Coconut Macadamia Nut Cookies
I’m crowning these coconut macadamia nut cookies the queen cookie of summer. With the golden crisp edges, sweet soft centers, flecks of coconut, and chunks of big buttery macadamia nuts… plus the white chocolate drizzle… why would one make ANY OTHER COOKIE this summer?
No really… why?
Our friends came over the other week which meant I have mouths to gobble up all my baked goods. For that reason and, of course, the company of loved ones– we have people over all the time!!!! When there’s a big group, I usually make a bigger dessert like cake or something, but sweet and salty cookies seemed more appropriate in the 95% humidity/literal outdoor sauna we experienced that day.
The recipe yields 30 cookies and there wasn’t a crumb left. There were only 7 of us. Is that a good or bad thing?
Behind the Recipe
This recipe is a lot like the dark chocolate cranberry almond cookies I posted last year, which is a recipe based off of these soft chocolate chip cookies. The dark chocolate cranberry almond variety was immediately popular with you, so I started with that base cookie dough. I wanted a chewier cookie with a crisp edge, so I made a couple changes. First, I used melted butter instead of creamed (softened) butter.
I love using melted butter in cookies because it produces an extra buttery tasting cookie. Think about it: melted butter tastes more, well, buttery than solid butter, right? Melted butter also produces a chewier cookie. But using melted butter in cookies can be tricky. Melted butter, a liquid, creates spread. If there isn’t enough flour to absorb the added liquid, the cookies will spread all over the cookie sheet. Here’s exactly what batch #1 looked like. If there’s too much flour, the cookies will taste dry and cakey. It’s really a guessing game until you reach that sweet spot, the best ratio of ingredients to produce tasty cookies with the appropriate amount of spread. Cookie science is totally a real thing!!!
Second, I added an extra egg yolk. Remember why I love doing this? See my chewy chocolate chip cookies and more recently, my butterscotch blondies. An extra egg yolk = extra richness, extra chew.
I felt like a crispier cookie base would pair wonderfully with the macadamia nuts and coconut, so I left out the cornstarch. I love adding cornstarch to cookies because it creates a softer dough and a more tender baked cookie. Today’s cookies are still soft, but they have a crispier edge and top. I LOVE that. Additionally, I used an equal amount of granulated sugar and brown sugar. In addition to sweetening, brown sugar creates a soft and more flavorful cookie and granulated sugar creates spread. Balancing them helped produce a crispy edge cookie.
One thing I didn’t change: chilling the cookie dough. Most important step to avoid excess spreading. Read more here.
The addition of white chocolate was a no brainer. The combo of coconut + macadamia nut + butter + white chocolate is a force to be reckoned with!!!! Since it was pretty hot inside and outside, I refrigerated the cookies until I served them. This kept the chocolate solid and cool. And as a bonus, the cookies tasted crispier!
I know exactly what your weekend plans should include. 🙂
PS: We have more friends coming over tomorrow and I’m feeding them creme brûlée. Recipe coming soon!
Coconut Macadamia Nut Cookies
Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yield: 30 cookies
Category: Cookies
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
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PinDescription
Coconut macadamia nut cookies feature golden crisp edges, sweet soft centers, flecks of coconut, and chunks of big buttery macadamia nuts and a white chocolate drizzle!
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) roughly chopped macadamia nuts*
- 1 cup (80g) sweetened shredded coconut
- optional: 4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour into dry ingredients and mix everything together until completely combined. Fold in the macadamia nuts and coconut. (You can use a mixer for this step if needed.)
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 4 days. If chilling for longer than 2 hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 20-30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the optional white chocolate drizzle: Melt the chopped white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 15-second increments, stopping and stirring after each until completely smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Allow chocolate to set completely, about 30 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4. Baked cookies, with or without white chocolate drizzle, freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Click here for my tips and tricks on freezing cookie dough.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Silpat Baking Mat | Baking Sheet | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Macadamia Nuts: I used salted dry-roasted macadamia nuts. You can use unsalted, raw, and/or whichever macadamia nuts you love most.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
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