This recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies is one of my favorite classic cookies that bring a harmony of flavors and textures that delicious and comforting. They are chewy cookies with crisp edges and studded with sweet white chocolate chips crunchy macadamia nuts and are one of my favorite cookies of all time.
These cookies became popular in the mid 70's when I was a teen. White chocolate became all the craze as well as macadamia nuts and it made sense to put them together in a cookie and the rest is history with this long time classic.
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❤️ Why You'lI Love White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Decadent Indulgence: sweet chunks of creamy white chocolate and crunchy macadamia nuts complements the rich, buttery taste of the cookies chewy centers.
Holiday gifting: white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are delicious cookies to include with a recipe card on a Christmas cookie tray.
Timeless classic: this simple recipe has flavors that never grow old, making them the perfect cookies that can be enjoyed for generations.
🥘 Ingredients
Unsalted butter is my choice of fat for this recipe. It lends to crispy edges on the cookie and gives it incredible flavor.
Light brown sugar: use dark brown sugar if you want a more caramelized flavor in the cookie.
Granulated white sugar
Large eggs
Vanilla extract and almond extract for flavoring
All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Kosher salt
Macadamia nuts: I prefer to use dry roasted and unsalted macadamia nuts
White chocolate chips: choose a premium white chocolate chips or chunks for the best flavor, my preferred brand is Ghirardelli white chocolate chips.
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula periodically.
- With a wooden spoon, stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop cookie dough balls onto prepared cookie sheet leaving 2-3 inches between each portion.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes in until golden brown.
🍽 Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Electric hand mixer
Rubber spatula
Hand whisk: used to whisk together the dry ingredients before adding to the wet ingredients.
Wooden spoon
Cookie scoop
Wire rack
🥫Storage
Room temperature: Store in a tightly sealed container on the counter up to 1 week.
Freezer storage: place in an airtight container or freezer bag up to 3 months.
📖 Variations
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies: Add a teaspoon of orange zest and ½ cup dried cranberries to the dough.
Salted Caramel: substitute the white chocolate for caramel bits and sprinkle a pinch of flaky salt over top of the unbaked cookies.
Double Chocolate: Incorporate dark or milk chocolate chips alongside white chocolate for a doubly decadent delight.
Bar cookies: Spread the cookie dough out into a small sheet pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bars are golden brown.
Browned Butter Macadamia Nut Cookies: gently brown melted butter in a small saucepan and let it cool slightly before mixing with the sugars. This adds another level of flavor.
💭 Mastering the Art of Cookie Making: Pro Tips
Room Temperature Ingredients: Use room temperature eggs and butter to reach room temperature for better incorporation and great texture.
Proper Mixing: cream butter and sugars thoroughly to achieve a light, fluffy consistency in the dough.
Gentle Folding: Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ones until just combined. Over mixing can result in tough cookies.
Bake Time: for chewier cookies, bake the cookies a few minutes less, for crispy throughout, bake them a couple extra minutes longer.
Cookie Size: opt to make small instead of large cookies and use a small cookie scoop and bake for a lesser amount of time.
📚 More Cookie Recipes
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans are thin and crispy and one of the best cookies!
Fans of white chocolate will love these White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins.
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies are crispy around the edges and chewy in the center and are another timeless classic cookie recipe.
Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies with Grey Sea Salt Sprinkles
🍽 Serve with..
Pair these buttery cookies with a chilled glass of milk for a classic, comforting treat. They also serve as delightful additions to dessert platters or as thoughtful homemade gifts wrapped in charming packaging.
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When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup macadamia nuts , coarsely chopped
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula periodically.
- With a wooden spoon, stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop cookie dough balls onto prepared cookie sheet leaving 2-3 inches between each portion.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes in until golden brown.
Heidi
I WANT these cookies! They look so good 🙂
Mari at Once Upon a Plate
Oh yah! Now THAT'S my kind of cookie ~ they look terrific Shelby, nice job. Thank you for sharing the recipe! xo~m.
shellyfish
Oh those do look like heaven!
emiglia
Looks awesome! I love soft and chewy cookies too. The key to a chewy cookie is melted butter and a higher proportion of brown sugar to white. I bet you could tinker with this recipe easily to get the cookies to be soft AND chewy. I'm gonna test it and let you know how it goes 🙂
Pam
Great minds think alike! Yours look fantastic - I would love to dip one in ice cold milk right now.
Cristine
Those look heavenly! I have a recipe I normally use, but your picture has me wanting these! I think I'll make them to have on hand when Nathan gets home! 🙂
Coleen's Recipes
When you see the same recipe popping up in different places, you KNOW its a good one.
Lynda
These look really delicious; I've seen several posts for similar cookies lately, now I just have to decide which one to make!
Bunny
I LOVE soft cookies Shelby these look amazing! I'm gonna have to make them next!
Carrian
YUM!! I always am trying to make cookies with white choco chips and sometimes they just don't turn out. I am bound and determine to find a good oatmeal, craisin white choco chip recipe so maybe this is a start for me!
burpandslurp
I'll be dreaming about this all night! delicious!
Elyse
Oh man, these cookies look delicious! Grumpy and I are quite alike: I love a soft and chewy cookie. Very rarely do I like anything "crispy" when it comes to a cookie. Save crisp for potato chips. I can't wait to try out your recipe. YUM!
Lori
And I made them on the 16th, well, bars not cookies, but white chocolate and macadamia. I got them on sale at BJ's. Maybe everybody saw a sale on macadamias, spurring on a plethora of white choc, macadamia cookies. Sorry, just having a moment of silliness. These look great! Definitely drool worthy. But I like Grumpy, love these kind of cookies!
duodishes.com
These cookies always taste so nice and buttery! Yours look great...chockful of goodies.
Katy
They all look so good to me; I love them all with equal fervor!!
Linda
You are THE cookie maven! Again a great looking and sounding cookie.
Carrie
i just baked up a storm last night so i'm not going to be making them right now but can i eat some of your's in the meantime?
Creative One
Delicious looking cookies. I don't think I could stop just at one either.
Barbara Bakes
I like my cookies soft too! They look delicious! Maybe I'd better put them on the list to make!
averagebetty
These are my favorite, too! Great looking cookies, HoneyB!