Soft & Chewy White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies

Pure evil. These cookies are pure evil.

I made them, taste-tested them (naturally and thoroughly), photographed them, and packaged them up for my guy to take to work the next morning, lest I shovel them one-by-one into my mouth all day long.

But he kept forgetting to take them. And so there they sat, the devils on the kitchen counter, taunting me. “Bite me,” they said. “Eat me!” How rude. But they were so commanding, sometimes I just had to oblige to shut them up.

Finally, on the third day, my guy came home from work and I pointed maniacally, frizzed-out hair, shaking (sugar high) at the remaining cookies. “YOU NEED TO GET RID OF THOSE! I don’t care if you eat them all right now, in one sitting! I need them GONE!”

He kindly sat down and ate them all. Granted … there were only a couple left.

Yeah, you know you’ve stumbled across an amazing cookie recipe when you have zero self-control around them.

These cookies are thick, soft, and chewy – just what you want a chocolate chunk cookie to be. They’re not too sweet, except when you happen across a nice cool hunk of white chocolate, and when that happens at the same time as when you get a bit of salty macadamia nut, it’s pure cookie nirvana.

Next time I’m putting the container of cookies on the passenger seat of my guy’s car so there’s no way he can forget them.  Although … there may be a slight chance I “forget” to include a couple. Yeah, they’re evil, but what can I say? I like that.

Cookie Stockholm Syndrome. It’s totally a thing.

Here are some notes on shaping, with links to a couple of terrific bloggers who explain it perfectly.

I used the Cooks Illustrated shaping method that Michelle of Brown-Eyed Baker explains here (scroll down to right before the recipe). Essentially, you roll the dough for each cookie into a ball, tear that ball in half, and then smoosh it back together so that the torn halves are now at the top of the dough ball. I also shaped the ball so that it was more tall than wide – Sally of Sally’s Baking Addiction talks more about that here.

4.67 from 12 votes

Soft & Chewy White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Author: Kare

These cookies are thick, soft, and chewy - just what you want a chocolate chunk cookie to be. They're not too sweet, except when you happen across a nice cool hunk of white chocolate, and when that happens at the same time as when you get a bit of salty macadamia nut, it's pure cookie nirvana.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks (about 8 ounces, chopped)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer).
• Add the brown sugar and granulated (white) sugar and continue beating on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, continuing to beat each time until well-incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
• With the mixer on low speed, carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the white chocolate chunks and the macadamia nuts.
• Scoop a generous tablespoonful of the dough (I use <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/cookie-dough-scoop/s252908" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/cookie-dough-scoop/s252908">this cookie dough scoop</a>) and roll into a ball. Tear the ball in half, turn each half a quarter turn, and smoosh the dough back together with the torn side now at the top of the cookie. Gently shape so that the dough ball is taller than it is wide and place on cookie sheet about three inches apart.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, until edges of cookie begin to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes on cookie sheet so the cookie can set. Carefully move to wire rack to cool completely.
• Cookies stay fresh when kept in a sealed container at room temperature for 3 - 4 days, or can be frozen for up to two months.

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