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These thick and chewy gluten free white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are made with buttery nut pieces toasted until just golden brown.
What makes these cookies special
The buttery goodness of macadamia nuts is paired with the sweet richness of white chocolate in a toothsome thick and chewy cookie. Even if you're not a lover of white chocolate, this is its highest and best use.
Every time I see a cookie like this, with something chunky mixed in, and the chunks of sweet chips and crunchy nuts are bleeding right out of a too-thin cookie, I cringe. Save the thin & chewy or thin & crispy cookies for the small bits and pieces, please!
With the right balance of ingredients, each at the proper temperature, and prepared with the right method, we are rewarded with the perfect gluten free white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. They're thick and chewy cookies that are lightly golden brown all over, and only crunchy around the edges.
Let's talk about macadamia nuts
Macadamia nuts are definitely not cheap, so I buy them infrequently—and always in pieces. I never use them whole, and buying them in pieces means that whoever sells them to me can sell me the already-broken ones, so they cost a bit less.
Like most nuts, you can buy them raw, roasted or unroasted, coated or uncoated, salted or plain. I always buy my nuts raw and plain.
I like to toast the raw nut pieces in a low (300°F/150°C) oven for about 10 minutes total (5 minutes-stir-5 minutes more). It intensifies their natural buttery flavor and gives them a bit of crunch on the outside.
Toasted raw macadamia nuts mimic the overall flavor and texture of a good buttery thick and chewy cookie like this one. The slightly crisp outside gives way to a tender inside. Flavor x flavor = ?
Let's talk about white chocolate
It's rare to find someone whose favorite chocolate is white chocolate. Much white chocolate is of poor quality and leads with sweetness.
The richness of cacao butter, which is at the essence of its chocolate flavor, can be overpowered by excessive sugar in sub-par white chocolate. There are quality brands of white chocolate, and when I chop it myself from bars, I like to use Ghirardelli brand.
In white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, though, it's not essential to use the Very Best White Chocolate, though. Any form of chocolate chip or disk will contain stabilizers that help prevent melting—and we want our white chocolate pieces to hold their shape during baking.
Even if you're not a lover of white chocolate, in general, it really does belong in white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. It just pairs so well with toasted macadamia nuts and the thick and chewy texture of the cookies.
The reverse cream method of making thick and chewy cookies
The method described in many baking recipes calls for “creaming” the butter first, before adding the other ingredients like sugar and eggs. Dry ingredients are added last.
That method is essential for certain recipes, like a fluffy gluten free vanilla cake with a nice, open crumb. In my cookie recipes, I rarely call for creaming the butter first, especially when the recipe is for a thick and chewy cookie.
When you cream butter, you introduce quite a bit of air into the dough or batter. That's why the butter lightens in color once it's creamed.
I don't want a lot of air in thick and chewy cookies. I want a crisp outside and chewy inside. So I use what's called a “reverse cream,” where (usually room temperature) butter is added to the already-combined dry ingredients and everything is mixed in reverse order.
Reverse creaming also has the added benefit of being simpler. It also calls for less equipment and fewer dirty dishes. Those are happy accidents. :)
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy
In place of butter, try using vegan butter. I really like Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen brands. I do not recommend using Earth Balance, since it has too much moisture.
If you can't find dairy-free white chocolate chips or chunks, you could always make your own vegan white chocolate and chop it into large chunks before using it here. Or you could use a different type of chocolate chip that is reliably dairy-free.
Eggs
There are two eggs in this recipe. You can try using a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel) for each one.
Nuts
If you can't have nuts, then you're probably better off with our standard thick and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies. If you'd like something similar to this cookie, try white chocolate chips in place of the regular chips.
Gluten Free Macadamia Nut Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 ounces raw macadamia nut pieces
- 2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info
- 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 7 ounces white chocolate chunks, chips or pieces
Instructions
- First, toast the nuts. Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper, and place the macadamia nut pieces on it in an even layer. If your macadamia nuts are whole, roughly chop them first. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and toast the nuts for 5 minutes, shake the pan to redistribute the nuts, and then toast them again for another 5 minutes or just until they begin to become lightly golden brown and are fragrant. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set the nuts aside to cool. Raise the oven temperature to 325°F.
