I had a trip to Cluj planned, and since I couldn’t possibly show up empty-handed (God forbid! 😄), I had to think of something good to bring along.
And since I needed a dessert anyway, I thought I might as well take the opportunity to try something new. I just needed a few taste testers, right? 😁
And that’s how these brown butter white chocolate macadamia cookies came about.
These cookies are soft, dense, and slightly chewy, with lightly crisp edges and a rich, indulgent center packed with chunks of white chocolate and macadamia nuts. The macadamia nuts work especially well with the texture of these cookies because they aren’t hard or overly crunchy. They’re naturally buttery and delicate, so they add just the right amount of texture without contrasting too much with the soft cookie center.
Why You’ll Love These Brown Butter White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
First of all, it’s all about the combination of textures.
The edges become lightly crisp while the center stays soft and chewy. The macadamia nuts add a gentle crunch, while the chunks of white chocolate melt into the dough, creating little pockets of creamy sweetness.
And there’s one more thing: the brown butter really makes a difference.
If you’ve made cookies with melted butter or softened butter before, you’ll notice the flavor is completely different here. Brown butter has a much deeper, more complex flavor, with delicious nutty notes that pair beautifully with the macadamia nuts.
Helpful Tips for Brown Butter White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Don’t rush the brown butter. Keep the heat at medium and watch it closely towards the end. Once it turns golden brown and starts to smell nutty, it’s ready. If it gets very dark and smells burnt, it has gone too far.
Let the brown butter cool slightly. It doesn’t need to be completely cold, but it shouldn’t be hot when you add it to the eggs.
Toast the macadamia nuts first. A few minutes in the oven will intensify their flavor and make them even more delicious in the cookies.
Don’t overmix the dough once you add the flour. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. For the soft, dense texture we’re after, there’s no need to develop too much gluten.
Don’t skip chilling the dough. This is one of the steps that contributes to the final texture and also makes the dough much easier to portion. The dough needs time to cool and hydrate, which results in better-textured cookies. I chilled mine for a few hours, but you can just as easily prepare the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight.
In fact, I think this is the kind of cookie dough you can easily prepare ahead of time. The next day, all you have to do is shape the cookies and bake them.
Leave plenty of space between the cookies. These are the kind of cookies that go into the oven as perfect little dough balls and come out much bigger than you’d expect. 😄
So don’t overcrowd the baking sheet and make sure to leave plenty of room between them. The dough will spread quite a bit as it bakes.
Don’t overbake them. After about 8 minutes at 180°C (350°F), with the fan on, the cookies will still be soft when you take them out of the oven. And that’s exactly how they should be.
Don’t leave them in longer just because they don’t look fully baked yet. They will firm up as they cool, and overbaking them can take away that soft, dense texture that makes these cookies so good.
Shape them while they’re still hot. If you want perfectly round cookies, use a round cookie cutter or pastry ring immediately after taking them out of the oven. It’s one of those little tricks I use whenever I want cookies with neat, even edges.
Sea salt is more than just a garnish. It might seem like a small detail, but the salt balances the sweetness of the white chocolate beautifully and brings out the flavor of the brown butter. If you like that sweet-and-salty combination in desserts, I definitely wouldn’t skip it.
More Cookie Recipes
You can find a few more cookie recipes on the blog that are definitely worth trying:
Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Mango Ganache
Chocolate Brownie Cookies Recipe with Walnuts & Caramel
Brown Butter White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies Recipe
12
cookies20
minutes8
minutes380
kcalSoft and dense cookies made with brown butter, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate, with lightly crisp edges and a soft, chewy center.
Ingredients
100 g granulated sugar
100 g brown sugar
180 g butter, 82% fat
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
150 g macadamia nuts
180 g all-purpose flour
3 g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
A pinch of salt
120 g white chocolate
Directions
- Toast the macadamia nuts for 5–8 minutes in a preheated oven at 160°C (320°F). Let them cool, then roughly chop them with a knife.
- Brown the butter. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until melted. Continue cooking until it turns golden brown and develops a pleasant nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
- Mix the egg, egg yolk, and both types of sugar until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
- Add the slightly cooled brown butter and a pinch of salt, then mix until combined.
- Add the flour and baking soda and mix just until incorporated.
- Add the white chocolate and chopped macadamia nuts and fold them in with a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for a few hours or, ideally, overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), fan-assisted. Shape the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving plenty of space between them as the cookies will spread while baking.
- Bake for about 8 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are still soft.
- Immediately after baking, the cookies can be shaped using a round cookie cutter or pastry ring to give them a more uniform shape if they have spread too much.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.