Monday, October 24, 2011

White Chocoalte Macadamia Cookies (Secret Recipe Club)


Once again my Secret Recipe Club assignment has introduced me to another delightful blogger.  Julie, of Julie's Eats and Treats, lives in West Central Minnesota and I feel a little bit of a connection with her as my Dad's family hails from Red Wing, MN, which I'm guessing is not all that far away.  With relatives still in Minneapolis I get occasional winter weather updates and with my San Diego-Sissy skin I'm always somewhat thrilled that I'm not knee deep in snow with wind chills below zero.

Perusing Julie's blog I didn't get far before I stumbled upon her White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies.  Loving of the buttery mac nuts like I do, my hunt for a recipe ended nearly before it began.  Now, that's not to say that there weren't many other recipes that I have tagged to try... just that I couldn't get past this one featuring my favorite Hawaiian nuts.

Remembering Debbie Fields introducing her little cookie shops I have fond memories of discovering how much I love these flavors together.  A job at a department store funded my college education, and I spent many a break popping into Debbie's stores where the cookie I usually purchased was the White Chocolate Macadamia (with the occasional Oatmeal Cookie on the side).

Since those college years I've been on a search for as many mac nut recipes as I can find and I simply couldn't pass this one up.  And... I'm really glad I didn't.  Not really on my pre-vacation diet, I probably shouldn't have made them, but I did cut the recipe in half so as not to overly temp myself with the sweet treats that disappeared from our cookie jar in a flash.

Being a little impatient I have to admit to not following the recipe as I should have and I performed that ever dreaded mistake of reaching for the baking powder in place of the baking soda.  Luckily catching my error before dumping the entire spoonful into the mix, I only dropped about 1/4 of a teaspoon into the dry ingredients.  However, I'm thinking that with the beautiful rise I got out of these guys it may not have been a bad idea.

Slightly crunchy on the outside and chewy inside, these cookies had me reminiscing of afternoons spent with Mrs. Field's.  Julie, truly a pleasure to meet you, I'm so glad you were my assignment!



White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients
3 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. macadamia nuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


2. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl and set aside. Mix butter with sugars in a different bowl. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until smooth and fluffy.


3. Add flour mixture and combine. Then add chips and nuts.


4. Drop onto greased cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. The tops might still look doughy but they will cook as they sit on the cookie sheet. Let sit on cookie sheets for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack and let cool.

Note:  I added about 1/4 tsp of baking powder by accident... my cookies did puff more than Julie's, and if that is appealing to you, then you just might want to make the same accident! 



35 comments:

  1. Oh, these are one of my favorite cookies! Great pick for the SRC :)

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  2. White chocolate macadamia is one of my favorites as well! These look nice and thick, just the way I like them. I too have made the mistake of reaching for baking powder instead of soda, but hey, it happens!

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  3. Im such a tool. I was send some macadamia nuts to sample and haven't used them. How is that possible? And every time I see these delicious little cookies I think, I should make those.... Im going to change that today! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. I am making some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies tonight - I might have to try this recipe instead of the one I was using. The cookies look great!

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  5. So glad to be in Group C with you, these cookies look fantastic! Great SRC post!! xoxo

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  6. White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies are one of my favorites! I really need to make them! I love how your cookies "puffed" up a little!

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  7. White chocolate and macadamia cookies are so good. Like you I would choose them and an oatmeal occasional. I like it so much that I make a white chocolate and macadamia oatmeal cookie. I like the puff...sometimes things happen for a reason...

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  8. I just bought 5 pounds of white chocolate, maybe I should use some of it for this :-)

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  9. White chocolate macadamia is one of my favorites as well - so good! These look great...its almost cruise time...SO excited!
    xoxo from Houston

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  10. These are one of my favorite cookies and yours look wonderful.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my SRC recipe this month: Thin Mint Irish Coffee.

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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  11. White chocolate macadamia nut is one of my favorites.

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  12. I love macadamia nuts. They are so buttery! :D

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  13. This is a winning combo for sure!

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  14. What a great combination. This would be terrific in a cookie exchange.

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  15. I think these are my favorite cookies. Great SRC post.

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  16. I think you picked a wonderful recipe! I love love love macadamia nut cookies!

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  17. I think the "puff" makes them look perfect. I am always looking for a great mac nut cookie! I can't wait to try this one!
    Stop by and check out my Andes Mint Brownie Bites!

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  18. Kim, these sound and look incredibly tasty..what a wonderful recipe, and they are just ready to be dunked in the cold milk:)) Nicely done!!!!

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  19. OOO! Macadamia nuts are the best and they go so well with white chocolate! It's the perfect match, great recipe :)

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  20. I am a new fan of white chocolate in cookies - these look great!

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  21. Great pick! This is one of the most popular cookies in Hawaii!

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  22. White choc and macadamias are the only things I would go to jail for! They are awesome and go so well together!
    Great SRC post...

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  23. Oh Kim! I absolutely love the combination of macadamia and white chocolate. your cookies look fabulous! xx

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  24. I love these cookies so much! I am getting so frustrated because I still cannot find macadamia nuts in my local stores but I want to make these so badly!

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  25. Sounds like the perfect cookie! I love white chocolate macadamia cookies but I hardly ever get them (and making them myself is a disaster waiting to happen.) Great secret recipe, they turned out beautifully! Buzzed

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  26. These look so tasty! I am currently on a southwest flight home at 40,000 feet and really hungry - just wish I had a few of your yummy cookies right now. Hope you are doing well.

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  27. Hi Kim! This is my favorite cookie. Yours look simply delicious. My local Trader Joe's only sell white chocolate during Christmas time, so I buy a few bags at that time to make these cookies. =)

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  28. Hello my friend from your favorite Hawaiian nut! (Get it?? Haha!)

    Macadamia nuts are my #1 but I rarely use them. You are really tempting me with these cookies! I could eat them as if they were chips. One right after another...

    I hope you are having a good week! I really do.

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  29. This flavor combo always makes me smile!

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  30. This was the very first time I learnt about these cookies, I mean the recipe. It was 1'O'clock at night, and I immediately took off to make them. They turned out lavishly sweet. Thank You so very much for this lovely recipe, I owe You a million thanks for this.

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