These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are soft-baked style with extra chewy centers. Melted butter maintains a delicious buttery flavor while an extra egg yolk adds chewiness. They’re absolutely PACKED with white chocolate and salted macadamia nuts.
Everything Old is New Again!
My website’s archives are filled with over 1,000 recipes. Some of my earlier recipes are total hidden gems, but there are others that I’ve felt needed some work. I’ve been working behind the scenes updating older recipes as I find necessary. Most notable updates: peanut butter cupcakes, monkey bread, and yellow cupcakes.
Today’s white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are part of this project. I craved a thicker cookie with softer, chewier centers and a distinct buttery flavor. There wasn’t much in this recipe that really needed to change, so I just made a couple minor tweaks.
They’re now perfect.
Video Tutorial
These are the BEST White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
And here’s why:
- Major chunks—lots of nuts and white chocolate
- Classic comforting flavors
- Extra buttery
- Soft-baked style
- Chewy centers
- Slightly crisp edges
- Easy to freeze
Re-Testing This Recipe
This recipe is a cross between my coconut macadamia nut cookies and my chewy chocolate chip cookies. Like the original recipe first published in 2012, I use melted butter instead of softened butter. I love using melted butter in cookies because it produces an extra buttery flavor as well as a chewier texture. However, it’s not as simple as swapping melted butter for softened butter. (Of course it’s not. It’s BAKING! So particular!)
You see, melted butter—a liquid—creates spread. If there isn’t enough flour to absorb the added liquid, the cookies will spread all over the baking sheet. On the other hand, if there’s excess flour, the cookies will taste dry. Finding the balance between too wet and too dry is a total roll of the dice! Speaking of dry ingredients, I add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch here. This ingredient adds a little extra softness. I don’t add cornstarch when making the coconut macadamia nut cookies because the coconut acts as a really soft dry ingredient, so cornstarch just isn’t necessary there.
The original recipe also used an extra egg yolk. I love this addition! See my chewy chocolate chip cookies if you’re curious about it. Basically, an extra egg yolk = extra richness and extra chew. Both good things.
Two final changes: I add a little more baking soda for additional volume because the original cookies typically over-spread. I also switch the amounts of sugar. Here we use 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 helps produce a chewy, yet crispy edge cookie.
Best Macadamia Nuts to Use
I LOVE using salted dry-roasted macadamia nuts in white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. The roasted salty flavor pairs beautifully with the extra sweet white chocolate morsels—you won’t regret it!
3 Cookie Tips to Improve Your Next Batch
- Spoon & Level the Flour: The amount of flour makes or breaks a cookie recipe—literally. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour.
- Chill the Cookie Dough: Chilling the cookie dough, especially since we’re using melted butter, is an imperative step in this recipe. The colder the dough, the less the cookies will over-spread into greasy puddles. You’ll have thicker, sturdier, and more solid cookies.
- Bake 1 Batch at a Time: You get the best possible results when the oven only concentrates on 1 batch at a time. If you need to bake more than one batch at a time, rotate the baking sheets from the top rack to bottom rack a couple times through the baking process to encourage even browning. And turn the sheets around as well. Ovens have hot spots!
If you can’t get enough of sweet white chocolate, try my white chocolate brownies and white chocolate peanut butter cookies next!
Print
Super-Chunk White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are soft-baked style with extra chewy centers. They’re absolutely PACKED with white chocolate morsels and salted macadamia nuts. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative, so set aside at least 2 hours.
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 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 heaping cup (210g) white chocolate chips*
- 1 cup (120g) roughly chopped macadamia nuts*
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cornstarch, 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 with a silicone spatula until completely combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. (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 1-1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie (I like to use this medium cookie scoop), 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.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: 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 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. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- White Chocolate Chips: I usually use closer to 1 and 1/4 cups white chocolate chips, about 210g. For looks, you can press a few extra chips into the tops of the warm cookies when they come out of the oven.
