Brown Butter White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

White chocolate macadamia nut cookies made with brown butter for that extra warm, nutty taste. These are crispy around the edges but soft and chewy in the middle - just like a cookie should be! Coconut is one of my secret weapons for making these cookies even better!

 

 

The macadamia nuts add a nice extra crunch and texture to the otherwise chewy cookie and the brown butter adds to the spicy nuttiness in a whole new level. The white chocolate is a nice sweetness, especially delicious when the cookies are still warm and the chocolate is melted!

 

White chocolate macadamia nut cookies are popular for a reason, but I honestly think these are made even better due to the yummy brown butter.

 

Melted butter is soo good, but brown butter is SO good. It's just melted butter that has cooked for a longer time so it smells and tastes more. Ever since I learned how to brown butter, it was hard to go back.

 

If you love brown butter as well, I can highly recommend these brown butter pumpkin rolls, spiced buttercream and even pumpkin sage soup and wild mushroom ravioli!

 

 

Ingredients

 

Ingredients in these cookies are just basic ingredients that we all should already have in our pantry. 

 

• Granulated sugar - adds to the crispness of the cookies (in addition to the obvious flavor!)
• Brown sugar - adds to the chewiness of the cookies (in addition to a more spiced flavor profile)
• Butter - which is browned for impeccable flavor and fat is required for the texture and spread of the cookies
• Eggs - provides fat, helps bind, thicken and emulsify, it's like magic!
• Vanilla extract - vanilla extract works with pretty much everything, but extra delicious with spiced dishes.
• All-purpose flour - flour holds the cookies together, while providing chewy texture and a delicious crumb
• Shredded coconut - just a hint of coconut flavor makes these cookies a little extra special!
• Baking soda and baking powder - leavening agents to help give rise to the cookies
• Salt - to enhance flavor
• White chocolate chips - the perfect pairing with macadamia nuts!
• Macadamia nuts - yummy flavor and crunchy texture

 

 

A combination of white and brown sugar is best for the perfect chewy cookie with crisp exterior. But sugar also holds the moisture of the other ingredients in the recipe, which helps preventing the cookies from drying out. 

 

Things to consider when making cookies

 

I think it is important that cookies are easy to make, but there is especially one thing that is important when making cookies and that is that the dough usually needs to be chilled before baking.

 

This is because the butter needs to solidify so it takes longer time for it to melt in the oven. If it melts too quickly, your cookies will turn flat.

 

If you beat your eggs too much, the cookies can also turn out flat. You whip in too much air into the dough and it collapses once the cookies hit the oven. 

 

Always use room temperature ingredients if not otherwise stated. You should ideally use softened butter in a cookie recipe, but for these babies I couldn't resist to melt it so I could have brown butter. Just make sure you let it cool for at least 5 minutes before creaming it with the sugar.

 

Melted butter also gives more chew to the cookies, just look at these!

 

 

How to store, freeze and re-heat cookies

 

Cookies are PERFECT for make-ahead. They are of course best freshly baked, but you can leave them in a cookie jar/box for about 4 days and they will still be good.

 

But I mean perfect for make-ahead because you can actually have freshly baked cookies in less than 30 minutes if you just make them right.

 

There's no problem in freezing baked cookies, you can thaw them on the counter or re-heat them for a couple of minutes in a 325F (150C) oven.

 

However, the real kicker is freezing unbaked cookies! Make the cookie dough, let it chill for 2 hours as usual, then shape them as little golf balls and place on a baking sheet. Now add these golf balls to the freezer and freeze on the sheet for a couple of hours or until solid. 

 

Now you can put these frozen cookie balls in a zip-lock bag (remember to write the name and date on it!) and call it a day.

 

 

To bake them, add the frozen cookie balls to a parchment lined baking sheet, with ample space between them. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 fahrenheit (175 celcius). When the oven is hot enough, bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges.

 

So it's simply just to take out the cookie balls from the freezer and let them sit on the counter while you pre-heat the oven, and then add just a couple of extra minutes on the original bake time. Easy peasy and you can have cookies for any surprise visit or surprise craving! 

 

How to make them

 

First gather your ingredients and melt butter until browned (1). In a light bottomed saucepan (to see the browning), melt pieces of butter and let it simmer for about 7-10 minutes or until it smells nutty. Set aside to cool, make sure to bring the tasty brown bits with you.

 

Meanwhile, add shredded coconut to your food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds or until finely ground. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients together: flour, prepared coconut, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

 

 

In a large bowl, add the browned butter and both sugars, and mix the mixture until light and fluffy with a mixer, about 2-3 minutes (this is known as creaming the sugar and butter) (2-3). 

 

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix in between each addition (4). Add vanilla extract and then add in the dry ingredients (5-6). It's important to not over-mix when you add the dry ingredients. It's enough to mix just until the flour has incorporated into the wet ingredients.

 

 

Fold in chopped white chocolate and macadamia nuts (7). Let this mixture chill in the refrigerator for 2+ hours (up to 48 if you like). 

 

When it has chilled, pre-heat oven to 350F (175C) and shape the dough into small golf balls, about 1 tablespoon in size each. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet with ample space between (max 9 on one sheet, preferably 8) (8). Bake for 10 minutes or until golden around the edges. 

 

Enjoy these delicious white chocolate macadamia nut cookies with a glass of milk (or eggnog for Christmas!), a pumpkin spice latte or just plain tea! 

 

 

Did you like this recipe? Here are more cookies I think you will like:

 

• Chocolate crinkle cookies
• Eggnog cookies with maple frosting
• Peppermint white chocolate sugar cookies
• Norwegian Christmas men cookies (like fluffy sugar cookies!)
• Norwegian gingerbread cookies
• Pumpkin snickerdoodles or banana snickerdoodles
• Salted caramel-filled coffee cookies

 

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