White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are a classic cookie recipe! These cookies turn out to be perfectly soft and chewy in the center with crispy edges. The buttery crunch of the macadamia nuts pairs well with the sweet white chocolate. And they only take about 10 minutes to bake!
If you’re a lover of white chocolate, you might enjoy our white chocolate-raspberry cookies, pumpkin-white chocolate cookies or black & white chewy chocolate chunk cookies.
Why bake sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies when you can make a super exciting and interesting cookie like white chocolate macadamia nut cookies? I mean, those classic cookies are delicious and all. But these cookies are in a whole different ball park.
I remember enjoying the white chocolate macadamia nuts from Mrs. Fields years ago, although I do remember that they were pretty substantial and greasy. And when I worked for a catering company, we baked a ton of the frozen ones from Otis Spunkmeyer (not nearly as good as these!). Now Subway sells their version. But I think you’ll be happiest with my recipe for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. They’re pretty amazing.
Ingredients Needed:
- The Basics: All purpose flour, baking soda, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs.
- Shortening: This helps with achieving a beautiful texture in these cookies!
- Butter: Use salted butter- especially if you’re using salted macadamia nuts. There is no additional salt added to the recipe.
- White Chocolate: I like to use chopped white chocolate instead of the white chocolate morsels.
- Macadamia Nuts: Best sources for purchase listed below!
Where is the best place to buy macadamia nuts?
Healthier food markets like Sprouts or Whole Foods usually have bulk bins of nuts. That’s a great place to buy macadamia nuts since you can purchase only the amount that you need. Alternately, try looking for them at farmer’s markets in Hawaii, California or Florida (if you happen to be in one of those states). Regular markets carry them, or you can order them online through Amazon or any trusted retailer.
How to make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies:
The complete, printable recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here’s a brief overview.
- Use an electric mixer, if you’d like. But you don’t need one for this recipe. In a bowl, use a rubber spatula to combine the sugar with the butter and shortening. Then stir in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Then stir those into the wet mixture. Stir in the white chocolate and the nuts. Then cover the bowl and refrigerate until the dough is nice and chilled.
- Add spoonfuls of dough to the baking sheet and be sure to leave room between cookies. Bake at 350 on a parchment-lined baking sheet. They should take about 10 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to use room temperature butter and not melted. That will help ensure the right consistency. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature too.
- I prefer to use chopped white chocolate (look for it in bar or block form) instead of chocolate morsels, but you can certainly use either.
- When chopping, leave the nuts and the white chocolate in good chunks (no need to chop finely) so you can really experience the flavor and texture.
- We use roasted, salted macadamia nuts for these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Use raw macadamia nuts, if you’d like. They can be toasted a little bit in a skillet to bring out the flavor. Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of the cookie dough before baking since they’re unsalted.
- Try using salted cashews in place of macadamia nuts.
- Don’t even try to reduce the sugar in the recipe. The amount of sugar matters for the texture and spreading consistency.
- Take the time to chill the dough! And leave the dough in the refrigerator between batches. Chilled dough will make a difference with the amount of spreading the dough does while baking.
Why are macadamia nuts so expensive?
Macadamia nuts are so expensive because they’re labor-intensive to grow (requiring specialized machinery to remove the nuts safely), slow to produce (7 to 10 years), and require specific climate conditions—all of which make them one of the most costly nuts in the world.
How to store macadamia nut cookies:
Store white chocolate macadamia nut cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If stored in the same manner in the refrigerator, they will keep for up to one week.
Alternately, you can freeze either the cookies or the dough.
- To freeze the cookies, let them cool on the baking sheet and then place the baking sheet in the freezer. When the cookies are frozen, slip all of the frozen cooking into a freezer-safe zip baggie and freeze for up to 2 months.
- To freeze the cookie dough, place cookie dough on the baking sheet as instructed in the recipe. Move the baking sheet to the freezer. Slip all of the frozen cookie dough blobs into a freezer-safe zip baggie or sealed container and freeze for up to 2 months. Then bake as directed (no need to defrost).
Here are a few more recipes using macadamia nuts that you might enjoy:
This was the view I had from my kitchen in Maui, where I created this recipe while on vacation there. Isn’t it dreamy??
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups granulated white sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ cups chopped roasted macadamia nuts (salted)
- 6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to combine the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
- Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.
- Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into a ball. Set on the baking sheet and gently push down to flatten slightly. Place dough 2½ inches apart as the cookies will spread some. If you make them too large, they will crash into each other while baking, so be careful!
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are set and golden on the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These would be gone in seconds here!
What’s the easiest way to chop macadamia nuts?
I like to chop full-sized ones in half with a sharp knife, then it’s easy from there to chop into smaller pieces.
These cookies are so pretty and yummy too! What a lovely vacation for all.
That view from your kitchen there…oh my, incredible! I wouldn’t have come back home 🙂
The cookies look great! I love white chocolate!
YUM! I love the combo of white chocolate and macadamia nut. Gorgeous!