- Macadamia Nuts: I used salted dry-roasted macadamia nuts. You can use unsalted, raw, and/or whichever macadamia nuts you love most. Salted dry-roasted adds incredible flavor though.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
I followed the recipe as mentioned, except I was in hurry to bake them immediately so I kept the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge before baking. It was scrumptious!!! Chewy in the center and crunchy on the edges. Thank you.
Wow, I made these. I cut the brown sugar and regular sugar to 1/2 cup and I didn’t have cornstarch. These are amazing!
Excellent recipe!
Holy moly these cookies are SO good. I’ve been baking way more than usual while stuck at home, and had never made white chocolate macadamia cookies before, even though I love them. Was not disappointed at all.
Hi Sally,
I’m not a pro baker, but I’m also not a novice either. I followed the recipe exactly and baked them one batch at a time. But my cookies didn’t melt and spread out as they baked… They just kind of stayed in a semi melted ball. Can you tell me if I did anything wrong? The second and third batch I baked I had to flatten them from ball form before I baked just to get the “cookie” look.
Other than that, they tasted amazing and my whole family loved them even in ball form LOL.
Hi Astarria! I’m happy to help. Cookie dough balls don’t spread when there’s too much flour (or another dry ingredient) soaking up all the fat. Make sure that you’re spooning and leveling your flour (or weighing it). You can also try reducing the flour by 2 Tablespoons, which will help that butter initiate a bit more spread. Hope this helps for next time!
If I weigh the flour, how much should it weigh?
Hi Colleen, you’ll need 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled) for this recipe.
Made these cookies today – they are excellent! Thank you for another amazing cookie recipe!
Excellent recipe! Instead of the macadamia nuts I added 2 tbsp of lime juice and the zest of 1 lime. The melted butter makes these cookies so chewy!
I love white choc macadamia cookies!!! I’m not much of a double/triple choc girl, I prefer other cookies with (sorry, chocolate lovers!) a little more interest! May even add dried cranberries to these ones when I bake them….SO GOOD!
I also love how you added the ‘Cookie Tips’ – I’m always on the lookout to improve my general knowledge on baking to improve it, so just letting you know your tips are always well received and stored
Hi Sally,
I made these cookies last night and the taste was absolutely delicious! However, I did put in the fridge for 2 1/2 hours but they spread out super thin! Any idea what I may have done wrong! I want to try again since the taste was so good I would like to get the presentation better!
Thank you so much!
I’m glad you enjoyed the taste, Kate! You can take a look at my 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading to help you troubleshoot.
Dear Sally,
Awesome recipe. I substituted half the butter for some marijuana butter and I have to restrain myself from eating too many cause they are so delicious!
Keep baking Sally. Keep baking…
Cheers,
Mike
Well, Sally, you have done it again. These cookies are amazing. I was a bit intimidated (new to baking, lots of mix-ins, first time trying a cookie my boyfriend had specifically requested), but they turned out great!
One thing I noticed – these, more than most other cookies I have made so far, seem to go from looking under-done to quite brown VERY quickly. Any tips for me?
Hi Brian, Thank you for trying my recipe – I’m so glad you enjoyed them! When you near the end of the baking time just keep an eye on them – as soon as the edges look lightly browned you can remove them from the oven, the centers will still look soft.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes where the centers will continue to bake a bit before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
My daughter-in-law love white chocolate with macadamia nuts cookies so I will be baking a batch today. I always go to your site for cookie recipes first because I have had great success with the ones I tried previously. They are my go-to cookies recipes. Also, thanks for the cookie baking tips – they are so helpful.
Just made these for my husband who has celiac disease. Used Better Batter gluten free flour and they turned out perfectly. Delicious cookies! Will be trying more of your recipes soon.
Best white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies. Throwing out my other recipe for them because these are way better! Thanks Sally!
I just made these. And you’re right, THE best!!
I didnt 100% follow the recipe though. Instead of melting the butter, I prepared the dough with it softened. I understand why u melt it, because it was a lil tough mixing. So, I put on disposable rubber gloves and hand mixed it like how I prepare my meatloaf. Lol.
Then, I didnt refrigerate the dough, and immediately baked them. Perfect! Thank u!
