Nutella Stuffed Cookies

Buttery melt-in-your-mouth pocket cookies filled with Nutella in honor of Bake A Difference With OXO.

Cancer. The one word we all know. The one word we all hate. The one word that changes lives forever. As you read that word, your mind wanders to your family, your friends, the neighbor down the street. Someone you know has fought cancer. For me it was my childhood friend Leigh that I’ve known since kindergarten. Today I teamed up with OXO to raise money for childhood cancer. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer was founded by two OXO employees in honor of their son Liam who had childhood cancer. In 2013, OXO has pledged to donate up to $100,000 to support Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (you can find information on how you can help at the bottom of this post). Although my friend Leigh wasn’t diagnosed until senior year of high school, this post is for her. For the cause, I made Nutella Dream Pocket Cookies because it is everybody’s dream to find a cure for cancer.

I knew Leigh for a long time, almost 15 years. My earliest memory of her was in elementary school when we argued about something at recess and she gave me attitude. That was her – Miss Attitude. Don’t let that fool you, though. Her bright personality still shined through, and she took care of me when I needed her. One time in high school, I needed a roommate for our trip to Disney. She convinced her roommates to let me stay with them, even though they said I was “too giddy.” We had so many inside jokes, including one about Murray and McFlurries, who then became McMurray because the names rhymed. Yes, we were silly.

This is what a selfie with a disposable camera looked like. And we never did figure out who that man was.
Leigh and I went to different middle schools and reunited in high school where we both played clarinet. Her and I competed a lot, ranging from who got the better spot during concert band to being section leader our senior year. I was actually surprised she beat me out for section leader, and of course I was mad. As our senior year progressed, I realized she was more of a leader than I ever could be.

Leigh and her palm tree in Florida
I remember our senior year after marching season was over, Leigh wasn’t feeling well. I remember her telling me she had acid reflex and anemia. Next thing I knew, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Wait, how could our Leigh, our not-even-18-years-old Leigh have cancer? Leukemia? Is she going to live? It shook our whole senior class, the whole school. She was so close to graduating high school, and now instead of going to college, she was going to the hospital for treatments.

I lost touch with Leigh after I left for college. I knew she was going through treatment, and I remember her having a close call with death. But she survived. Her leukemia went into remission. Miss Attitude was a fighter. Then we reunited in the parking lot of a grocery store a few days before my 21st birthday, and soon she agreed to celebrate that weekend with me.

The birthday card Leigh gave me
Leigh spent 5 years cancer free because her leukemia went into remission. Then November 27, 2010 happened. I woke up to a text message from a friend, asking me what was up with Leigh’s best friend’s status on Facebook. Finally, we found out – Leigh died in a car crash overnight. Here’s the part that shook me – I was only a few minutes away from where she crashed, out at the same time she crashed driving home from a friend’s house. A lot of speculation went around about why she crashed – did she hit black ice? Was she intoxicated? Was it just bad luck? Would Leigh still be alive if she would have just worn her seatbelt?

These Nutella Dream Pocket Cookies are for you, Leigh. I have no clue if you would even like Nutella. Did Nutella even exist in high school? But here is my gift, my oath, to help finding a cure for cancer. Your strength was amazing, and I can only hope I can be as half as strong as you were.

If you would like to help donate to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, buy any specialty marked OXO baking tools from this list, and 25 cents will be donated towards the cause. For my pocket cookies, I used OXO’s measuring cups, measuring spoons, egg separator, and spatula. I love how the cups and spoons have a hook to attach to a ring. That way, you can take the one that you need and not worry about taking all of them off just to get the one you want. The egg separator sits on the rim of the bowl you are using for easier separating.

Serve your cookies with Nutella ice cream and Nutella sauce.

Source: Adapted from Mrs. Fields Best Cookie Book Ever
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If you liked these Nutella Dream Pocket Cookies, you may also like these recipes:

From me:

• Peanut Butter-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
• Double Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies
• Peanut Butter Nutella Crinkles