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If any cookie deserves to be described as heavenly, this is it!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are soft, chewy cookies perfectly sweetened with white chocolate chips and shredded coconut with bits of crunchy lightly salted macadamia nuts throughout.

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies stacked on top of each other to make a tower with white chocolate chips scattered around.

Pull these tasty gourmet cookies out of the oven when they have a soft and puffy center and lightly crisp edges.Then, let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and the texture becomes perfectly chewy and delectable!

One batch makes plenty enough for gifting. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are always a lovely surprise at parties and cookie swaps and make a delicious addition to gift bags or cookie trays for the holidays.

You say you’re a white chocolate fan? My White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn is sweet, salty, minty, crunchy, and totally addictive! Or, you may be interested in these White Chocolate Cranberry Scones or my Raspberry Scones with white chocolate drizzle.

ingredients for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies on a table: butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, flour, white chocolate chips, coconut, and macadamia nuts.

Key ingredients & substitutions for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

  • White chocolate chips — My favorite brand of white chocolate chips is Ghirardelli Classic White Premium Baking Chips. They have a delicious flavor and a velvety smooth texture.
  • Macadamia nuts — Use lightly salted macadamia nuts and chop them coarsely, leaving a few bigger chunks for crunch in the cookies. Roasted macadamias are particularly flavorful baked in these cookies.
  • Sugars — This recipe calls for an equal amount of granulated sugar and light brown sugar. I haven’t experimented with using just one or the other, so I can’t say what the results would be.
  • Coconut — Sweetened shredded coconut gives these cookies a tropical flair and added sweetness.
  • Dairy — With baked goods, it’s best to let your dairy ingredients come to room temperature before getting started. Pull the eggs and butter out of the refrigerator about an hour before starting. Cold eggs could result in tough cookies.
process steps for making white chocolate macadamia nut cookie dough: cream butter and sugars together; mix in egg; stir in nuts and white chocolate chips; drop onto cookie sheet.

How to make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies?

STEP 1 | Mix the cookie dough

Pay close attention to the directions and order of ingredients! The egg is added after creaming the butter with the sugars, and the vanilla is mixed in at the very end.

Also, don’t add all of the flour mixture at once or you’ll be cleaning it up off the counter! I recommend adding about half of the flour at a time and mixing on a low speed just until incorporated.

Last, use a heavy duty rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold in the white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and coconut. The dough will be stiff, so fold the dough over from the bottom of the bowl until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

STEP 3 | Bake and cool

Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are partially set — but still puffy in the middle — and the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

tips

  • I line my baking sheets with silicone baking mats — they’re reusable and can even be tossed in the dishwasher!
  • Using a cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the baking sheet ensures cookies bake up in a uniform size.
  • While the cookies are still warm, gently press more white chocolate chips on top for presentation if you like.

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies cooling on a wire rack.

Frequently asked questions

Can you freeze white chocolate macadamia nut cookies?

Absolutely! These cookies freeze very well before or after baking, so they’re a great option for getting some of your holiday baking done early.

To freeze baked cookies, allow to cool completely then seal tightly and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To freeze unbaked cookie dough, shape into balls first and store tightly sealed in the freezer for up to 3 months. When baking frozen cookie dough, allow an extra 4 to 5 minutes in the oven.

Why did my cookies spread out too much?

If the cookie dough gets too warm, cookies may tend to spread. Although this recipe doesn’t require chilling the dough before baking, cookies could spread too much if you overwork the dough or bake a second batch on a warm cookie sheet. It’s a good idea to place unbaked dough in the refrigerator between batches.

Also, don’t use margarine in place of the butter as it contains too much water and will throw off the balance of butter fat to flour.

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies stacked on a blue plate on a table.
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Behind the recipe: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Today is FREAKY FRIDAY, y’all! That may not mean a thing to you, but it’s pretty exciting for me. Freaky Friday is a fun blog project (the brainchild of Michaela from An Affair From the Heart). Today a group of food bloggers secretly bake a cookie recipe from another blog they were assigned, then reveal the recipes at the same time.

