The Ultimate Healthy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Yields: 12 cookies
 
These cookies truly are the ultimate! They’re rich and buttery, just like traditional recipes, with lots of sweetness in the dough and from the white chocolate chips. Although the sprinkling of sea salt is optional, I highly recommend it! It adds a bright pop and really brings out the other flavors. Leftover cookies will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container—if they last that long!
  • 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 large egg white, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
  • 2 tbsp (28g) white chocolate chips, divided
  • 1 ½ tbsp (21g) chopped macadamia nuts, divided
  • optional: sea salt, for serving
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg white, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Reserve ½ tablespoon of both the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Stir in the rest of each. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  3. Drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a spoon and a spatula. Slightly flatten using a spatula. (The cookies should spread some but not a lot!) Gently press the remaining white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Optional: Sprinkle with sea salt shortly after removing the cookies from the oven.
Notes: It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your cookies turn out dry and cakey, instead of soft and chewy.

Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

For the gluten-free option, I recommend the following: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.

The cornstarch helps keep the cookies soft and chewy. You may omit it, but the cookies won’t have quite the same texture.

Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.

These are the white chocolate chips that I used. You can also substitute chopped white chocolate. For the best results, make sure your chopped macadamia nuts are no larger than the size of your white chocolate chips.

You can easily add more white chocolate chips or macadamia nuts if you prefer.

I absolutely love sprinkling these cookies with sea salt! It makes a huge difference and really makes the flavors pop. I highly recommend it!

This recipe is easily doubled! The baked cookies also freeze well.

For more information about the ingredients and instructions, please read my blog post above!

{gluten-free, low fat}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2018/04/29/the-ultimate-healthy-white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies/