Macadamia Nut Cookies

5 from 2 votes

Macadamia Nut Cookies

Loaded with macadamias, chocolate, and cranberries, these Macadamia Nut Cookies filled with cream cheese are the perfect cookie jar recipe.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Cookies, Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: macadamia nut cookies

Servings: cookies

Author: Katerina Petrovska

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup melted unsalted butter
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 egg yolk at room temperature
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated piloncillo or any unprocessed cane sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup toasted shredded coconut
½ cup roughly chopped white chocolate chips
2 teaspoons lemon zest
¾ cup roughly chopped salted macadamia nuts
¾ cup dried cranberries
8 tablespoons cream cheese softened

Instructions

Prep. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk the melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and yolk in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
Mix in the dry ingredients. Mix the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar into the wet ingredients until smooth. Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, ground ginger, salt, and baking soda. Stir them into the mixture until you form a relatively moist dough.
Fold in the remaining ingredients. Add the toasted coconut, white chocolate chunks, lemon zest, macadamias, and cranberries. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold them into the dough.
Shape the cookies. Grab 2 tablespoons of dough and quickly roll it into a ball. Use your hands to flatten it slightly into a thick disk, then lightly press your thumb down the middle. Fill the cavity with 1/2 tablespoon of cream cheese. Add another tablespoon of dough on top and press it down and around the sides to seal the cream cheese inside. Gently re-roll it into a ball. Set it aside and repeat for all the dough.
Bake. Arrange 6 to 8 balls of cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet, with 3 to 4-inches space between them. Press them down lightly. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. For best results, cookies should be baked on the center oven rack for even heating and air circulation.
Cool and serve. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Eggs: When baking, it is important to work with ingredients that are at room temperature. Cold eggs, for instance, can result in lumpy batter, a heavy texture, and require longer baking times.
Piloncillo: This is unprocessed cane sugar, but you can substitute it for dark or light brown sugar.
Use the middle rack: Bake only using the middle rack because the bottom and top racks have an uneven heat distribution.
Let the cookies rest: Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Change the filling: You can also stuff the cookies with peanut butter, almond butter, or Nutella instead of cream cheese.
Use regular chocolate: Milk, bittersweet, and dark chocolate chips are suitable substitutes for the white chocolate in this recipe.
To Freeze The Dough: Place the balls of raw dough on a parchment-lined baking tray. Freeze them for 1 to 2 hours, or until solid, and then transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze them for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, set them on the baking tray for 1 hour and then bake as usual.
To Freeze Baked Cookies: Arrange the cookies in a parchment-lined baking tray and freeze them for 1 hour. Place them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Set them on the counter until fully thawed when you're ready to eat them.

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