Sally, I am curious where you source your weight per volume information. My sources say that brown sugar weighs more per cup than granulated sugar. Though in this recipe you have 150g for each at 3/4c. Are your recipes tested using exclusively the weight measurements you provide?
Hi Lorissa, I weigh the ingredients as I test recipes. My team (remote in their own kitchens) tests the recipes as well using their own scales or using the cup measurements provided. In all my baking, I always see brown sugar weighing similar to granulated sugar. Feel free to make adjustments as you see necessary!
First of all, thanks for adding the grams, as a non-american its kinda blaaahaaa to translate into weight. Makes the recipe attainable for everyone.
The cookies are absolute AMAZZZZZIIIINNNNGGGG!!!! Enough amount of chewiness with the sweet and salt combined. Many thanks!
Hi Sally – this recipe sounds great. I have a big bag of raw macadamia nuts. They don’t taste that great and I’m worried that they may not do justice to the recipe. Do you think I should roast them first?
Thanks,
Tia
Hi Tia! Toasting them would definitely help bring out some added flavor. Chop them up, spread out onto a lined baking sheet, and bake at 300°F (149°C) for a few minutes until toasty.
My family loves your blog and all your sweet treats! I always find myself returning to your blog for solid recipes and helpful tricks; we are never disappointed. Making these beauties this weekend for a friend, can’t wait to taste them! Sally, thanks for all you do!
HI, so I just made a double batch of these as my son requested them. I need to have cookies for church on Sunday in 5 days, should I freeze the ones for Sunday? I, also rolled them into logs after I refrigerate them for 2 hours can I freeze as a log, or shall I make them into balls and freeze that way? Just wondering which way is better?
Thank You
These cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week so you should be fine to serve them without freezing on Sunday. I prefer to freeze the uncooked cookie dough for this recipe in individual balls.
Hi Sally! Just a technique question… I noticed that when I bake frozen balls, they tend to get really brown and crispy on the bottoms. Is this a “thing”? Is there any way to prevent this? Thank you!!
Hi Tammi, I wrote an entire post on the best way to freeze cookie dough. Check it out to help troubleshoot: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baking-basics-how-to-freeze-cookie-dough/
I used bread flour instead of all purpose to make the cookies extra chewy (just how I like them) they turned out delish! Thank you
Just made these. When I make the chocolate chunk cookies, they come out perfectly every single time. (325degrees) I made these and you call for a 350 degree oven with the same baking time. I only left these in for 8 min. and the bottoms (middle rack) were brown (not burned)…12 would have had them burned. My question is: Is this a typo or did you mean 350 degrees? The amount of dough is half the amount of the chunk cookies, as well, with the same baking time. Thanks for any help in this.
Hi Mary, With larger cookies like the chocolate chunk cookies I tend to lower the oven temperature so that they cook evenly (and not brown on the outside too much before the centers bake). These cookies are meant to be at 350 but you can certainly experiment with turning down your oven or shortening the bake time for your personal preference!
Amazing cookies! Have been looking for a recipe for these cookies forever!
Perfect cookies! My husband and I both worked at Subway while we were in high school and college. I had always been on the lookout for a homemade white chip macadamia nut cookie that would be just as good as Subway’s version. I finally made them, my husband agrees, thanks to your recipe. I did double the batch, as we have lots of kids and lots of friends to share cookies with, and reduced the sugar by one-fourth total (personal preference). Bake time ended up being 10-11 minutes with our oven, 12 minutes was just a tad crisp when cooled. Thanks!
I love your revamping older recipes. I started following your blog two years ago, and so many of your recipes have entered our family repertoire! I find some older gems when I search for something specific, but I look forward to your unearthing and polishing more for us. Thank you!
Best macadamia nut cookies I’ve had Sally. I liked the old version but these are even better. The other ones spread too much sometimes!
Hi Sally! I made the originals and they are so delicious! They are the cookies that turned me into a white chocolate fan! I cannot wait to make this updated version!
I love white chocolate and macadamia nuts combines! These cookies look and sound so delicious!
Can I brown the butter for this? 🙂
It sounds lovely!
Absolutely! Let it slightly cool after browning.