Golden White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies made from scratch. These buttery cookies are filled to the brim with roasted macadamia nuts and big chunks of white chocolate.
Raise your hand if you’re a macadamia fan! Oh me! I AM! 🙋♀️
And when you wrap those roasted pieces of heaven with golden cookie dough that’s filled with chunky pieces of white chocolate, what do you get? Heaven on a plate, I tell you.
These White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies are everything that’s right in the world. They’re lumpy and bumpy with crisp golden edges and a soft centre that just about melts in your mouth.
I LOVE cookies. You KNOW I do. And these ones give the good ole’ Chocolate Chip Cookie a run for its money. I know there are some who don’t like white chocolate (who are you?) but in these cookies, it’s perfection.
My favourite way to ensure cookies have a gooey pockets of chocolate is to buy a block of chocolate and chop it by hand rather than using chocolate chips.
That’s how you get big pockets of melted chocolate – like in my Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
How to make White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
- These cookies are really easy to make. You will need an electric mixer for this recipe.
- Start with room temperature butter. Your butter should be soft enough to poke with your finger, but it should not be melty by any means. The temperature of your butter will greatly influence how much your cookies spread in the oven. If you have problems with your cookies spreading too much (read this post), it is likely that your butter is too soft.
- Add your brown sugar and caster sugar to your butter. If you don’t have caster sugar, you can use granulated sugar instead.
- Start mixing together your butter and sugars using an electric mixer until combined and creamy – it should take a minute or two.
- Next, add your vanilla and egg. Mix together just until combined. Then add your flour, baking soda and salt. To get the exact right result every time, I highly recommend weighing out your dry ingredients using a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make your cookies thick, cakey and not spread (read more about cookies not spreading here). And it’s VERY easy to overmeasure flour when using cup measurements.
- Finally, add chunks of white chocolate and roasted macadamias. I highly recommend using a block of white chocolate and chopping it by hand rather than chocolate chips – but either way will still produce a delicious cookie.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until golden on the edges. For designer-looking cookies, you can add a few more pieces of chocolate and chopped macadamias on top of the cookies while they are still warm.
I always have problems with my cookies spreading too much in the oven.
If that’s the case, you may want to read this post. Cookies spreading can happen for a number of reasons, but it’s easy to remedy. If you’re worried, bake just 1 cookie. If it spreads too much, place your cookie dough in the fridge for 1 hour and then try again.
If you would rather a thicker cookie, you can add 35 grams of extra flour.
How do I store these cookies?
Once they are completely cooled, keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookie dough (or part of it) and bake the leftover cookie dough at a later time.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies
Buttery cookies loaded with roasted macadamias and chunks of white chocolate.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1 stick or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 150 grams (1 cup) white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 70 grams (1/2 cup) roasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugars and beat using an electric mixer for a minute or two until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined, scraping down the sides.
- Add sifted flour, baking soda and salt and stir together. Add chocolate and macadamia nuts and mix through.
- Line two baking trays with baking paper. Roll the cookie dough into balls (roughly 1.5 tablespoons each) and place on the baking trays, leaving room for the cookies to flatten out.
- Place in oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*This recipe is for classic cookies that are on the flatter side with crispy edges (as pictured). However, if you prefer a thicker cookie, you can add 35 grams more flour and/or chill the cookie dough for a couple of hours before baking.
Nutrition Information
This recipe was first published on Sweetest Menu in January 2016.
Kai says
Hello Jessica, thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I would like to ask would it be strange to replace white chocolate with cranberry? Would that go well with macadamia nuts without chocolate?
Jessica Holmes says
I think that would be lovely Kai!
Lynn says
Hi my cookies were cakey also. Yours look more golden and crunchy which I prefer. Mine didn’t spread as much as yours and were darker not golden. I weigh all my ingredients religiously they tasted great. Might try a bit more butter or softer butter next time.
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lynn, sorry to hear that. If you weighed all the ingredients, it may be that your butter wasn’t soft enough as you suggested. If the cookies were much darker, it could be your oven setting. Maybe get hold of an oven thermometer to check your oven isn’t running hot. Also, the cookie sheet or baking pan you used can also make a difference. A lighter coloured aluminium pan is best. Here’s a post about cookie spreading that might have some helpful tips.