These cookies are my weekly installment of baking up the cookies you said were your favorites in my cookie cookbook giveaway. I’m still baking my way through the top 10 and can’t believe I have never made macadamia nut cookies! I actually have never even eaten a homemade macadamia nut cookie; only the large bakery-style store bought variety. Needless to say, I’m thrilled to have another fabulous cookie recipe tucked into my apron pockets! I used roasted and salted macadamia nuts – the salty flavor mixed with the sweet of the white chocolate and cookie dough is a fabulous combination. These are definitely one of the tastiest cookies I’ve ever made.
Can you believe that of all of the baking cookbooks I own (which include big ones like Dorie Greenspan, Baking Illustrated, Williams Sonoma, etc.) not ONE has a recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies? Maybe it’s just me, but I found that to be incredibly bizarre for how popular these cookies are! So I started poking around the web for recipes and of course there were more than enough for me to wade through. This one, however, caught my eye because I immediately recognized the ingredient list (quantities included) as being almost identical to the Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that has become my standard. That’s all it took for me to pick this recipe out of the bunch and I’m so glad that I did – they’re fabulous! The cookies are slightly crisp on the outside with a soft and chewy interior, full of chunks of macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Truly an awesome cookie.
Cookies from the Top 10 I have made:
Snickerdoodles
No-Bake Cookies
Almond Macaroons with Nutella Filling
Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Thick & Chewy)
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
One year ago: Hearty Whole Wheat Bread
Reminder: You can cast one vote per day until July 31st for my Bananas Foster Banana Bread in the Best Banana Bread Challenge at MixingBowl. Please head on over if you deem the recipe worthy 
I appreciate the support!
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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Yield: About 2 dozen cookies (depending on size)
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ cups chopped macadamia nuts
2 cups white chocolate chips1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
3. Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the egg, then beat in the egg yolk, then beat in the vanilla.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until just moistened. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand with a rubber spatula.
5. Roll into balls or drop by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets, and press down on the cookies with your palm a bit to flatten (not too much!).
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges look golden brown and the middles don’t look quite set. Allow to finish cooling on the baking sheet.
(Adapted from Crepes of Wrath)
Tags: Cookies, macadamia nuts, white chocolate
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These are one of my most favorite cookies! Must try recipe:)
I am always up for a cookie. These look great!
You’re killin’ me! i love these cookies!
HAHA! I did that too! I just took the ATK recipe and replaced with white choc and macadamia THey are soooooooooooooo good! mmmmm
I need a cookie or two and a tall glass or milk!!!!
These look delicious. One of my favorite cookies!
Would love to have one of these right now! By the way,I did find your message in my spam. I replied to it with my address, so let me know if you didn’t get it. Thanks so much for the giveaway!
I will for sure do these…they are my husband’s second favorite behind snickerdoodles!!
I wish I knew someone who loved these. I would love to make them
These look so good. I have never made them at home either, but will definetly try this recipe!
Those look delicious – and I don’t even like white chocolate, but they are making me hungry! Stop by my blog at messybaker.wordpress.com for a blog award – I’m not able to post on the nest anymore, but wanted to let you know that I still read and enjoy your blog.
OMG…gluten free here we come!
Those look divine!
Pam
http://www.alovefornewrecipes.blogspot.com
This is by far my favorite cookie and yours look incredible. Funny that none of my books here have a recipe for it either BUY I do have a recipe for white chocolate macadamia nut muffins.
Hi
I was wondering what other kind of nuts can I use, I do not like Macadamia Nuts. Also what kind of brown sugar did you use light or dark.
I was also thinking of using Hazelnuts as a change up. I still love Macadamia nuts.
mmmmmmm love thick and chewy cookies! these sound great! and so weird so many books didn’t have a recipe!
Hi Jackie – You could use pretty much any nut that you do like. I think pecans would be especially good in here, as well as peanuts. If you try a different variation, I’d love to hear how you liked them!
I used light brown sugar (sorry I left out the “light” – I went back and edited the recipe, thanks for catching that!).
Eliana – isn’t that weird?? I would love your recipe for the muffins!
These were my pick! I’ve only tasted them once, since I cant find macadamia nuts anywhere, but they were soooooooo good! These look just like them
Just made these cookies from your recipe. By far the best I ever had. Thanks so much for posting this! My family loves them!
these were great! i made them last night…yum!
Jen & Steph – So glad you both enjoyed these! Thanks for stopping back to share your results!
1 1/2 cups of chips are fine. 2 were way too much. thanks for the recipe! satisfied my sugar rush!
My absolute favourite cookie!
I made these cookies but I didn’t have any macadamia nuts. They were very yummy…I sprinkled coarse salt on the tops before I baked them and it gave them a nice contrast with how sweet the chocolate chips are. You are rapidly gaining credibility in my kitchen, Brown Eyed Baker.
