Macadamia Chocolate Chip Cookies
I'm just going to be honest here : Cookies aren't really my thing.
I prefer less intricate kinds of baking where I can just mix everything into one cake pan and not get my hands buttery in the process. But cookie dough IS buttery and needs shaping into balls for placing on the baking tray. I even have to be careful about the spaces between the balls of cookie dough so that they have enough room to expand!
My mum is the expert in that, not me.
All I wanted to do was to find a cake recipe that uses macadamia nuts, because I had a packet I bought months ago that I intended to use for a macadamia brownie order (it didn't happen), before it expires! The best and most doable recipes all pointed to macadamia cookies.
The classic combination is White Chocolate and Macadamia, but it was an impromptu baking session and I had no white chocolate (nor do I intend to buy any, since I won't eat them anyway!) so I improvised with dark chocolate chips.
I prefer chewy cookies like Ben's Cookies (a MUST TRY - especially their lemon one!), so I took reference from Handle the Heat's recipe:
Macadamia Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
170g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Method:
- Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- In a large and deep bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- Use a low speed and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until incorporated.
- Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and place them 3 inches apart on the lined baking trays. Make sure not to let them be too close, because the cookie dough balls will expand sideways while baking. If they are too close, they merge and become a honeycomb cookie spread (that was what happened with my first batch).
- Bake until cookie edges are set and starting to brown but centres are still soft & puffy - about 20 min (time really varies depending on your oven, so watch your cookies!). Let cookies cool and serve.
