White chocolate macadamia nut cookies are the bee's knees. And you know it. This is a small batch recipe that makes 6 cookies, and I ate all 6 of them in a day.
There are things you do for love, and there are things you do for the love of cookies.
In my case, I made these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies around the clock for 12 hours. I started with a tip from a reader that my small-batch chocolate chip cookies could not be modified into white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, and it perplexed me. How can adding nuts and replacing dark chocolate with white chocolate chips make so much difference?
But it did.
I started out scaling down this recipe by making Sally's full-size batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Her recipe is perfect--soft and chewy and full of macadamia nuts. But, 3 dozen cookies was too much for my house (you know this). So, I cut the recipe in half, and made it 6 different ways until I settled on this version you see pictured.
These cookies do the pretty ripple thing around the edges when they bake, and as they cool, they crack a bit, too. They look like they came from a bakery (and they taste like it, too!).
I get asked often why I only use egg yolks in my cookie recipes. One egg is made up of 1 tablespoon of fat (the yolk) and 2 tablespoons of binding protein (the egg white). When it comes to cookies, we just want the richness of the fat. I rely on butter to bind my cookies together and leave out the egg whites.
If you're wondering what to do with the leftover egg whites, I have a whole page full of recipes that use egg whites only. And one for recipes that use egg yolks only. Because we all want perfect small batch desserts, but no wasted eggs!
Tips for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies:
- Softened butter is not room temperature butter. When I troubleshoot failed/ flat cookies, this is almost always the cause. Softened butter is butter that has been sitting on the counter at room temperate for about 20-30 minutes. You can press a finger into it and make an indent, but your finger does not go all the way through easily.
- Use just the egg yolk for this small-batch white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.
- Measure your flour by scooping it, heaping it over the measuring spoon, and then wiping off the excess with a butter knife (or other flat surface). Oh, and 7 tablespoons of flour is ½ cup of flour, minus 1 tablespoon.
Small Batch White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
Small batch white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Recipe makes just 6 cookies, and please, only use the egg yolk, not the entire egg!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk (white reserved for another use)
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour*
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- scant ¼ cup chopped macadamia nuts
- scant ¼ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the medium bowl, add the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy, about 40 seconds.
- Next, add the egg yolk and beat until combined.
- Finally, sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt evenly over the surface, and beat to combine everything.
- Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand.
- Divide the dough equally into 6 cookies (about 46 grams each), and space evenly on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are light golden brown on the edges and the surface begins to crack.
- Let cool completely, and store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days (if they last that long).
Notes
*Tip: 7 tablespoons of flour is ½ cup of flour, minus 1 tablespoon.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 205Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 740mgCarbohydrates: 8gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g
Angela Moy says
I made these and they were awesome! A quick question though: you say to divide into six cookies and space evenly on a cookie sheet. Does that mean make 6 balls of dough? Or flatten them out into cookies? I kinda did in between the two, and they turned out lovely, but was wondering if they would flatten on their own from just balls. Love to read everything you do!
Sharon V says
Christina, these look delicious and can’t wait to try! A couple questions; I make several types of cookies to share for Christmas-I’d like to make 3-4 dozen of these, suggestions?? Also, do you recommend only using egg yolks in all cookie recipes? TIA! 😊
Christina Lane says
Yes, you can totally triple or quadruple this recipe. But like you mentioned, multiple the recipe exactly and only use the egg yolks. Egg yolks are fat and they emulsify a dough and make it dense, chewy, and rich. Doubling a recipe with an egg yolk doesn't mean to just use the whole egg, because egg white is just a binding protein that acts differently. Make sense?
I'm so honored you're gifting my cookies! Enjoy :)
Bonnie R Gordon says
I just made these and thank you, thank you, thank you. Our local grocery never seems to have Pepperidge Farm macadamia milk chocolate cookies in stock. i switched out the white chocolate for milk chocolate and they were almost perfect. They just need a bit more flour around here in PA.
The Husband says he thinks they are also half the cost, so win, win!! I have all your cookbooks and love them. Thank you!!
Cat says
What would happen if I used the whole egg instead of just the egg yolk?
Christina Lane says
The recipe would fail. They're designed to be dense and fudgy, like cookies should be. Altering the ingredients will change the final result.
Red says
I made this cookie yesterday since it was Valentine's day for my husband and also didn't want him to die with eating 2 dozens of cookies, lol
He loved it and I am glad that I made it. I also got your book, Dessert for Two and will bake more from the book.
Christina Lane says
Thanks so much! You're so kind :)