- Make the dough. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, granulated sugar and light brown sugar, and whisk to combine well, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix well to combine. The dough will be thick, and is best mixed using the back of a large mixing spoon, and kneading the dough together with clean hands as necessary. Do not add any water. Once the macadamia nuts are cool to the touch, add them and the white chocolate to the cookie dough, and mix until the pieces are evenly distributed throughout.
- Shape & bake the cookies. Line a new rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper, and drop 2-tablespoonsful pieces of dough on the baking sheet. In between clean palms, roll each piece of dough into a ball, then press into a disk about 1/2-inch thick. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet, and place it in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set in the center, very lightly golden brown all over, and golden brown on the edges. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Originally published on the blog in 2012. Photos, video, and most text new. Recipe clarified but otherwise unchanged.
Video
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are so, SO, good! I like my gf cookies as fresh as possible and it worked great to pre-shape the dough and refrigerate for a few days—that way, I could have fresh cookies TWICE!
I gave it a 4 stars only because it’s way toooo sweet.
These cookies are so delicious and I’ll be making them again! I did have to add a few tablespoons of evaporated milk to help them form better. I made them with my ice cream scooper and they were crispy on the outside and soft in the center. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
If you needed additional moisture, Lorrie, I’d take a look at your all purpose gluten free flour blend. If you use one of my recommended blends, that isn’t necessary.
Hi! Have you tried freezing the batter?
I haven’t, no, but you should be able to prepare it, shape it and then freeze, but let it come to cool room temperature before baking. It would be quicker and easier to bake, cool and freeze, though.
hi there,
i’m thrilled to try this recipe! this cookie is a family favorite from my childhood. <3
have you tried freezing these *after* they’re baked?
thanks so much for your commitment to and sharing with the GF community.
Hi, Lena, yes they freeze very well after baking!
these cookies are PERFECT.
thank you so much for responding incredibly promptly during the height of holiday season!
for DAIRY FREE readers: i used Country Crock dairy free unsalted sticks. and… on a complete whim because i happened to have some in the pantry, i subbed 20 of the 112 grams of butter for Spectrum organic vegetable shortening.
and used Enjoy Life white chocolate chips.
10/10 would do this exact thing again (and again!)
long story is that in my teens, i used to make this flavor of cookie for my grandmother. her deal with me was that she would buy the expensive macadamias, if i would bake the cookies (clever coaching ;) fast forward to now in my 40s, my grandmother lives with me and she is 99-years-old. i haven’t made these since my teens and having gone gluten free about 20 years ago, but lo and behold, she and i got to share these special treasures once more!
thank you truly, Nicole. ✨
I planto make these,but am wondering if I could use coconut sugar and brown sugar/Stevia blend
sugar in place of the regular sugars given in recipe. thanks Dianne Lasky
Hi, Dianne, you can try, but it will definitely alter the result as sugar locks in moisture, and sugar alternatives tend to be drying.
I also made this with Bob Mills and they were a huge hit. I want use only almond flour next time. What adjustments should I make?
Hi, Ken, you can’t make this recipe with almond flour. It isn’t an all purpose gluten free flour blend, which is what this recipe is developed for. That would require an entirely different recipe.
My first gluten free cookie recipe to make, and they were delicious! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 (blue bag). I have a hard time finding GF macadamia nuts though so savoring these cookies! Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the cookies, Tina! I buy gf macadamia nuts at Trader Joe’s and online at Amazon.com, if that helps.
I love your recipes! These cookies turned out wonderful, it was nice to not have to chill them. I always use Bob’s 1 to 1, but I weigh the flour and your recipes always turn out great! Maybe they grind their rice flour more now, it’s not gritty to me and no everyone is always surprised that they’re gluten free.
I suspect you’re right about Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free blend, Mikaela! I’ve been testing it recently because I noticed that I’d been getting a lot fewer upset comments on emails only to discover that the reader was using Bob’s flour blend. I have been pretty successful using it, too. I do find, though, that it doesn’t need anything added for cookies (either drop or rolled and cut out), but it does need more xanthan gum for muffins and cake (about 1/4 teaspoon more xanthan gum per cup of flour) and even more for yeast bread (about another 1/2 teaspoon more xanthan gum per cup of flour). I hope that’s helpful—and I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
I’m going to make these for my wife. Is it 2 tsp or 2 Tbsp? They look bigger in the video. Thanks
Hi, Mr. Griz, you’re right! I’ve made that correction in the recipe. Thank you so much for pointing out my error.