White chocolate and macadamia nuts star equally in these fabulous cookies!  A friend asked if I would bake these cookies for him if he bought the ingredients and because I am always up for cookie baking, I agreed.  Though I have several recipes with variations on white chocolate-macadamia cookies, I used the recipe on the back of the package of the Nestle white chocolate chips he supplied me, and doing so proved more than satisfactory.

Chewy centers and crisp edges give this cookie its distinctive texture.  Softened butter, brown sugar, and the white chocolate provide the flavorful backdrop for the macadamia nuts.  I put the butter out to soften early so that the prep work would go faster and had 3 dozen cookies within an hour of beginning.  Do not microwave the butter, only soften it until pliable; you want softened butter, not melted butter, for these cookies.

This is a basic cookie recipe: cream the butter and sugars, add an egg, beat well, add dry ingredients, and stir in the chips and the nuts. The cookies bake up rounded and soft with lightly browned edges.  If you’re a cookie lover, do try this twist on the more traditional chocolate chip recipe.  Go white, go island style!

Island White Cookies

Ingredients

1-2/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
1-12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped small
1 cup flaked coconut, optional

Directions Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl; stir to combine. Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips and macadamia nuts (and coconut flakes, if using). Drop by rounded tablespoons on ungreased baking sheets or cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake 8-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store airtight. Yields 5 dozen cookies.