White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I know it's nothing compared to planning the wedding itself, but man, being in a wedding is hard work! This past weekend was my best friend's wedding, so it was up to Portland for me, during one of the hottest weeks of the year up there, holy cow. But what ended up being kind of a nice bonus was, since I ended up going up for the whole week, I ended up getting to spend Father's Day up there as well, which I haven't done in years. In trying to come up with something to make my dad since I never really get to bake for him not living up there, something with macadamia nuts immediately came to mind. And what's better than White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies? They did get a little bit smushed in my luggage on the flight up there, but for the most part they made it.

These cookies are super easy to make. The only hard thing about them is possibly finding macadamia nuts that aren't crazily priced. Yeah, those things are definitely not cheap. But they are delicious, so I guess that kind of makes up for it. The ones I used were roasted and salted, and though you don't necessarily need roasted nuts, I would recommend you try to get them salted. It adds a nice little extra flavor to them. Trust. It may seem contradictory that sweets need salt, but they really do!

I'm kind of surprised I haven't made these before for this blog, but I suppose it likely had to do with the cost of the nuts. What can I say, there are budgets to consider! Nonetheless, if you like these types of cookies, definitely give these a go. You won't be disappointed! They come out nice and soft and yummy.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped salted macadamia nuts

Cooking Directions

1. Beat together your butter and sugars until light and fluffy, usually about 3 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat for another minute until fully incorporated.
2. Add in the baking soda, salt and flour and slowly mix together until just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until they are evenly distributed. I usually do this by hand.
3. Cover and stick that in the fridge for an hour. You can skip this step if you want, but cookies are better if you cool the dough first.
4. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line your baking sheet with either parchment or a silicon baking mat. Place dollops of dough about two inches apart on the sheet. I use a cookie scoop for mine, but you can also use regular spoons.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are slightly browned. They won't look super done in the center, but that's fine, because you let them rest on the cookie sheet for another 10 minutes, which will finish their cooking. After that, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe adapted from The Novice Chef