White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but the past few weeks zoomed right on by and parked itself in 2011 before I could say Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season as much as I did! My only regret was not blogging more throughout the end of the year. I baked and cooked my little fingers to death, but unfortunately I did not have time to blog about much of it. I was too preoccupied with our amazing friends and family that surrounded us throughout the holidays, and I couldn’t have been happier! Perhaps next time I'll learn how to juggle both. :)

But now that our Christmas décor is nestled back into the attic and we are slowly falling into the stride of our usual routine, we're on to the good stuff that awaits us! My head is swarming with all sorts of new recipes I want to try... how do I choose where to begin??? After much debate, (with me, myself and I), I decided to start with one of my all time favorites – white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Oh yum!

I have tried other recipes for these cookies, but this one takes the cake for sure. They bake up so beautifully, and the yummy sweetness that dances around my palate when I put one of these babies in my mouth is just down right incredible!

I could not have asked for a better start to the new year… 2011 is bound to be amazing! 

Ingredients

Yields 24 small cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt butter, stirring constantly until brown bits appear in the bottom of the pan, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat brown sugar and melted butter on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg and beat for another minute. Add milk and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add flour mixture all at once, and mix by hand with a spatula, just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in nuts and white chocolate.

Shape dough into two teaspoon sized balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling.  

Grab a tall glass of milk and a handful of cookies, and you're all set. Enjoy! :)

Source: Joy the Baker