White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

If you are a fan of sweet cookies that are packed full of nuts and chocolate, then this recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies is for you.

My family loves cookies in any shape, size, or texture. There is just something about a good crispy cookie and a tall glass of ice-cold milk that brings me right back to my childhood. This is especially true when that cookie is filled with my all-time favorite, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate.

This recipe is simple to make and is one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. It’s sure to satisfy even the pickiest sweet tooth.

Crispy Versus Soft Cookies

In my opinion, crispy, crunchy, and sweet are the best types of cookies. But I’m not one to yuck anyone’s yum. So if you’re more of a fan of soft-baked cookies, don’t worry. Below I’ve given you an adapted recipe in case you’re looking for a softer chewier cookie.

Crispy cookies just bring me right back to when I was a kid. I remember when cookies needed to be dunked for just the right amount of time. Not enough time and they were still too crunchy, too much time and they were a soggy mess. Finding the balance was always a challenge. But when you did, it was utter cookie heaven!

What Makes a Great White Macadamia Nut Cookie

Great White Macadamia Nut Cookies start with quality ingredients that result in delicious cookie dough and thus, an amazing and flavorful cookie.

There is something about sweet white chocolate chips and salted macadamia nuts that go together so perfectly. Putting them together in these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies was a no-brainer. This recipe has become one of our all-time favorites and is now requested on a regular basis. Making them is pretty simple. You are sure to impress your friends and cure your sweet tooth.

Below are a few key tips for choosing your ingredients:

Butter – The quality of butter on the market varies great, so choosing a creamy high-quality butter matters. A Few of our favorite unsalted butters include Land O’ Lakes and Kerrygold.

Sugar – This recipe calls for both white sugar and light brown sugar. If you only have dark brown sugar in your cabinet, that’s ok. Just reduce the amount of brown sugar by a third and replace it with white sugar. The difference between dark brown sugar and light brown sugar is the amount of molasses. 

Vanilla Extract – Just like butter, the quality of vanilla extract on the market varies. With that said, it can also be expensive. So purchase the best quality that is within your budget. Don’t have vanilla extract? Try out a vanilla extract substitute.

Flour – Quality all-purpose flour is the way to go with this recipe and any cookie recipe. If you’re gluten-free, don’t worry! You can still make delicious White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. Use Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.

Baking Soda – Don’t forget your baking soda. And don’t try to substitute baking powder. There’s a difference! 

How to Make White Macadamia Nut Cookies with Chocolate

Kitchen Tools

• Hand mixer (or stand mixer)
• Non-Stick Baking Sheet
• Rubber Spatula
• Standard Spatula
• Cooling Racks
• Measuring Cups & Spoons

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda (or a baking soda substitute)
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Macadamia Nuts

DIRECTIONS

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Chill Time: 1 hour 

Cook Time: 10 minutes

1. First, in a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Then set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer (either a hand mixer or a stand mixer), cream together butter and both the brown sugar and white sugars. Mix until creamy. If you’re using an electric mixer, start off with a low speed and gradually increase.
3. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
4. Then combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients.
5. Mix in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
8. Drop chilled dough by rounded teaspoons onto an un-greased baking sheet.
9. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
10. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack until cool. If you’re not eating your cookies immediately and are putting them away for later.

Recipe Notes

Make sure you let them cool and come to room temperature before storing them in an airtight container.

For this recipe, you’ll see in the video that I use a hand mixer. Stand mixers are fine too, but for this recipe, I think the hand mixer does the trick. I tend to reserve my stand mixer for bread or pizza dough. Or if the volume of what I’m mixing necessitates a larger bowl.

I put together a short video on how to make these crispy delicious White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. If you like sweet, with a touch of salt and a crunchy outside you are going to love these.

Should you roast Macadamia Nuts?

In general, when you roast any nut, it’s going to bring the flavor out. So yes, if you want a nuttier flavor, go ahead and roast your Macadamia Nuts.

It’s really not difficult to roast them. Make sure that you’re purchasing raw Macadamia Nuts. You’ll want to roast them for about 10-15 minutes. 350 degrees Fahrenheit should do it. But it depends on your oven. So adjust accordingly. 

Are Macadamia Nuts expensive?

Unfortunately, yes. Macadamia nuts are expensive. The reason for this is really because of the supply. 

Macadamia nuts originated in Australia, but are now grown elsewhere. But due to the specific climates that they require they aren’t able to be mass-produced like some crops. 

If you’re looking for a less expensive nut to substitute, try using cashews or walnuts. Cashews are super creamy and walnuts have an incredible buttery taste. This cookie dough is so delicious that you really couldn’t go wrong with any nut substitution.

Are Macadamia Nuts healthy? 

Macadamia Nuts are definitely healthy and have a ton of healthy benefits. Nuts in general are a great way to get some added nutrition into your daily diet. But not all nuts are created equal. 

Check out our nutritional nut chart below and see where your favorite nuts fall. This is obviously not all the nuts out there, but the most common ones used in baking.

Nut Nutritional Chart

Nut Variety	Serving Size	Calories (kcal)	Protein (g)	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Mono- unsaturated Fat (g)	Poly- unsaturated Fat (g)	Carbs (g)
Almonds	24	165	6	14	1	9	3.5	6
Brazil Nuts	6	190	4	19	5	7	7	3
Cashews	18	160	5	12	2	7	2	8.5
Hazelnuts	21	180	4	17	1.3	13	2	5
Macadamia Nuts	11	200	2	21	3.5	17	0.5	4
Pecans	19 (halves)	195	3	20	2	12	6	4
Pistachios	49	160	4	4	1.6	7	4	8
Walnuts	14 (halves)	185	4	4	1.7	2.5	13	4

How to Make Soft White Macadamia Nut Cookies

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy to take it from a crispy cookie to a soft-baked version. The key lies in the ingredients and cookie time. See more below.

Ingredients For Soft-Baked

If you’re a fan of a softer cookie, instead of using 2 whole eggs, use 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. This slight adjustment will make your cookies softer and chewier.

Cooking Instructions For Soft-Baked

If you’re looking for softer cookies, in addition to adjusting your ingredients, you also want to reduce your baking time. Since you can always bake a cookie longer, but you can’t do anything if you’ve over-baked your cookies, start out on the lower end.

Bake cookies for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and test. If they still need a little more time, throw them back into the oven for a minute or two.

Be sure to check out all of our delicious COOKIE RECIPES and our list of 14 Desserts Using White Cake Mix.

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Have questions or suggestions? Leave them in the comments below. Until next time: Stay salty, and sweet 😉