These bakery style White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are chewy, soft and chocolaty. Filled with sweet white chocolate morsels and crunchy macadamia nuts drizzled with thin ribbons of white chocolate. They are the ultimate holiday or anytime treat.
This recipe is the opposite of the quintessential white chocolate macadamia nut cookies recipe. This inverted version is made with a rich chocolate cookie dough instead of the traditional vanilla dough. Like their counterpart, you still get a nice crunch from the macadamia nuts and the sweetness of white chocolate chips in every bite. And to make them extra special the tops of the cookies are piped with luscious white chocolate and a sprinkle of macadamia nuts.
Why you’ll love these Best White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
- Amazing flavour and texture – Every nibble of these thick macadamia nut cookies delivers a deliciously chewy, fudgy chocolate cookie with the essence of sweet white chocolate (both inside and outside the cookie) and crunchy, buttery-tasting macadamia nuts.
- Super easy to make – With just a few simple ingredients and some basic baking skills you can whip up these show-stopping white chocolate and macadamia cookies with a chocolate base in no time at all.
- Great for sharing – Everyone loves a sweet gift of deliciousness! Whether you’re baking for a Christmas cookie exchange, a homemade gift or for a holiday treat, these chocolate cookies with white chocolate and macadamia nuts are a perfect choice. Arrange them on a platter or pack them in cello bags for gifts.
- Make ahead and freezer friendly – You can keep baked cookies in an airtight container for 5 – 7 days at room temperature or freeze them for 3 months. This means you can start your holiday baking early. Who doesn’t want to get a jump on their holiday and Christmas baking?
Ingredients Needed
- Butter – Use unsalted butter softened to room temperature.
- Granulated & brown sugars – The balance of two different sugars sweetens the cookies perfectly.
- Eggs – Use two large eggs at room temperature.
- Vanilla – Adds great flavour to baked goods.
- All purpose flour – Unbleached all purpose flour works best for these cookies.
- Baking powder – The leavening agent in the cookies which helps them rise, spread and puff up a bit.
- Cocoa powder – Both standard unsweetened cocoa or Dutch process cocoa work for this recipe.
- Macadamia nuts – Unsalted macadamia nuts add flavour and crunch to the cookies.
- White chocolate molding wafers – My preferred choice to use for melting but you could also use white chocolate chips or a white chocolate bar.
How to Make Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
(Ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post).
- Roughly chop 1¼ cups of the macadamia nuts for the cookie batter and finely chop the remaining ¼ cup which will be to garnish the cookies.
- Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat again to achieve a creamy texture.
- Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts in a medium bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet and blend until incorporated. The dough is now ready to form into balls and bake the cookies for 11 – 12 minutes on parchment lined baking sheets.
How to prepare white chocolate drizzle
- If using white chocolate molding wafers or a white chocolate bar, chop them, if using white chocolate chips, leave whole.
- Place white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl fitted over a saucepan of water to create a double boiler.
- Bring water to a simmering boil, stir chocolate until completely melted, smooth and glossy, remove from heat, let cool.
- Transfer melted chocolate to a plastic zipper bag pushing it towards one corner, snip a tiny piece off the corner; you can always snip off more if necessary. See next paragraph for how to drizzle chocolate.
How to drizzle white chocolate
Hold the bunched up end of the piping bag and squeeze out the white chocolate through the snipped hole. Drizzle the cookies in a back and forth motion. Sprinkle finely chopped macadamia nuts over the drizzled cookies then let the cookies set for 20 – 30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Creamy white chocolate and rich buttery macadamia nuts are a classic pairing. They are both mild in flavour and complement each other well. They are often combined in baked goods.
I used natural unsalted macadamia nuts for this recipe but if you prefer extra saltiness in your cookies you can use salted macadamia nuts and the cookies will be just as delicious. You can’t go wrong when it comes to macadamia nuts.
Yes you can. While macadamia nuts are the traditional choice for these cookies, you could replace them with hazelnuts, almonds or pistachios and the cookies will still be super delicious!
With chocolate cookie dough it’s difficult to check for brownness so be careful not to over bake them. To know when the cookies are done, they should be lightly crisp on the edges, but still soft in the centre. Be sure and watch the baking time carefully.
How to Store White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies:
- Store: You can keep baked cookies in an airtight container for 5 – 7 days at room temperature.
- Freeze: Freeze cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Thaw: To thaw frozen cookies arrange them on a rack to thaw for 2 – 3 hours.
Tips for cookie success
- Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature.
- Good sized chunks of nuts in the cookie batter are ideal, so don’t chop them up too fine.
- For the ultimate size cookie use at least 3 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.
- Do not over bake the cookies – bake just until crisp on the edges and soft in the centre.
- Make sure cookies are completely cooled before drizzling with white chocolate.
- For the white chocolate drizzle snip a very tiny corner of the bag; the goal is a fine drizzle.
- Sprinkle on the finely chopped macadamia nuts before the white chocolate drizzle sets.
Other decadent cookie recipes with nuts you’ll love
Vanilla Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate & Pistachios
Almond Joy Chocolate Cookies
Macadamia Nut Blondies
Recipe
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
These bakery style White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are chewy, soft and chocolaty. Filled with sweet white chocolate morsels and crunchy macadamia nuts drizzled with thin ribbons of white chocolate. They are the ultimate holiday or anytime treat.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 ½ cups unsalted macadamia nuts, divided
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
White Chocolate Drizzle
- 1 cup white chocolate molding wafers roughly chopped or white chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare large baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
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Roughly chop 1¼ cups of the macadamia nuts, leaving some whole and some good-sized chunks. Finely chop the remaining ¼ cup macadamia nuts and set those aside for sprinkling on top of the cookies.
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In a large mixing bowl using a mixer with the paddle attachment, or by hand with a spatula, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to achieve a creamy texture.
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In medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, white chocolate chips and 1¼ cups coarsely chopped macadamia nuts. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet mixture. Mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated; dough will be very thick.
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Form dough into 24 balls, each one 3 tablespoons, and place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, at least two inches apart. Press the balls down lightly.
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Bake one sheet at a time for 11 - 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to set on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Arrange the cooled cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, about ½” apart from each other.
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To make the white chocolate drizzle, place chopped white chocolate in a small heat proof bowl which is placed over a small saucepan of simmering water to create a double boiler. Keep the water simmering and stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Let cool for 3 – 5 minutes.
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Transfer the melted chocolate into a large plastic zipper bag or a piping bag. Squeeze the bag so all the white chocolate goes towards one corner and bunch up the end of the bag. With a sharp scissors, snip a very tiny piece off the corner of the bag. The goal is a fine drizzle; you can always snip off more if necessary.
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Use hands for pressure and hold the bunched up end of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate out through the snipped hole over the cookies in a back and forth motion, in one direction, drizzling white chocolate overtop all the cookies. Sprinkle the finely chopped macadamia nuts over top the drizzled cookies before the drizzle sets. Let the cookies set on the sheets for 20 – 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature.
- Good sized chunks of nuts in the cookie batter are ideal, so don’t chop them up too fine.
- For the ultimate size cookie use at least 3 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.
- Do not over bake the cookies – bake just until crisp on the edges and soft in the centre.
- Make sure cookies are completely cooled before drizzling with white chocolate.
- For the white chocolate drizzle snip a very tiny corner of the bag; the goal is a fine drizzle.
- Sprinkle on the finely chopped macadamia nuts before the white chocolate drizzle sets.
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