These Ghirardelli White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are a sweet and nutty treat with classic flavors. Golden brown and delicious, you'll love how easy it is to make your own homemade dough featuring crunchy macadamia nuts and decadent white chocolate!
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Many people jump to chocolate chips when they hear cookies, but lately I've been loving these macadamia nut cookies! The combination of subtle and buttery nuts with Ghirardelli white chocolate chips in a delicious cookie dough makes for the ultimate treat.
Of course, they do pair well with Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies if you're looking for a bit of variety.
But if you're looking for something unique, I recommend my Old Fashioned Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies instead! Just like these macadamia cookies, they're sweet and comforting and fantastic right out of the oven.
Why this Recipe Works
This is a classic combo of mix-ins for cookies, plus it's an easy recipe with only 10 minutes of bake time. The macadamia nuts provide a slight saltiness that enhances the sweetness of your favorite white chocolate chips.
Best of all, this cookie dough is super simple to prep, and can be made ahead of time and frozen for a quick treat when the craving strikes!
Great any time of year, I find these cookies are particularly comforting in the fall, just like my Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour: simple all-purpose flour is typically best for cookies, but feel free to experiment with other types of flour if you like.
- Baking Soda: helps the cookies take on a nice light texture and prevents them from getting too dense.
- Salt: balances out all of the sweet flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: be sure to leave your butter out at room temperature as softened butter is easiest to use for making cookie dough.
- Sugar: using a combination of brown sugar and white sugar gives your cookies a complex sweetness and a soft, tender texture. Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar both provide similar results, so use what you have or what you prefer.
- Eggs: helps the cookie dough come together.
- Vanilla Extract: for a bit of extra sweetness and depth of flavor. You could also use something like almond extract or hazelnut extract for a nuttier result.
- White Chocolate Chips: I prefer to use Ghirardelli white chocolate chips for an affordable but high quality option, but any brand of chips will work.
- Macadamia Nuts: pair perfectly with the white chocolate and give your cookies a hint of buttery nuttiness.
How to Make these White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
- Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt).
- Step 2: In a separate large mixing bowl, beat together butter with brown sugar and white sugar, then add the vanilla and eggs and mix until just combined.
- Step 3: Carefully fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using your hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Step 4: Add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and mix them into the dough.
- Step 5: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Top with additional white chips and/or nuts.
- Step 6: Bake for 10 minutes, then let cool and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Use salted, dry-roasted macadamia nuts if you want to lean into the sweet and salty flavor combo.
- If your cookies don't all fit onto one cookie sheet, bake them one batch at a time. They'll bake more evenly if the oven isn't overcrowded.
- No need to chill this dough! You can mix it up and scoop it right onto your baking sheet.
- Feel free to play around with the ratio of white chocolate chips to nuts. Find out what amounts make the best cookies for you!
- This white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for 4-5 days. Be sure to wrap it well in some plastic so it doesn't dry out.
- If you don't have a cookie scoop, use a tablespoon to measure out your balls of cookie dough. You could also just eyeball it, though the cookies may vary in size.
- Scoop your cookie dough and store it in the freezer for quick cookies in the future. You can bake them right from frozen--just add a few minutes of baking time.
- Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They should last at least 5 days if kept in a cool and dry spot. You can also store them in the fridge instead if you prefer.
- For additional flavor, use additional ingredients like semi-sweet chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped walnuts, pecans, peanuts, or almonds.
- Top with flaky sea salt or kosher salt for another dimension of salty flavor.
Recipe FAQ's
These two ingredients are a great example of the classic salty and sweet flavor combination. Plus, they're both fairly mild in flavor, so neither overpowers the other. It makes for a great complimentary dessert experience!
Yes, this cookie dough can be made using either raw or roasted macadamia nuts. It ultimately comes down to personal preference.
After some time, macadamia nuts can take on a bitter flavor that's not pleasant to eat. It typically takes about 6 months for this to happen, so as long as your macadamia nuts are freshly purchased, you should have nothing to worry about!
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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips plus some extra for the top
- 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix.
- In a large bowl add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, and mix until creamy.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix just until combined.
- Mix in the dry ingredients just until combined.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon fold in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts,
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, place scoops on the baking sheets, and add a few more white chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, cookies will continue to cook as they cool.
So happy you loved them Becky!
These cookies were fantastic! Soft and loaded with white chocolate chip and macadamia nuts. Definitely going on my xmas baking list!