White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies: This easy recipe bakes up so soft & chewy! With plenty of sweet white chocolate and crunchy macadamias.
I know many of you are already in back-to-school mode, so this seems like the perfect time to share another great cookie recipe!
White chocolate macadamia nut cookies are easy to make and you'll love how soft and chewy they bake up, thanks to a few special tricks!
This classic combination of sweet, creamy white chocolate and tender, crunchy macadamias is a match made in heaven. Made all the more delicious when stirred into a buttery soft cookie dough!
Drop cookies are my go-to when it comes to after-school snacks! They mix up in no time and kids love 'em. Find lots more recipes like this one, including our lemon cookies, red velvet chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter oatmeal cookies, on my cookie recipes category page!
Table of Contents
- Why these are the white chocolate macadamia cookies
- What do these macadamia cookies taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make white macadamia nut cookies
- How to serve this macadamia nut cookie recipe
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- A few more of my best back to school recipes
Why these are the white chocolate macadamia cookies
- Tastes amazing: These bake up just sweet enough and so buttery!
- Great texture: Soft and chewy, and they stay that way.
- Easy to make: They come together in a snap and are perfect for a novice baker.
- Snack-able: A great way to welcome the kiddos home from school, and they're awesome in packed lunches too!
What do these macadamia cookies taste like?
These cookies are soft, chewy, and sweet, with a nice crunch from the macadamia nuts.
Ingredients
Butter: Unsalted butter is best so you can know exactly how much salt to add to your cookie dough. Make sure it's softened to room temperature. Here's some useful info on how to do that- How to Soften Butter Quickly.
Sugar: Granulated white sugar is fine, or any kind of sweetener that can swap 1:1.
Eggs: Large chicken eggs (or a 1:1 plant-based substitute) add richness and structure to the cookies.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract infuses these cookies with a sweet perfume that compliments the other flavors in a really nice way.
Flour: All-purpose flour gives structure to the cookies. You could also use a gluten-free flour blend.
Cornstarch: This is one of my secret ingredients. It's a colorless, odorless, and flavorless starch that doesn't contain any gluten, so it adds structure to the cookies without making them at all tough.
Leavening: These cookies rise from the leavening power of baking soda. Make sure you're using baking soda, not baking powder.
Salt: This ingredient balances all the flavors and helps to intensify them. I like kosher salt best because it's cheap, easy to find, and doesn't contain any bitter-tasting additives like iodine.
White Chocolate: White chocolate chips melt into little pockets of creamy sweet deliciousness.
Macadamia nuts: These are an exotic type of nut that comes mostly from Hawaii. They're about ½-inch in diameter and somewhat spherical. The color is like a pale blond, and they have a tender crunch and a mild, buttery taste.
Special equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients.
- Bowl: You'll need a large mixing bowl, in which to make the dough.
- Mixer: Either a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Silicone spatula: For scraping down the bowl, and for getting out every last bit of dough.
- Scoop: A 1.5-tablespoon trigger scoop ensures that all your cookies are consistently sized, and therefore will bake evenly.
- Parchment: Line your pans with parchment for easy cleanup and so nothing sticks.
- Pans: I like aluminum half bakers sheets best.
How to make white macadamia nut cookies
These cookies come together in no time and are super easy!
Step 1: Combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Step 2: Add dry ingredients
Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, stirring until incorporated.
Step 3: Add white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts
Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until evenly incorporated.
Step 4: Scoop the cookie dough
Using a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten gently with the palm of your hand.
Step 5: Bake cookies
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until just starting to turn golden around the edges.
How to serve this macadamia nut cookie recipe
These little gems are perfect for snacking!
Enjoy them with a cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa, or with a tall glass of milk.
They make a wonderful afternoon pick-me-up or dessert, and they're especially nice eaten warm from the oven.
Expert tips
Really whip the butter and sugar: If you want to get the proper yield here, and you want them to spread right and be light and soft, you don't want to skimp on this step. Whipping lots of air in in that first step is essential!
Add eggs one at a time: I find I get a nice smooth batter if I add the eggs in one at a time, allowing each one to fully incorporate before adding the next.
Don't overmix: Once the flour has been added, you want to stir the dough as little as possible. Overmixing can cause the cookies to come out tough.
Clean hands: If the thickness of the cookie dough makes it difficult to stir in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts, you can speed up the process by combining the ingredients into the dough using clean hands.
Roll to shape: Because of the texture from the nuts and chocolate chips, these cookies can lose their round shape a bit while baking. If you want to avoid this, take a moment to roll the cookies around in the palm of your hand after scooping, then gently shape the edges while flattening.
Slightly under-bake: Don't forget about carry-over cooking! This is the idea that foods will continue to increase in temperature for several minutes after they've been removed from the heat source. If you bake the cookies even a minute or two too long, they won't be soft.
Allow them to cool: These cookies will be extremely tender when they're fresh from the oven. It will be difficult to remove them from the baking sheet without them falling apart. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely! These keep very well at room temperature for several days.
You can also make the dough ahead of time and just bake off a few at a time, whenever the craving strikes. We've got instructions for that here: How to Freeze Cookie Dough.
Keep these stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you want to store them long-term, they freeze very well in a freezer bag.
These cookies are not gluten-free, because they contain all-purpose flour. However, a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend should work well too.
One serving is one cookie.
A few more of my best back to school recipes
- Apple Bread
- Chocolate Chip Blondies
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Skillet Cookie
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) unsalted butter, 1 ½ sticks, softened
- 1 ⅓ cup (266.67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large (50 g) egg
- 1 large (17 g) egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (281.25 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (270 g) white chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups (201 g) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Place an oven rack on the center shelf. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until very pale and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).
- Add the egg, and beat on medium-high speed until incorporated.
- Stir in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until combined.
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, stirring together until incorporated.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop to drop balls of cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets, allowing two inches in between for spreading.
- Flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake the cookies (one sheet at a time) for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are set and just barely beginning to turn golden. (Take care not to over-bake, or the cookies will not be as soft.)
- Cool on the baking sheet and transfer to an airtight container for storage.
