White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

These are the perfect chewy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, packed with toasted macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips! This white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe details how to make cookies that are thick and chewy every time.

The flavor combination of white chocolate chips and toasted macadamia nuts in a chewy brown sugar cookie is unparalleled. It’s all in the salty sweet pairing. The salty macadamia nuts paired with the sweet brown sugar and a splash of vanilla is addicting! When they are perfectly baked, the white chocolate caramelizes just a touch. This adds a depth of flavor that tops even the taste of Subway’s white chocolate macadamia nut cookies!

Imagine with me a cookie jar filled with these, some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, my favorite bakery style chocolate chip cookies, chewy sugar cookies and these double chocolate chip cookies?! Sometimes, I even throw in some cookies from my raspberry Linzer Cookie recipe! But, that’s only when I’m feeling rebellious.

How to ensure chewy white chocolate macadamia cookies?

• Keep your butter cold yet pliable. This is the biggest secret to chewy cookies! It should be softened to the point where you can press your finger easily into it, but it should still be cold. 
• Under cream your butter and sugar: Beat the butter and sugar together just enough to where it makes a paste. Then beat in the eggs individually, but very thoroughly. This will incorporate just the right amount of air.
• Use baking soda instead of baking powder. In these cookies the only acidic ingredient is the light brown sugar. Using 100% baking soda ensures less of a reaction and less fluffy cookies than baking powder would. The baking soda will react only once when it comes into contact with the brown sugar. Baking powder reacts with the acidic ingredients and then again when it is heated.
• Chill your cookie dough. The thickest, chewiest cookies come from chilled dough. I scoop and roll the dough before refrigerating so that it chills faster. Baking the dough from frozen would also keep the cookies nice and thick and chewy.

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Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a soft, chewy cookie.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda reacts with an acid, the molasses in light brown sugar in this instance, to leaven the cookies. It reacts more powerfully than baking powder. So it will create a more dramatic rise, like in the best snickerdoodle recipe.
• Kosher Salt
• Unsalted Butter
• Light Brown Sugar: Using light brown sugar adds sweetness along with a little moisture. This will keep the cookies softer while adding a nice, rich molasses flavor.
• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is obviously here for sweetness, but if you add too much in proportion to the butter and flour, the cookies will spread rather than stay tall and chewy.
• Whole Egg: The eggs are here to add fat, moisture and leavening. The fat from the egg yolk adds richness and helps keep the cookies chewy. Eggs also emulsify the batter and keep everything texturally perfect.
• Vanilla Extract
• White Chocolate Chips: Quality makes a big difference when it comes to white chocolate chips. I prefer Ghirardelli Classic White Chocolate Chips or Guittard if you want to splurge. Honestly, Tollhouse also makes a good white chocolate chip.
• Macadamia Nuts: This recipe is written for unsalted macadamia nuts, but if you can only find roasted, salted macadamia nuts, then reduce the salt in the recipe by a 1/4 teaspoon. I do this in my macadamia nut cookie video tutorial!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations & Substitutions

• Pistachio White Chocolate: Substitute 1 cup of toasted pistachios for the macadamia nuts, and you’ll have a delightful variation! Pistachios are also the shining star of my Cherry Pistachio Snowballs.
• Bar Cookies: Press the cookie dough into a small rimmed baking sheet (half the size of the ones you bake on) and bake in a preheated oven until the middle no longer looks doughy, the edges are a nice golden brown, and the center has browned slightly. Cool completely before slicing. 
• Caramelized White Chocolate: Rather than hoping your chocolate chips or chunks caramelize, you could caramelize your own white chocolate! You can also buy caramelized white chocolate now. It is sometimes called “Dulce.”
• Baking Powder: The recipe is written with baking soda but it will work with baking powder as well. In this particular recipe substitute ½ teaspoon baking powder for the 1 teaspoon of baking soda. The baking powder will react on its own and will add more leavening than the baking soda. Baking soda is only reacting with a little bit of molasses in the light brown sugar. That limits its potency.

How to Make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Step 1: In a large bowl combine flours, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

Step 2: Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium high until a smooth paste forms that lightens slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Add the vanilla with the second egg.

Step 3: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the mixture of dry ingredients. I usually do 4-5 additions. To minimize gluten development, I add the next bit of the flour mixture before the last one has incorporated completely. 

Step 4: After the flour has been incorporated, add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Stir to combine and distribute the mix-ins.

Step 5: Roll dough into balls approximately the size of a golf ball. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm. Cookie dough balls can also be frozen at this point. For perfectly shaped cookies, chill the dough then roll the balls perfectly round before chilling again.

Step 6: Preheat the oven to 325°F (convection or standard) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

Step 7: Place on a sheet pan 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the sides begin to brown and the edges are set. The centers will look matte but still soft.  

Step 8: Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go!

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cookie recipes!