I wanted to make White Choc Mac Nut cookies today and spent all night going through my cookbooks. Couldn’t find a one! So I did a google search this morning and lo and behold – your recipe popped up!
I can’t wait to try the recipe. Your sweet and sour chicken rocked so I have high hopes for the cookies.
These cookies are not only delicious, they are gorgeous to look at!
Thank you SO much
OMG! I am certain that they taste just like Mrs Higgins’ ones!!! They’re my absolute favourite and my sister usually buy them for me whenever she stopped by Auckland. I’ve always wanted to know how to make one and now I can~ Thanks!!!
very tasty cookie… 1st half of the batch came out a little browner (and quite crispy) than i wanted so i took the 2 half out a lot earlier and they are still rather crispy… maybe next batch i will add one more egg yolk… but again, very tasty… just want a bit chewier
Did anyone else have a problem baking these cookies? I followed the recipe, questioned melting the butter, but did it anyway, and the “dough” looked more like cake batter – way too thin to even begin to make cookies. I had to add almost a whole cup of flour to make the dough resemble cookie dough. I LOVE white chocolate macadamias and the first batch just came out of the oven. They look too puffy, but no wonder since I added so much more flour. I can’t figure out what happened. I’ve been baking for 40 years, so I’m not a novice. I looked up other recipes for this same cookie and ALL the others I found said to use SOFTENED butter. I bet that was my problem. Anybody else try this recipe and have a problem. I posted this recipe on my blog before Christmas and now feel I have to go back and not only revise it, but offer an applogy to those who tried it and had the same problem I did. I’d love to hear from anybody who make these. Thanks!
Hi Kady,
I’m sorry to hear that these cookies didn’t turn out for you. I’m not sure what could have caused the problem though. Did you allow the melted butter to cool before using it in the recipe? This is the exact same base that I have used for my Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies for almost two years now and have never had a problem at all. I have received a lot of feedback on both these macadamia nut and chocolate chip cookies and no one has mentioned this problem. Hopefully another reader can perhaps shed some light.
Michelle, thank you SO much for taking time to email me about the recipe. No, I did NOT let the butter cool after I melted it. DUH. In my message to you, I typed that I wasn’t a novice baker, and I’m not, but maybe I should have known to do that. I didn’t see that instruction in the recipe. I make a buttersctoch brownie where the butter is melted but it’s poured into the flour mixture as is and not cooled first, so that’s what I did with these cookies. Live and learn. Thank you. I’m going to try them again, though I have to say my hubby LOVES the cookies just as I made them. The flavor is still there, they’re just kinda puffy. THANK YOU and HAPPY BAKING!
Kady from Ohio
I did not cool the butter first either (now I know). They tasted great, but like Jennifer said 2 cups of chips was too much.
Just discovered your website and tried your version of these cookies. Really good. Am trying your triple chocolate oatmeal next, but am wondering whether I can add walnuts without upsetting the recipe too much.
Whit Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are my very favourite cookie but shamefully I have never made them. I must remedy this and fast!
White*
These look absolutely delicious! This type of cookie is one of my favorites!
Gorgeous cookies!
These look amazing!
For some reason, I never think to bake with macadamia nuts either, but I do love the flavor. Great combination with the white chocolate!
These cookies are awesome! My favorite recipe by FAR!
I’m glad I went through the reviews before baking. The original recipe doesn’t state to cool the butter after melting! That is a very important step. Delicious with 1.5 cups of chocolate chips. I plan to sprinkle the last batch with a bit of sea salt like someone suggested to try it out. Can’t wait!
I loved these they were awesome. For my own preference I am going to cut back on the macadamia nuts just a tad.
Easily the best macadamia cookie recipe I have found so far! These are WONDERFUL, and I have made macadamia nut cookies for a LONG time with many different recipes.
I am storing this in my personal recipe book from now on–this is my official new white chocolate macadamia recipe I will go too when I have a hankering for a cookie!
Awesome Dani! Nothing beats a favorite recipe, so happy these have become yours!
My fiance and I just polished off two Sasquatch sized versions each of these cookies – AMAZING! I’ve only been baking about a year and this was an exciting recipe to try. We love your chocolate chip cookie recipe so I was pretty psyched that this recipe was similar. I tried these tonight for his birthday and he really, REALLY likes them. Thanks for another solid recipe to add to the arsenal
)
Woo! Happy birthday to your fiance, so glad you both enjoyed these cookies!
Hi!! I tried your recipe and the only things i changed was i used whole wheat ( 1 cup = 5 oz) only i used 9 oz total for the 2 cups this recipe called for, and i forgot to melt the butter, and my husband found my stash of macadamias (which are hard to find) so i only had about 3/4 cup so I added walnuts as for the chocolate chips only 1 cup was enough.. They came out great!!
