Just the mention of white chocolate and macadamia nuts together takes my mind rushing back to the 80′s and the Mrs. Fields Cookie store in the corner of the mall where I worked at the time. I was fresh out of high school and working as a shoe salesman. Lunch was either going to be sushi (also from a little place in the same mall) or a bag of those cookies. It was a 50/50 proposition. If I smelled the cookies first, my willpower caved every time.
When my wife told me a friend at work who had just recovered from surgery had requested macadamia nut cookies those cravings came back. In spades. Not necessarily for the super-sweet cookies of my youth, but for something a little more subtle, more elegant, more adult.
My wife, as usual, delivered something amazing. Mrs. Seat of Her Pants is an excellent baker and these cookies reflect that. She switched out just one ingredient from a base recipe and transformed these cookies from simple and decadent to sublime with a hint of sophistication. Baking is an art, and she’s a master of that art.
These cookies are perfect with a cup of good, strong coffee and a few friends to share them with. They were a hit at the office and with my kids, who gobbled them up nearly before I got pictures of them. But really, can you blame them?
What sweets or treats do you associate with childhood? For me it’s plums from my Grandfather’s garden and a few choice treats made by my mom and my aunts, but everybody has something that makes them feel like a kid again. What dish iss that for you? We’d love to hear about it.
Recipe: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Summary: Adapted from a recipe at allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp rum extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
- 1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and rum extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 12-15
Number of servings (yield): 48
Culinary tradition: USA (General)
Calories: 122
Fat: 7.4
What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:
I think next time I’ll trade out half of the butter for shortening. These little guy were just a bit “cakey” for me. still great, but they didn’t spread out at all. Other than that, I have no complaints!
Links to other recipes like this:
- White Chocolate, Macadamia Nut and Coconut Cookies, from For the Love of Cooking
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, from Joy the Baker
- Reindeer Wrangler Cookies
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
These are my favorites. I always Mrs. Fields couldn’t be duplicated – you mean I can make these at home now?!? I guess I better just throw away the scale now and get out my fat pants…
Childhood dish would definitely be hot fudge sundaes. This was in pre-microwave days, so my dad would stick the jar of fudge in a pot of boiling water to heat. We had these every Saturday night for years. In the summer we’d go out to a place called Lockwood Castle (in Chicago). The sundaes were HUGE. They were so big that if you could eat the whole thing, you’d get it for free!
YUM!! Cookies are my weakness!!
Great recipe! One thing I added was using mango flavored Hawaii macadamia nuts for added fruity taste. Very good!