So… today’s delicious White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie recipe comes originally from Ellen, creator of Family Around the Table. Ellen is a freelance writer, recipe developer and former correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times where she wrote a regular TASTE section feature. 

Ellen loves to bake and has an entire section dedicated to her favorite Christmas cookie recipes! I can’t wait to try her Chewy Oatmeal Ginger Cookies and Peanut Butter Truffle Cookies next!

Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Holiday Cookie Exchange Recipes:

  1. An Affair from the Heart – Candy Cane Puppy Chow
  2. The Carefree Kitchen – Christmas Linzer Cookies
  3. Devour Dinner – Peppermint Meltaways
  4. Family Around the Table – Chocolate Overload Cookies
  5. The Foodie Affair – Easy Pecan Pie Crust Cookie Recipe
  6. Fresh April Flours – Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
  7. The Fresh Cooky – White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
  8. Hostess at Heart – Crumbl Cookie Recipe
  9. House of Nash Eats – Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
  10. Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog – Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
  11. Lemoine Family Kitchen – Lemon Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Jam
  12. Lemon Blossoms – Cranberry Orange Biscotti
  13. Life Currents – Chocolate Mint Rugelach
  14. Life, Love & Good Food – White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
  15. Soulfully Made – Polar Bear Paw Cookies
  16. The Speckled Palate – Saltine Cracker Toffee
  17. Sue Bee Homemaker – Jam Thumbprint Cookies
  18. Take Two Tapas – Sugar Cookie Truffles
white chocolate macadamia nut cookies stacked on top of each other to make a tower with white chocolate chips scattered around.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are soft, chewy cookies perfectly sweetened with white chocolate chips and shredded coconut.
4.90 from 19 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Cookies & Bars
Cuisine American
Servings 3 dozen
Calories 198 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup macadamia nuts coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter along with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Next, add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, mixing well after each addition.
  • Add about half of the flour to the dough and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the remaining flour and mix agin.
  • Using a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and coconut.
  • Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart.
  • Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned — don't over bake! Remove the cookies from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Original recipe by Family Around the Table
  • Using a cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the baking sheet ensures cookies bake up in a uniform size.
  • While the cookies are still warm, if you like gently press more white chocolate chips on top for presentation.
  • To freeze baked cookies, allow to cool completely then seal tightly and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • To freeze unbaked cookie dough, shape into balls first and store tightly sealed in the freezer for up to 3 months. When baking frozen cookie dough, allow an extra 4 to 5 minutes in the oven.
  • Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 198kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 84mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15g

    Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

    Keyword baking, cookie exchange, cookie tray, cookies, dessert, holidays, white chocolate
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was.
    Sheila Thigpen, blogger

    About Sheila Thigpen

    Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer

    Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.

    14 Comments

    1. 5 stars
      Yummm!!!
      Made these last night. Only change was unsweetened coconut (didn’t have sweetened), added a few more white chocolate chips to make up for the lack of sweetened coconut and they were perfect! Oh, I also only made ½ a batch and cutting the recipe in half worked out perfectly. My husband and I devoured the entire batch (minus two cookies to save for the morning with coffee). We just couldn’t stop eating them! Thanks for an awesome recipe!

    2. 5 stars
      Perfect recipe! I used white chocolate wafers and though I loooove coconut, I made them for a mixed crowd so I didn’t add it (how can anyone not love coconut???). Delicious.

    3. I love the idea of adding a little coconut to these cookies for extra texture! These are my mom’s favorite cookies so I will have to make a batch for her!

    4. I am loving the white chocolate -macadamia nut combo! What a great and simple cookie to add to my cookie tray this year.

    5. These are one of my favorite cookies! I love your recipe and how buttery and easy these are! Making these again tonight for my family 🙂

    6. These cookies were SO soft and delicious. I felt like I was back in Hawaii while eating them, which is always a great thing!

    7. Sheila – As always, gorgeous photography and yummy-looking cookies!! So happy that you are a part of our little group! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

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