White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Classic white chocolate macadamia nut cookies have never been better! Bake a batch of these incredible, nostalgic cookies and you won’t be sorry.
I’ve been tinkering with these cookies for quite a while now, and finally have the recipe just the way I want it. I promise, you might not find a better white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe!
These cookies are the perfect balance of textures and flavors, with crisp edges and soft, chewy centers. And the sweet, creamy white chocolate pairs beautifully with the buttery cookie dough, crunchy toasted macadamia nuts, and coarse salt on top. It’s that sweet and salty magic that makes these cookies impossible to resist!
What makes these cookies special
Two things set these cookies apart from other white chocolate macadamia nut cookies you may have had in the past:
- Toasting the macadamia nuts, which brings out their flavor and makes it so much more interesting.
- Adding a sprinkling of coarse salt to the cookies after baking to give them a delicious sweet and salty flavor.
“Thanks for the tip about toasting the macadamia nuts! They really are better this way! These cookies are perfect. My husband says they’re addicting.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — from reader Sarah
“The best recipe I’ve tried! They turned out perfect- crunchy and soft!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” —from reader Hillary.
Ingredients you’ll need
Let’s get baking shall we? Here’s everything you’ll need for these cookies (full recipe below):
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light or dark brown sugar
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Salt
- White chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
- Macadamia nuts
How to make white chocolate macadamia nut cookies
- Toast macadamia nuts to bring out their rich, nutty flavor.
- Cream butter and sugarsuntil light and fluffy. This forms the base for these cookies, more about the creaming method here.
- Add egg and vanilla extract. Mixing after each.
- Mix in dry ingredients (flour, bakingsoda and salt) until dough starts to come together.
- Add white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts just and mix until dough is uniform.
- Scoop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet pans.
- Bake at 350°F until edges are golden brown, 10-12 minutes for medium, 14-15 minutes for larger cookies.
- Sprinkle with coarse salt the moment they come out, then cool.
Then, enjoy!
Tips for baking the best cookies
- Use dry-roasted macadamia nuts and skip the toasting step. These nuts are usually salted, so omit salt in the cookie dough or use unsalted butter.
- Watch your butter temperature: It should be soft enough that a pressed finger will leave an indent, but not soft enough that your finger can press all the way through. If it’s shiny or melty at all, the butter is too warm and your cookies may spread too much in the oven.
- Be sure to measure flour correctly! All of my recipes are tested using the spoon and level method (more info through that link).
- Use a cookie scoop for even baking and beautiful cookies: A large cookie scoop will give you show-stopping cookies like you see here. More traditional sized cookies can be shaped with a medium cookie scoop.
- If cookies come out slightly misshapen, use a spatula to press them back into a circle right after they come out of the oven. See more of my tips for how to bake pretty cookies.
- Cookie dough freezes really well. I like to keep a stash in the freezer for fresh-baked cookies on demand.
- Storage instructions: These cookies will keep at room temperature for about a week, but are best within a few days of baking. Or you can freeze them for up to 1 month.
More cookie recipes you’ll love
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Chocolate Cookies
- Toasted Coconut, Pecan, and Dark Chocolate Cookies
- Monster Cookies
This recipe was originally published August 2010.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 grams) salted butter , softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (213 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cup (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (170 grams) white chocolate chips
- 1 cup (150 grams) macadamia nuts , coarsely chopped
- Coarse salt , for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Add macadamia nuts to 1 sheet pan and spread into an even layer. Toast in oven for about 5 minutes, then let cool completely.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add flour, soda, and salt to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until just combined. Add the white chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts.
- Portion into rounded tablespoon for medium cookies, or 3 tablespoon scoop for large cookies and place onto prepared sheet pans, with about 2 inch spacing. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 to 12 minutes (14-15 minutes for large cookies). Cool on a wire rack.
- When hot from the oven, sprinkle with coarse salt. Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer for a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
My all time favorite cookie recipe! So so delicious ?
Delicious! And quite easy to put together! Thank you for posting this
Recipe, I’ll be baking more very soon
Hi. You say the recipe hasn’t changed but then you mention it has shortening in it in a comment which I don’t see.
The recipe has been updated from its original version which included shortening. I don’t bake with shortening anymore, so this recipe is all-butter.
These cookie dough came out dry and crumbly and the cookies where crumbly too. Can i fix them?
Great recipe, made 3 1/2 dozen cookies. I used dry roasted chopped macadamias so I didn’t need to roast them. I may try with toffee chips next time for a change. Yummy
The best recipe I’ve tried! They turned out perfect- crunchy and soft!
Thank you for posting the recipe in grams. So much easier for me and less washing. Great cookies!
just made these. the shapes came out funky as i don’t have a cookie scoop, but nonetheless they came out perfectly delicious.
These are truly the best cookies ever!!! The instructions and tips are so helpful.
Just made these last night and since I’m only had a stick of butter in the house, I added 3 T of canola oil to get to the 3/4 cup of a fat. I also had some leftover caramels in the pantry, so cut them up into chip sizes and threw about 1/3 c in the dough as well. Holy smokes- my kids adored these! So, so delicious, the salt at the end made it delicious. This one going in the recipe box for sure!!
Came perfect!! I really followed the extra tips , like roasting the nuts for 5 min and making sure the butter and sugars were creamed together enough. They were a chewy cookie that held their shape with the perfect amount of flavorful crunch from the nuts !!! Yum!! Thanks!
Not enough butter?
I had to flatten them out with a spatula because they hadn’t flattened out enough. I used the correct amount of butter that had been out all day. Egg was room temp. They were good, but they would have been a fat little pile if I hadn’t pressed them down.
Hi, Dale. I’m sorry you had trouble with this recipe! How are you measuring your flour? I’m willing to bet that’s the issue. Here’s how to properly measure flour.
This is by far the best white chocolate macadamia nut cookie I have ever tasted. I can’t even get a better taste at a professional cookie shop. I did not modify the recipe at all, and the texture and shape turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us.
Easy to make. Very tasty. Excellent recipe.. Thx for sharing
Easy to make.. Excellent.. Tasty..
Definitely a hit !! Thx