White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
These vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies have a delightfully chewy and buttery base packed with rich white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts. They’re just decadent enough and perfect for a cookie platter!
Baking with macadamia nuts always feels special because, well, they’re expensive! They’re not an everyday nut like almonds or peanuts, which means they’re worth taking some time to savor. These vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are soft and buttery, sweet, and nutty all at the same time, and definitely worth the splurge. Oh my goodness, are they good!
Why These White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies Are So Good
- Soft, chewy, and buttery cookie base. One thing that’s often lacking in vegan baked goods is buttery flavor, but this recipe has it in spades! It starts with a stick of vegan butter, then you get even more butteriness from the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
- Heaps of white chocolate. While you could use dark chocolate chips, I highly recommend classic white chocolate in this recipe. The creamy flavor pairs so well with macadamia nuts.
- 100% vegan, with a gluten-free option. These cookies are a chewy, decadent treat, and when you make them to share, no one will guess that they’re vegan!
Notes on Ingredients
Please note that this is important information on the ingredients and instructions, and the FULL recipe with amounts and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
- Vegan butter – Let the butter come to room temperature before you start the recipe.
- White sugar – Alternatively, you can use light brown sugar.
- Vegan milk – You can use any variety you have on hand (oat, almond, cashew, soy milk, etc.). Like the butter, the milk should also be at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Almond extract would taste delicious here, too.
- Flour – You can make these macadamia nut cookies with gluten-free flour if needed, see below.l
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch creates a softer, chewier texture and helps prevent the cookies from overspreading while they bake.
- Baking soda and salt – Make sure your baking soda is fresh. If it’s past its expiration date, you’ll need to buy new leavening.
- Vegan white chocolate chips – I love the ones from Pascha Chocolate.
- Raw macadamia nuts – Roasted is also an option, but I prefer the creaminess of raw macadamias.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, I recommend swapping a cup-for-cup all-purpose baking flour substitute for the wheat flour if you want to make gluten-free white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Bob’s Red Mill is my favorite gluten-free flour brand.
To quickly chop macadamias, place the nuts in a food processor and give them a few pulses. Or, dump them out on a cutting board and coarsely chop them using a sharp chef’s knife. It’s okay if the pieces are not uniform in size, as it adds to the texture of the cookies.
How to Make Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
These macadamia cookies are super easy to make. You’ll need to account for the 2-hour chilling time when planning your baking. Don’t skip this step, either, or your cookies will spread! Let’s get started.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Cream the vegan butter and sugar for 3 minutes in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or using a whisk. Pour in the vegan milk and vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds more.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix gently until combined, which should take about a minute. Fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts, then place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours.
- Form the cookies. Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Place the scoops of dough 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake and cool. Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 11 to 12 minutes, then remove them from the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Make Them in the Air Fryer
You can “bake” these vegan white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies in your air fryer. Prepare and shape the cookies as written. Air fry at 325ºF for 7 minutes. Afterward, let the cookies rest inside the closed air fryer for 3 minutes, followed by another 5 minutes on the tray before moving them to a wire rack. Cook in batches, and leave the raw cookie dough in the fridge so it stays cold until it’s time to bake.
Cookie Baking Tips & Variations
- Don’t skip chilling the dough. When you’re craving cookies, the last thing you want to do is wait—I get it! But chilling the dough is an essential step to keep the cookies from spreading in the oven, which means maximum chewiness.
- Knowing when the cookies are done. When the edges are just beginning to brown, the cookies are done, even if the tops aren’t completely firm. The cookies will continue to bake from the residual heat on the baking sheet after you pull them out of the oven.
- About the macadamia nuts. I use raw macadamia nuts for this recipe, but you can use salted dry-roasted macadamia nuts instead for extra crunch and a sweet-salty contrast.
- Swap the nuts. If macadamia nuts aren’t available, substitute pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds instead.
Make Ice Cream Sandwiches!
Why not go all out, right? Pair these cookies with my vegan mango ice cream or vegan vanilla ice cream to make white chocolate macadamia cookie sandwiches. To make them, place a scoop of ice cream on one cookie, flat-side up. Place a second cookie on top of the ice cream, flat-side down, and press them together gently just until the ice cream reaches the edges.
