Years ago, I banished white chocolate. I was very young and munching on one of those cookies n cream candy bars. My brother came up to me and said, "you know that's not chocolate, right?" This information devastated me for some reason. What the heck was I eating then? Cocoa is, after all, a deep brown color and this substance was... well... pale. I had been lied to! That was the end of my interest in white chocolate.
Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Cream together butter and sugars until combined well (scrape down the sides). Add vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time.
There was only one exception: white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. Oh em gee. This combination is truly sinful. They are soft, sugary, and mischievous. Health conscious foodies, stay away!
Biting into macadamia nuts, you can taste their natural oil. Macadamia nuts have a high fat content and almost no protein unlike most nuts. They are beautiful to look at and are mighty tasty. Their flavor is very simple and the texture has a nice crumble.
What makes white chocolate a derivative of "chocolate" is cocoa butter; there are no cocoa solids which contain all the antioxidants. They are pure sweetness and the total opposite of dark chocolate. Combine the oil of the macadamia nut with cocoa butter in the chocolate, and you have an incredibly luscious cookie. Truly.. these are yummy, warm or at room temperature.
This is my first batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies EVER. I looked across the blogosphere and found that this recipe barely changes: white sugar, brown sugar, chips, nuts, flour, and butter. The only factor that fluctuated was the ratio between white to brown sugar. Joy the Baker browns the butter in her rendition to bring out that nutty flavor but overall, it's the same cookie across the board. You can't argue with a classic.
Mike's cookie accidentally had a mint chip in it and was inspired. I can't wait to make these for the holidays!
White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 salt (just a dash)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Cream together butter and sugars until combined well (scrape down the sides). Add vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly (add about a cup at a time) the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix well.
Once batter is completely combined, fold in the white chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts. Scoop out onto heaping 1-2 tablespoon scoops onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Pull my cookies out a little early so the finish cooking outside of the oven (they baking sheet is still warm).
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Pull my cookies out a little early so the finish cooking outside of the oven (they baking sheet is still warm).
