc.
If before baking the cookies you see they are TOO soft and shiny, place the baking sheets in the freezer for a couple of minutes to chill the dough. This will help the cookie keep its shape and not spread so much when baking.
Depending on the size and thickness of your cookies, bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
Assembly:
Place the baked cut out cookies (top cookies with smaller cut on the center) on a baking sheet and with the help of a sieve, dust them lightly with powdered sugar. On another tray, spread a thin layer of Nutella on the bottom cookie (full cookie!). Gently sandwich both cookies together, being careful not to touch the powdered sugar too much. If your cookies are too thick, you can use a small piping bag and piping tip to fill out the center of the cookie to make it look filler. In my case they were very thin so I did not do this step.
Store the cookies in an air tight container in the fridge or enjoy immediately
Notes
Notes: - You can change the Nutella to dulce de leche, any kind of fruit jam, peanut butter, or any spread of your liking! - Filled cookies will soften when stored. If you prefer crisp cookies, assemble them the same day you will serve them. - Sugar cookies can be made in advance, you can freeze the dough, freeze the shaped cookies, or freeze baked cookies. When wrapped tightly with minimum air, they will last for a bit longer than 3 months without filling, just the cookie.
Keyword chocolate cookies, Cookies, Nutella Cookies, Sandwich Cookies, Sugar Cookies