If you love cookies with a lot going on in every bite, this one is for you. These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies have a soft, tender bake and centers that stay chewy. Creamy white chocolate and crunchy chopped nuts fill the dough from edge to edge.
The method is simple. You whisk melted butter and sugars into a quick dough, stir in the chips and nuts, and let the dough rest in the fridge. After that, you scoop and bake. With a 4.7-star rating from 239 reviews, it’s a recipe many bakers keep coming back to.
The one thing you need is a little patience. The dough has to chill for at least 2 hours, so mix it in the afternoon and bake once it’s ready. The wait is what helps these cookies come out thick and chewy.
Recipe Card
- Prep time: 2 hours 15 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook time: 12 minutes (the instructions say 12 to 13 minutes)
- Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Storage: up to 1 week at room temperature
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
Before You Start
A few small steps will make this go smoothly.
Melt the butter early. It should be melted and then cooled a little. That way it won’t be hot when it meets the eggs.
Set out the eggs. Both the whole egg and the yolk should be at room temperature.
Measure the flour with care. The ingredient list says the flour should be spooned and leveled. Spoon it into your measuring cup and scrape the top flat instead of scooping from the bag.
Chop the nuts. Roughly chop the macadamia nuts so every cookie gets some.
How to Make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Part 1: Make the Dough
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the egg, the egg yolk, and the vanilla. Keep whisking until everything is smooth and combined.
- Combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a silicone spatula until no dry flour remains.
- Add the chunks. Fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. If the dough feels too thick to stir, you can use a mixer for this step.
Part 2: Chill
- Refrigerate. Cover the dough and chill it for at least 2 hours. It can stay in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Let it warm up if needed. If the dough chilled for more than 2 hours, take it out and leave it at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before baking. By then it will have firmed up a lot, and it needs this time to become workable.
Part 3: Shape and Bake
- Heat the oven and prep the pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Portion the dough. Roll the dough into balls, using about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons for each cookie. A medium cookie scoop makes this quick and keeps the cookies the same size.
- Arrange on the pans. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. The cookies are ready when the sides are lightly browned. The centers will still look soft, and that’s what you want.
- Cool. Take the cookies out of the oven and let them rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips and Variations
Don’t skip the chill. The recipe stresses that the dough must rest for at least 2 hours, so plan around it.
Give older dough a rest. Dough that’s been in the fridge for longer than 2 hours gets quite hard. Let it sit out for 20 to 30 minutes before you roll it.
Make it ahead. The dough keeps for up to 4 days, so you can mix it early in the week and bake later.
Pull them while the centers look soft. The recipe says the centers will look soft when the cookies are ready. They’ll finish setting as they cool on the pan.
Space them out. Keep 3 inches between dough balls so they have room to spread.
Use a mixer if you need to. Stirring in the chips and nuts by hand works, but a mixer is fine if the dough is stiff.
Choose your sugar. The recipe allows either light or dark brown sugar, so use what you have.
Serving Suggestions
The recipe doesn’t list specific pairings. Let the cookies cool completely on the wire rack, then serve them as they are. They stay fresh when covered at room temperature for up to 1 week, so they’re easy to bring to a gathering or keep on the counter for snacking.
You might like: Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe: Easy, Buttery, and No Chilling Required
Final Thoughts
These cookies are worth the short wait. The dough is quick to stir together, and chilling it gives you a thick, soft cookie packed with white chocolate and nuts. Mix a batch ahead of time, bake it when you’re ready, and enjoy it fresh.
If you try this recipe, leave a comment and tell me how your cookies turned out. I’d love to know if you chilled the dough for 2 hours or let it rest longer.