White Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Cookies

White Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Cookies - first made November 2, 2005

Thought I'd continue the trend of blogging about the cookies where I don't mind if it's got nuts in them. Most of them are because the nuts are a crucial part of contributing to the cookie itself, not that you're just randomly adding nuts to cookie dough. For instance, it's hard to make White Chocolate Macadamia cookies without - well - macadamia nuts.

I love these cookies. White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies are fairly common. I like these because of the addition of coconut as well. They don't spread too much, the edges are crisp when the cookies are newly baked and cooled and the middles are soft and chewy. This recipe is from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. I typically will make the cookie dough first, portion it into dough balls and freeze the cookies. Then I'll bake the frozen cookie dough balls when I need fresh-baked cookies. As always, toast the nuts first. You can use white chocolate chips if you're in a rush but I like to buy a block of white chocolate (Trader Joe's has them at reasonable prices) and chop them into chunks. I never used to like white chocolate at all but I've found recipes I like that use them so I've learned to like it, especially paired with macadamia nuts or offsetting a dark chocolate brownie batter.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, the milk and vanilla extract and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and beat thoroughly. Stir in the white chocolate, the coconut and the nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.
4. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.