Chewy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies are tremendously tender and perfectly chewy – each buttery bite is one to remember! Roasted nuts and a moist, vanilla cookie are blended in a pinnacle of holiday flavor. My macadamia nut cookie recipe makes a whopping 70 cookies in less than 30 minutes – which I am grateful for because we make them all year long!! These are literally the perfect cookies.
A plate of classic Christmas cookies is enough to put anyone in the holiday spirit, and these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are a feast for the eyes and the stomach!
Fill the cookie sheet full of the cookie dough balls, and get ready to make the best cookies ever. These baked cookies were an instant hit from the first time that I made them.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Dotted with toasted macadamias and smooth chocolate chips, they get your mouth watering before you can even take your first bite.
You can whip up this easy Christmas cookie recipe in less than 30 minutes.
This delicious cookie is one of our favorite cookies, perfectly golden brown with every bite loaded with sweet white chocolate chips.
Feeling a little more ambitious?
I have these Christmas pinwheel cookies, timeless Christmas sugar cookies, and fruity cranberry Christmas cake recipes for you to try!
These are sure to be some of your favorite cookie recipes!
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Room Temperature Butter & Vegetable Shortening – It’s possible to use only butter, but you’ll need to give the dough a bit of time in the fridge before baking.
Chill all-butter dough for 30 minutes or so to prevent the cookies from spreading too much. - Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar – You could use all light brown sugar for extra chewy goodness. And could you use dark brown sugar?
You can! However, in my opinion, the secret to this macadamia nut cookie recipe lies in its subtlety, and dark brown sugar has a deeper, molasses-like richness. - Vanilla & Almond Extract – You can easily substitute almond extract with vanilla, but almond will tie all of those roasted nutty flavors together throughout the cookie dough.
Definitely give it a try if you can find it! - White Chocolate Chips – Not really chocolate, but we call these sweet chips “chocolate” anyways!
That being said, milk, dark, or semi-sweet chocolate chips don’t really have a place here as a substitute. Stick to white chocolate!
Macadamia Nut Cookie Recipe Hacks You Need To Know!
- Don’t Overmix Or Overbake! Trust the recipe – turn that mixer off (or put that whisk down!) as soon as the flour is totally combined with the wet ingredients, then slowly work in the nuts and chips until evenly dispersed.
And when the cookies are baking, keep them in the oven just until the edges are barely brown. - Cut the Sweetness. A hint of sea salt does wonders for those who lack a sweet tooth.
Just a pinch sprinkled over the cookies in the last couple minutes of baking is all you need! - Not Using a Stand Mixer? Give yourself enough time to really beat the butter until it’s nice and creamy.
This could take you 5 minutes or longer if whisking by hand! It’ll be light and fluffy as a cloud when it’s ready – a real workout, but worth the results!
Storing and Freezing White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
What a fantastic prep-ahead dessert! This macadamia nut cookie recipe lasts up a week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
Make sure that you store them in an airtight container. You can remove a frozen cookie and let the thaw for a few minutes before it’s soft and ready to eat.
These classic white chocolate macadamia nut cookies hold their flavor really well once they’re unfrozen!
Once baked, leftovers can be kept on the counter for a week or so.
To freeze the cookie dough: ball up your individual cookies, lay them on a plate in the freezer, then throw them in a storage bag once slightly solid.
That preliminary freeze will keep them from clumping together and make thawing later much easier.
To be honest, I make several batches of these and bake them too. Then I freeze them in gallon ziptop bags.
They store perfectly that way for months. It is a great way to get a head on your Christmas baking.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies FAQ
If the ones you have are untoasted, you’ll definitely want to roast them yourself. Luckily, it’s really easy to do!
Preheat a pan on medium. Toss the shelled nuts in the pan and let them heat up, giving them a stir to prevent burning and promote even cooking.
The nuts are done roasting after 10 or 15 minutes – they’ll be so fragrant you’ll want to grab them right out of the pan! Don’t do that, though, but let them cool before adding to the dough.
Wait to chop up the nuts until after they’re toasted. A sharp knife will do you well and make getting those slivers extra easy!
The size is up to you, but I think a small chop is best for the texture of the white chocolate macadamia cookies. A food processor can help you get a good size with just a few pulses!
My favorite version of this recipe and most requested cookies use whole macadamia nuts! The chewy centers paired with the crunch of the nut is perfection.
It could be that you chilled the dough for too long. 30 minutes in the fridge is plenty of time before baking!
You may have also added too much flour to the dough – the most common cookie crime! Take care to level-off and not pack down when making measurements.
Additionally, going with all white granulated sugar rather than light brown sugar will make the cookies spread less.
My secret is that I like to use a medium cookie scoop. That way, I’m stopping the unbaked dough in even sections and putting them on the baking sheet. Since they’re all similar in size when scooped, they should be the same size once baked.
If you want to make large cookies, you can use a larger cookie scoop. Just know that a thicker cookie might take a little bit longer to bake. They’ll still be soft cookies but may need a few more minutes to bake in the oven.
Once they are fully cooked and have crisp edges that are golden brown, move them to a wire rack to continue cooling. Once they’re cooled, you can move the white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies to a Christmas cookie tray or other serving platter.
I set them in a single layer so that the buttery cookies don’t mash into each other. If you’re worried that the white chocolate chip cookies will sink into one another, you can always lay a piece of parchment paper between the layers.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
Don’t miss a thing! Follow us on
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram
Other Easy Dessert Recipes
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, I used Crisco
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups dry roasted macadamia nuts
- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric mixer and large mixing bowl), add butter, shortening and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and both extracts and mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt into the bowl. Mix until just combined (do not over mix). Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of bowl. Add macadamia nuts and chips and continue mixing on low speed, just until combined.
- Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, arrange dough, about 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheets.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until barely golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published December 2014, updated and republished November 2023
Disclosure: Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link your price will remain the same and The Slow Roasted Italian will automatically receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting us, it helps us keep creating new recipes.
I make these every year and everyone expects them. Last year I ran out of time and my family was not happy lol. I will make them first this year!
I had been buying these and then I found this recipe which is great.
I do have a question: can I use plant-based butter with either olive oil or avocado oil? I switched from using margerine and regular butter in my regular food intake but I don’t know about baking with them.
Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes – they are well liked!!!