Hi Claudia, Thanks for sharing your adjustments; I’m so happy you loved these!
Hello,
So I’m kinda new to baking and after some research I decided to go with your recipe. I’m so glad I did, this is soooo good and it’s good to know the base is similar for ccc’s. My husband has stated, “THIS COOKIE is a keeper, do you know how you made it?” LOL
The only challenge however were the white chocolate chips — they didn’t melt, do you know why?
Thanks,
AP
Hi ap, so glad you liked the cookies! Did you want the chips to melt completely into the cookie? Chips typically don’t melt down the whole way, and white chocolate ones even less so.
Michelle,
thanks so much for the quick response. I didn’t know that about the chips. I didn’t want them to melt fully but to melt more like semi-sweet chips – gets gooey. The white chips didn’t melt in the least bit so I was concerned. I might just put them in the microwave for a quick second to soften them up. Thanks for teaching something new to the newbie baker!
-ap-
These cookies don’t look anything like the photo. It is a ton of nuts and chocolate held together by a tiny bit of not-so-great batter (more like shortbread). Wish I’d skipped this one. Would be a lot better with the Nestle choc. chip cookie batter and just add in a few nuts and white chips instead.
Brenda, I’m sorry these didn’t turn out for you. The dough really is nothing like shortbread though, so that’s a little puzzling. And the nuts and chips are definitely a much smaller component compared to the dough. Hope you’ll give this one another shot!
Brenda,
So sorry to hear your cookies didn’t turn out right. I find I have to follow the receipe exactly but it works like a charm every time and always looks like the picture. I wouldn’t give up on this cookie too quickly.
Funny today this comment showed up in my email…. i was just waiting for the cookies to cool down.. this is my second time baking them and it’s really hard for me to find something i wanna bake again & again. This time i did double the batch but i did use 2 cups whole wheat and 2 all purpose flour.. the macadamias this time i used roasted which gave me a bit of worry that they would taste burn but were great, my daughters love this cookies and if you follow the recipe they will turn out great for Brenda i will say maybe you should cut the dose of chips and nuts in half next time .. DON’T GIVE UP THEY WILL TURN OUT GREAT
I’ve been looking for a recipe for these cookies. I’ve read great reviews using the light brown sugar, but also found great reviews using all white sugar. Have any of you tried both to make a comparison?
Hi Michelle!
I want to make these cookies for my boyfriend’s birthday (they are his favorite) I was wondering if you think I could substitute whole wheat flour for all purpose flour? If so, would the amount differ?
Thank you!!
Hi Kaley, You could sub one for one, but I would probably start by only subbing 1/4 or 1/2 and see how they are before you do a total substitution. It will affect the taste.
Should I use Salted or Unsalted butter?
Oops, sorry for the oversight – unsalted butter. I will edit that now. Thanks for the catch!
I was wondering if u could help me here. Just tried your recipe yesterday, use half recipe. My cookies turned out very cakey. Do you know what could be the cause? I didnt use any caster sugar as i thought it would be too sweet. Really appreciate if you could help me out here. Thankssss
Hi Silvya, If you omitted all of the granulated sugar, that definitely could have affected the final outcome of the cookie.
My cookies came out flat! I dont know what I could have done wrong? I followed the directions exactly how they were there. There is maybe a step that you forgot to put on here or something. I was so excited to make these cookies since they are my favorite and it seems like I am just going to have to keep buying them. =(
Hi Karla, If the cookies came out flat my first inclination would be that perhaps the butter is the recipe wasn’t cooled completely after melting it. I have been in a rush before and done that, and the cookies definitely spread. I would try again and see if that wasn’t the problem.
I did cool the butter. But I will try the recipe one more time and see how it goes.
by far the best cookies I’ve ever made from scratch! great recipe! thanks
I made these cookies yesterday and it turn out great. Tasted really good. I put the dough in the fridge for an hour before baking. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I first baked these cookies about 2 years ago & have made many batches since then…they are DELICIOUS! The cookies turn out soft & chewy every time…YUM! I was on a white chocolate & macademia nut kick after a vacation in Maui…I was on a quest for the best cookie recipe out there…this is it! Just wanted to give kudos to the brown eyed baker
Thanks!
I just tried this recipe and the cookies came out GREAT! Thanks!
It took a few tries but these cookies came out excellent with a little bit of adjustment. At first they came out really puffy, so i added less flour. Then they came out a bit too sweet so i rolled them in sea salt. Finally, when they came out of the oven cracked I added a tablespoon or so of whole milk and they finally came out just the way I wanted! Amazing cookies.
Just found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it. Absolutely divine! Brown Eyed Baker, you have a new follower.