White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

If you know me, you know that I really love baking cookies. I’m sure this isn’t something I need to admit, though, because my obsession is rather evident from the numerous cookie recipes I have posted to this site.

When I have somewhere to go, feel like sharing baked goods with friends, or just want to bake something for fun, I always look for a new cookie recipe and bake away.

What I’ve discovered as a newbie food blogger is that there are so many kinds of cookies out there that I’ve never seen or heard of before. Tuiles? Cowgirl cookies? World Peace cookies? These are all part of a world whose surface I’ve barely scratched.

There’s a cookie baking chain called Insomnia Cookies that opened a small store a few blocks away from my apartment (danger!). If you’re not familiar with their story, Insomnia was created by UPenn students who baked cookies for fellow classmates when they craved a late night snack, hence the name Insomnia Cookies. Now they have expanded to several universities throughout the country and, lucky for me, opened a shop in my neighborhood. A few weeks ago when we walked home from dinner we passed Insomnia and stopped in for some grub. The absolute best cookie they sold was the white chocolate macadamia nut.

Let’s back up. Until that point, I hadn’t ever tried a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to. I prefer my cookies to have chocolate or M&Ms inside, and macadamia nuts never appealed to me. But since my boyfriend is far more well versed with the finer college type indulgences than I am, he assured me I would love the cookie, and I did.

The version I’m sharing with you doesn’t taste quite like Insomnia’s did (probably because they lace their cookies with secret awesomeness), but it’s still wonderful. The cookies are chewy, textured and sweet with a hint of subtle saltiness to round out the flavors. And, of course, they please a crowd, which is always what you want when cookies are around.

And the cookie baking obsession continues…

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Add both sugars to the butter and beat very well, until completely incorporated. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat until just combined. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the white chocolate chips and the nuts.

4. Bake the cookies until just golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on racks.

Adapted from Bon Appetit