White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are some of my favorites, and these are made with browned butter which makes them even better! I really do love white chocolate and macadamia nuts in cookies, but I rarely make them. I think they get over shadowed by other cookies like Bakery Style Chocolate Chip cookies, or Monster Cookies.
My history with White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
I would like to say that the very best thing about my first year of college was stimulating academics, exciting professors, or fun with new friends. If I’m being honest though, I would have to say that the best thing was white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. I used my meal plan, almost exclusively, for sugar cereals at breakfast, a bagel for lunch, and whatever looked least offensive at dinner. What made the dining hall special, however, was that it stayed open late at night to serve Otis Spunkmeyer cookies.
I would take a break from studying at about 10pm and reward myself with a trip to the dining hall. The cookies were baked in something resembling a toaster oven, and served warm. White chocolate macadamia was my favorite, and I looked forward to a warm cookie with one of those half pint cartons of milk you find in cafeterias. The warm cookie and cold milk is my favorite memory of freshman year!
This cookie:
It’s been a year or two (yikes, it’s actually more than 20…) since I was a freshman in college, and I no longer have easy access to those cookies. I was forced to create my own recipe to satisfy my cravings. These cookies are made with your everyday cookie ingredients, but I upped the game by using browned butter. You can take the shortcut and omit the browning step, but browned butter adds so much flavor and richness. I strongly suggest you take the time to brown that butter!
Here is what you need:
Like I said, these are pretty straight forward cookie ingredients. Butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, white chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts. You might notice in the photo that my vanilla is in an unmarked bottle. Yes, you can make your own vanilla and use that. My vanilla is a bit of liquor of choice (usually vodka or bourbon) and vanilla beans. Let it soak for a few weeks and it’s good to go. Use a good quality white chocolate chip such as Guittard or Ghiradelli. Chop the macadamia nuts by hand if you like smaller pieces. I appreciate large chunks of nuts and found that the broken sizes that came out of the package were just right for me.
Pro Tips:
I bake these at a slightly higher temperature to get those edges crispy while keeping the centers soft.
I have mentioned before that I am a lazy baker who appreciates shortcuts. I am also impatient and don’t like to wait for my cookies! Chilling the dough is a nuisance, and these cookies are pretty good without chilling. Having said that, however, I did find that the cookies baked immediately had more of a granular sugary texture than the cookies that chilled for an hour or more. Chilling allows the sugars to dissolve and incorporate more fully. If you have the time, chilling won’t hurt.
This step does add a fair amount of time to the cookie making process. Brown the butter, and then chill it so it regains a solid texture. You can leave it at room temperature to cool, or speed up the process in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes. If you use warm browned butter without any chilling, your cookies will spread.
Place sticks of butter in a medium pan. You want the sides high enough that the butter won’t splatter out and make a mess. Cook the butter over medium high heat, swirling occasionally. The butter will foam, and brown solids will start to form. When I see bits of brown forming I turn off the heat and continue to swirl the pan. The residual heat will continue to brown the butter. I stop browning earlier than some bakers because I don’t want bitter butter (any former thespians out there thinking of Betty Botter?). Anyhow, you want a golden brown color and a nutty scent.
I used a lightly salted macadamia nut in this recipe because that is what I found most easily. If you use unsalted nuts you may want to up the kosher salt volume. I would recommend 1 teaspoon kosher salt in the recipe with unsalted macadamia nuts.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Browned butter enhances this cookie packed with white chocolate and chunks of macadamia nuts.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes plus browning
- Total Time: 35 minutes plus chilling
- Yield: 20–24 cookies 1x
- Category: cookies
- Cuisine: dessert
Ingredients
1 cup butter, browned*
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs plus one egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt*
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment
In a medium saucepan, cook butter over medium high heat, swirling the pan occasionally as the butter melts. Cook the butter until foamy, browned solids have formed, and the butter has a rich, nutty aroma. Allow the butter to cool completely before proceeding.
Once butter has cooled, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Mix until fluffy. Add the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix to combine. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Finally, add the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.
Consider chilling the dough for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours*.
Scoop the cookie dough into even portions and place on the prepared cookie sheet leaving a few inches between the cookies to allow for any spreading. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven when edges have become golden and the centers are just set. Do not over bake. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to bake on the baking sheet.
Notes
Browning the butter is optional, but recommended. If you choose to omit this step simply place the two sticks of butter into the mixing bowl and combine with the sugars.
I used lightly salted macadamia nuts in this recipe and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt was adequate. If you use unsalted nuts you may want to up the kosher salt to closer to 1 teaspoon.
Chilling the dough is optional, but yields favorable results.
Keywords: browned butter, white chocolate, macadamia nut, cookies
Do me a favor.
These White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are really good served warm with a glass of cold milk. Make up a batch, and do me the favor of trying them fresh from the oven. My college freshman self recommends it highly!
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