These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are everything you could ever want in a cookie. They’re big, have a soft center, and the dough is packed with a rich, buttery flavor. Generously studded with chunks of creamy white chocolate and crunchy macadamia nuts, they hit the perfect balance between sweet and nutty. The best part? There's no need to chill the dough—just make the dough, bake, and enjoy!
Key Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter so that I can control the salt content of the cookies--each brand of salted butter has varying quantities of salt. But if you only have salted butter on hand, that's totally fine to use. I recommend taking out about a ½ teaspoon of salt from the recipe if you do.
- Cornstarch: This is the secret ingredient and key to making soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies! It limits the gluten development in the flour so that the cookies turn out thick but delicate, rather than tough and chewy.
- Vanilla extract: I use an entire tablespoon of vanilla extract, which is key to this recipe. It gives the dough a deeper and sweeter flavor that perfectly complements the mix-ins.
- White chocolate chips: Higher quality chocolate is always best in cookies, and in this recipe I prefer to use Ghirardelli chocolate chips. You could also chop up a bar of white chocolate instead.
- Chopped macadamia nuts: I always chop the nuts into smaller pieces than they come from the store. This more evenly spreads the nuts throughout the cookie so that there is plenty in every bite.
How to Make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
First, preheat your oven to 375° Fahrenheit and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the Dough
Slice the cold unsalted butter into ¼ inch cubes and place them in the standing mixer, along with the brown sugar and cane sugar. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer, going up a speed every minute or so, and then mix on high for 3-4 minutes until there aren't any chunks of butter left. Make sure to use the paddle attachment on your standing mixer--it can handle mixing the cold butter.
While the butter and sugars are mixing, whisk together the all purpose flour, sea salt, cornstarch, and baking soda in a separate bowl and then set it aside.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the standing mixer and mix on medium speed until the dough is creamy and smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to get an even mix.
Then add the mixed dry ingredients to the standing mixer and mix on the lowest setting until just barely combined. Add the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts while the flour is still mixing in--this minimizes the risk of overworking the dough.
Bake the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Roll the dough out into 15 individual balls, and them spread out five on each baking sheet (already lined with parchment paper). Then press extra chocolate chips and macadamia nuts into the top of each ball of cookie dough. You can skip this last step, but it adds a nice touch to the cookies and gives you a great excuse to add on a bit more chocolate and nuts!
Bake each baking sheet separately for about 9-12 minutes each on the middle oven rack, until the cookies start browning on top. They will be very soft--thats okay--they will set once you pull them out of the oven. Remember, baking each cookie sheet separately helps the cookies to bake evenly--so don't try to rush it!
After taking the cookies out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter or the back edge of a spoon to round out the edges. Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 15 minutes before digging in.
Other Fun Cookie Recipes to Try
If these cookies are a hit, here are a few other cookie recipes I think you'll like:
If you try out these white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe, or if you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.
Now get baking, and enjoy!
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold, sliced in ¼ inch cubes
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup white chocolate chips* plus extra for topping
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts** plus extra for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Slice the cold unsalted butter into ¼ inch cubes and place in the standing mixer, along with the brown sugar and cane sugar. Gradually increase speed and mix on high for 3-4 minutes until there aren't any chunks of butter left.1 cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar, 1 cup cane sugar
- While the butter and sugars are mixing, whisk together the all purpose flour, sea salt, cornstarch, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Set aside.3 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the standing mixer and mix on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to get an even mix.2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add the mixed dry ingredients to the standing mixer and mix on the lowest setting until just barely combined. Add the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts** while the flour is still mixing in--this minimizes the risk of overworking the dough.1 ½ cup white chocolate chips*, 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts**
- Roll the dough out into 15 individual balls, and them spread out 5 to a baking sheet (already lined with parchment paper). Press extra chocolate chips and macadamia nuts into the top of each ball of cookie dough.
- Bake each baking sheet separately for about 9-12 minutes each on the middle oven rack, until the cookies start browning on top. They will be very soft--thats okay--they will set once you pull them out of the oven.
- After taking the cookies out of the oven, you can use a round cookie cutter or the back edge of a spoon to round out the edges. Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 15 minutes before digging in.Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment
- standing mixer with paddle attachment
- medium-sized bowl
- whisk
- rubber spatula
- 3 baking sheets
- large round cookie cutter optional
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