These white chocolate chip macadamia cookies are so delicious. My three year old was with his dad over the week, and although I felt guilty making these when he was gone, biting into one of these made me feel better.

Besides, these cookies store really well in a zip lock bag, so he ended up tasting a few anyways.

This recipe yielded a little more than a bakers dozen of cookies.

A collection of baking ingredients including white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, an egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, and melted butter, arranged on a table near a window.

I like to measure my dry ingredients with a kitchen scale for the most accuracy. I browned the butter prior to making the cookies. The nuttiness of the brown butter really pairs well with the macadamia nuts.

Baking tray with cookie dough balls on parchment paper, accompanied by a mixing bowl and a small plant in the background.

A tray of freshly baked cookies lined with parchment paper, beside a stainless steel mixing bowl and a potted plant, against a textured gray background.

Letting these cookies chill in the refrigerator for thirty minutes before putting them into the oven helped to keep that thickness in the middle.

It also helps especially with this recipe by preventing the white chocolate chips from spreading too quickly in the oven.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 12

Total Time 57

Servings 14 cookies

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

These brown butter white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are rich, chewy, and bakery-style, with crisp edges and soft centers.

Ingredients

½ cup 113 g brown butter, melted and cooled until warm
¾ cup 150 g brown sugar
¼ cup 50 g granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1¾ cups 220 g all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup white chocolate chunks or chips
¾ cup macadamia nuts roughly chopped

Instructions

Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it turns deeply golden with toasted brown bits and smells nutty. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and let cool until warm, not hot.
Whisk the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth and glossy.
Whisk in the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until fully combined and slightly thickened.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no flour streaks remain.
Gently fold in the white chocolate chunks and chopped macadamia nuts.
Cover and chill the dough for 30–60 minutes to improve texture and prevent spreading.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto a lined baking sheet, spacing them apart.
Bake for 11–13 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centers look slightly underbaked.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.