WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES
remember subway’s white chocolate macadamia nut cookies? well, these may be better!
16 cookies, 15 minutes (plus 30 minutes chilling)
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract, alternatively can use 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips, preferably Guittard
1 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts, preferably not roasted or salted
The Blistered Peppers Take:
It’s no surprise that cookie recipes kill it. And you know I go all out with cookies … case and point: my AMAZING chocolate chip cookie recipe. But this was a new one for me. I hadn’t had a White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie since, well Subway. Let’s be honest with one another, those cookies are next level good. Anyways, one of you lovely peeps requested I make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies and I’ll admit, these cookies were not my go to when baking cookies. But, I’m competitive as hell and needed to get this right. So, you’re welcome for what’s to come :).
Through the launch of Blistered Peppers, I’ve been pretty intrigued by those of you who fear baking. I get it. We’ve all been trained to believe that baking is harder because it’s a science. You can’t mis-measure or the texture is off. You can’t over bake or you’ll burn it. My recommendation if you’re feeling this way, is to give yourself time. Take on a baked good on a day that you’re off so you have the time to prep, measure, and oversee what’s baking in the oven. I promise once you get through your first baked good, you’ll be hooked!
Let’s dive into the lesser loved of the chocolates. White chocolate. It’s funny. There are those who love it or those who hate it - and actually there are people who “meh” it when you mention it. Know why you may be a chocolate lover who hates white chocolate? It’s because it’s not even really chocolate at all. White chocolate is made of cocoa butter and sugar - that’s it. No cocoa. Mind blown, right? But I will say until you mix white chocolate (or whatever it is 🙂) with macadamia nuts, you’ve not experienced white chocolate. They’re two ingredients made for one another. It’s the whole sweet and savory thing. But with this cookie you take it one step further…THE CRUNCH. Macadamia nuts are those nuts that you never really think about, but then you have one somewhere by accident and you're enthralled. You need to immediately add them to your grocery list and eat them on repeat. So, do yourself a favor, put a few in a dish next to you while you’re baking, for snacking.
The secret to most (great) cookies - is chilling the dough. It solidifies the fat in the cookie and allows all the ingredients to come together. If you don’t have time to chill the dough, save this (and all cookie recipes) for a day when you’ve got the time. I promise it’s a necessary step.
A cookie question I get a lot is, how do you know the right sized scoop? Do you roll the dough into a ball? On average, 2 tablespoons is ideal in order to get 16 cookies on a tray. But if you’re feeling crazy make it 3 for a bit of a larger cookie (just remember you’ll get less cookies out of the recipe). You can roll the dough into a ball or just scoop with a cookie scooper onto a parchment lined cookie tray. Remember to let the cookies rest on the tray for 2 minutes after you take them out of the oven. Store the cookies in an airtight container and enjoy for days!
Steps:
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt.
In a separate larger bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown and white sugars until smooth and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Add the eggs, then the vanilla and almond extracts.
Make sure you don’t over mix because the eggs will split!
Next add in the flour mixture, half at a time.
Finally, fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
After chilling, use a spoon or cookie scoop, shape cookies and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (soft), 12 minutes (more crispy).
These cookies are amazing while still warm as the white chocolate melts in your mouth - but they’re great cooled too! So bring some over next time you’re heading to a friend’s housewarming.
