White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

This cookie recipe is from a book I just bought called, "Chocolate Bar" by Matt Lewis and Alison Nelson. The same Matt Lewis from the well known Brooklyn bakery, Baked. He had a shop before Baked in Greenwich Village, called Chocolate Bar; a kind of candy store for grown ups. So I looked forward to trying out some of the recipes in the book and the first one I tried was this cookie.

White chocolate and macadamia nuts...what a great combination! This cookie is rich and buttery not just from the butter used in the recipe but also from those buttery tasting macadamia nuts. The white chocolate adds a slight sweetness and pairs so well with the nuts.

I got all my ingredients together and started making the dough when I realized the recipe says to chill the dough for at least 6 hours. Oh no! I don't want to wait that long. I needed to show you these tonight! So I just popped a few into the freezer for about 10 minutes, then baked them. Guess what...they still turned out great but I can't wait for tomorrow when I'm sure they'll be even better...if that's possible!

Cream the butter and both sugars in a mixing bowl til smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat til very fluffy.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and then add to the creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly til the batter is smooth.

Stir in the white chocolate chunks and the nuts and mix til just combined.

At this point you chill the dough.

After the dough has chilled, scoop out tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for12 to 15 minutes.

Once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet 8 to 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies ( from "Chocolate Bar" by Matt lewis and Alison Nelson) Recipe originally from Tammy Ogletree of CookieChick.

Makes 20 to 24 cookies.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cup AP flour

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

8 oz. macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped (salted or unsalted)

8 oz. white chocolate pieces (or chunk chocolate), coarsely chopped

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1. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugars til smooth.

3. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating til very fluffy.

4. Add in the flour mixture, mixing thoroughly til the batter is smooth.

5. Stir in the white chocolate chunks and nuts and mix til blended.

Chill the dough for at least 6 hours.

6. Once chilled, drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.