Super buttery cookies packed with sweet macadamia nuts and melty white chocolate. This classic cookie combination is absolutely delicious and wonderfully irresistible!
These are the best White Macadamia Nut Cookies!
Let’s clear the air on something here, I love playing with cookie recipes and coming up with new and fun cookie recipes. However, I absolutely LOVE the classics! Give me a good old fashion chocolate chip, snickerdoodle or one of my all time favorites, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies!
After all, the classics are considered classics for a reason! They have stood the test of time! So yes, this might be your mom’s favorite cookie, but what’s not to love? They are perfectly sweet and buttery, chewy and soft on the inside but somehow nice and crisp on the edges. And are packed with melty white chocolate and plenty of macadamia nuts.
So go ahead and whip up a batch…then invite your mom over for milk and cookies! You know she’ll love them as much as you will!
Ingredients for White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Full ingredient list and amounts are below in the printable recipe card.
- Salted Butter- Make sure that your butter is room temperature. You want to make sure that it is softened so that it creams well with the sugars.
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar- The combination of sugars will give you the texture and deeper flavor that you want from this cookie. Plus the brown sugar helps keep the cookie soft and chewy!
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Flour- Just plain old All Purpose flour will do the trick!
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- White Chocolate Chips- Use your favorite brand. I even sometimes use a chopped bar of high quality white chocolate in the cookies. Both are delicious.
- Macadamia Nuts- Don’t cut the nuts up too small- You want chunks of nuts in your cookies, not little slivers.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Recipe substitutions and variations
- Nuts: If you don’t have macadamia nuts, you can use other nuts such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts. Chopped pistachios or hazelnuts can also work well.
- Chocolate: You can substitute the white chocolate chips with other types of chocolate such as milk, dark or semi-sweet chocolate. Alternatively, you can use a combination of white chocolate and another type of chocolate to add more complexity to the cookies.
- Flour: To make the cookies gluten-free, you can use almond flour or a gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour.
- Sweeteners: If you want to reduce the sugar content, you can use a natural sweetener like honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar instead of granulated sugar. However, keep in mind that this may affect the texture and taste of the cookies.
- Spices: Adding a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg can give the cookies a warm, spicy flavor.
- Add-ins: You can add other ingredients such as shredded coconut, dried cranberries, or chopped dried apricots to the cookie dough to create your own unique flavor combinations.
- Size: You can vary the size of the cookies depending on your preference. If you want smaller cookies, you can scoop the dough into teaspoon-sized balls. For larger cookies, use a heaping tablespoon of dough.
Where to buy plain macadamia nuts
You should be able to find unsalted, un roasted macadamia nuts down your baking isle. If not, purchasing your macadamia nuts with a little sea salt on them won’t hurt a bit.
How to Make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Start by preheating the oven to 350° F.
- Cream together your butter and both sugars. Continue to mix until the butter and sugars are light in color and fluffy in texture. This will take a few minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla and mix again.
- Now add the flour, baking soda, and salt and begin mixing. When the flour is about half way incorporated add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Depending on the size of cookie you want, measure out your dough into 1/3 cup portions for large cookies, 3 tbsp of dough for medium cookies or 1 1/2 for smaller cookies.
- Bake at 350° F until the cookie dough has spread and the edges are turning golden brown- for small cookies, bake for 8-10 minutes, for medium cookies bake for 9-11 minutes, for large cookies bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving them warm.
How do you cut macadamia nuts for cookies?
I just roughly chop them, you could pulse them in a food processor a few times to make this job super quick and easy.
You could also leave the macadamia nuts whole, if that is what you prefer.
Tips for perfect White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
Before you bake your cookies, roll the dough into a ball. Break the ball in half and add the two halves bake together leaving the jagged edges on the outsides. (I just like the way this makes the baked cookie look, but you can leave the dough in a smooth ball too if you would like.)
If you want your cookies to be perfect circles you can shape them with the back of a spoon immediately after removing them from the oven. Again, just a preference thing. You do you.
How to store White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Store in an airtight container. You can store them at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies FAQS
This is just up to preference. Roasting your macadamia nuts will deepen the nutty flavor which will bring a more nutty flavor to your overall cookie. I prefer my macadamia nut cookies with raw macadamia nuts.
Both white chocolate and macadamia nuts have a mild, yet distinct flavor. One doesn’t overwhelm the other, they both really help to elevate each other when paired together.
Rumor has it that the cookie was invented in the 90’s by a Honolulu basked baker named Lois Todd when she was experimenting with different flavors and tried this iconic combo. It instantly became a hit and her most popular flavor at her bakery.
So many flavors pair well with macadamia- chocolate, coconut, caramel, vanilla and even lemon or lime are all great options!
Yes, macadamia nuts have anti-inflammatory properties due to their high content of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly oleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids.
More Cookie Recipes
White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (222g) salted butter
- 1 cup (246g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/4 cup (343g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups (400g) chopped macadamia nuts
- 2 cups (240g) chopped white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (117° C).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth, light in color and fluffy. This will take a few mintues.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the egg add vanilla.
- Once completely combined, stop the mixer and add in the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Start mixing slowly, once the flour mixture is about half way incorporated into the dough, pour the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts into the mixer and allow everything to mix together.
- Measure out the dough depending on the size of cookie you'd like. For small cookies, use 1 1/2 tbsp of dough. For medium sized cookies, use 3 tbsp of dough. For large cookies, use 1/3 cup of dough.
- Roll the dough into a ball, break the ball in half and then push the two halves together, leaving the jagged edges up for texture. This is optional, but something I like to do.
- Bake at 350° F (117° C) until the cookie dough has spread and the edges are turning golden brown- for small cookies, bake for 8-10 minutes, for medium cookies bake for 9-11 minutes, for large cookies bake for 12-15 minutes.
- If needed, immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, use the back of a metal spoon and push the edges of the cookie towards the center, creating a perfect circle.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Gina says
These look so delish!
If I choose to use unsalted butter, should I increase the amount of salt?
Karli Bitner says
Yes, I would just add an extra pinch of salt to the dough.