You can roll the sides in toasted coconut, extra chopped macadamia nuts, or white chocolate chips. Wrap the ice cream sandwiches in plastic wrap and freeze until the ice cream is firm.
How to Store
- Store airtight. Place the cookies in an airtight storage container and store them at room temperature for up to a week.
- Freeze. You can freeze these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Vegan Cookies Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make these vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter, 1 stick or 112g, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup organic white sugar or any sugar, 200g
- 3 tablespoons vegan milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups flour, sifted (210g)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup vegan white chocolate chips
- ½ cup raw macadamia nuts, chopped
Instructions
- Cream together the vegan butter and sugar for 3 minutes. You can also use a whisk. Add in the vegan milk & vanilla extract and mix again for 30 seconds.
- In a bowl mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and sea salt. Add that into the wet ingredients. Mix gently until fully combined (about 1 minutes). Fold in the white chocolate chips and nuts and mix until just combined. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Scoop out the cookies as 1 heaping tablespoon each. Allow 3 inches for each cookie. Keep the dough cold while doing this (don’t let it thaw too much).
- Bake at 350°F/180°C for 11-12 minutes. Remove immediately from the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes (don’t skip this part) then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I made these yesterday. They were amazing and a huge hit at the party I went to. I’m saving this recipe forever. Thank you! I might have made smaller cookies, but I got 30ish. Not gonna lie, I ate three before I left the house.
Just a word, in case this happens to anyone else. At first, the dough was extremely dry. Like, maybe the butter wasn’t soft enough to really cream. When it came together, it was not as soft and runny as the on in Jessica’s amazing video (on instagram). But don’t panic. As long as the dough sticks together, the cookies ended up coming out just great! Also, I only left them in the fridge for one hour and they didn’t loose shape at all (though maybe that was b/c of my dough’s consistency). Anyway, fantastic! Thanks!
Thanks so much for your extremely helpful review Rebekah!
These cookies are so delicious! I just made them for my fiancé’s birthday and he loves them! My dough was too dry to combine the white chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts, and they would not fold in, so I added another tablespoon of oat milk and that sort of helped. After chilling the dough, I formed it into balls and placed them on a cookie sheet to make 21 cookies. Overall, this recipe is great and easy to follow. I just need to figure out why my sugar and butter mixture did not come out the same way, but the cookies taste amazing! I will be making these again and again!
Thanks so much for your review Jessica! We’re so happy that you like it.
These cookies are delicious! They turned out a little thinner than I was anticipating, but they had a great texture and flavor. I added craisins and it was super tasty!
Thank you so much were happy that you’re satisfied Elysse.
Thank you for the recipe, I am trying it soon.
I have a question regarding freezing the cookies as dough balls. Do you think it is possible? I want to freeze the shaped cookies as dough balls, then after a while thaw them to room temperature and bake as usual.
Do you think they will spread as if I baked them “fresh” and after chilling in the fridge? Thank you
Hi Toner thanks so much for reading. We haven’t tested this but it should work. I hope this helps.
No rating yet, I’m just making them but wanted to point out for anyone who prints this recipe and changes the “servings” amount that the grams measurement does NOT change, only the cups measure does.
Hi! I want to make these, but don’t have cornstarch. Will they work without it, or do I need to get some?
Hi Maud! The cornstarch actually acts as a thickening agent it’s very necessary. I hope this helps.
These turned out amazing! I halved the recipe and made 13 cookies with a tablespoon sized scooper. I used coconut sugar and potato starch, froze the dough for 30 minutes, then baked for 9 minutes and left cooling on the parchment lined baking pan until ready to eat. They were perfectly done and very ooowey gooowy delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Happy holidays!
Hi Cindy! Thanks so much for reading. We’re so happy that you enjoyed them. Happy holidays to you too!
I followed the recipe exactly and my husband said these are the best cookies I’ve ever made
Wow so happy to hear that Hilah!! Thanks so much for sharing with me!
These cookies were fantastic, I will be making them again.
Hi Meagan,
Thank you for sharing. These are a personal favorite and I am thrilled to hear that you loved making them as well!