Saturday, March 3, 2012

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies aka Best Food Known to Man



Salty sweets are all the rage now. You've seen the recipes for salted caramel, well, salted caramel everything. It seems people are finally figuring out what my Grandma Peterson taught me years ago: "Always put some salt in sweet things." She also said, "Always put some sugar in savory things." But this post is about the salty sweet. These cookies are so yummy we've dubbed them the best food known to man. I clipped this recipe out of a Good Housekeeping magazine back in 1997. I make only one change to them from that original: If you are going to Hawaii or if you can find them here, the Honey Roasted nuts are even better in this recipe. I discovered that when I ran out of the regular. But either kind are really, really good. Tip: Keep your nuts in the freezer and they last for a long, long time. I'm a little ashamed to say how old the ones in these cookies were.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
16 oz. white chocolate, chopped
14 oz. Macadamia nuts, chopped (regular, honey roasted, or I have substituted blanched almonds) I also fudge on the amount. 14 oz. is a lot.

Beat the sugar with the butter. Add the eggs, beating after each. Then beat in the vanilla. Turn off the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Beat them into the wet. Stir in the chocolate and nuts. Bake on a greased cookie sheet or silpat at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly browned (Do not overbake) Remove cookies immediately and cool on a wire rack. Store in a tightly covered container.
* Tip: Who has room temperature eggs? Not anyone I know. So, when you're assembling your ingredients, take your eggs out first and put them in a bowl of warm water. By the time you need them, they will have warmed. Always do this when baking. It makes your baked goods so much better.