When I set out to create this gluten-free white chocolate macadamia cookies recipe, I really wanted a chewy cookie. There are no crunch sounds when you eat these, unless you bite into a macadamia nut! They're soft, chewy, moist and just melt in your mouth.
The secret to a chewy cookie is water content and retention, which I've worked into this recipe using brown sugar (which naturally contains molasses), soft butter and gluten-free flours that soak up moisture.
While macadamia nuts are a delicious snack all on their own, I also wanted the nutty flavor to be more prominent, and so this recipe uses lightly toasted macadamia nuts. Then, the cookies are topped with a few flecks of coarse sea salt and let me tell you... the combination is fantastic! Can't wait for you to try them, let's get to it!
If you're looking for other gluten-free cookies, you can check out my matcha cookies and oatmeal cream pies.
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Ingredients
As always, with any recipes on the Gluten-Free DIYers' blog, the most important ingredient is the gluten-free flour. I used my DIY mix, please click through for the recipe, and for appropriate commercial blends.
The brown sugar is also an important ingredient here, as it brings moisture through naturally containing liquid molasses. That's what gives us a chewy cookie.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
I love baking cookies, because it's relatively simple!
- Sift the gluten-free flour, corn starch, and baking soda. Getting rid of clumps makes the cookie dough more homogeneous, which in turn means the cookies will bake evenly.
- Toasting the nuts is optional, but unlocks more nutty flavors.
- Add all the ingredients to the sifted flour, minus the nuts and chocolate add-ins.
- Using a fork at first, combine the ingredients, and then use your fingers to make a dough ball. It will feel dry, but don't add more moisture, simply keep rolling the dough ball in the bowl with your hand until everything is well incorporated.
- Add the nuts and chocolate.
- Keep working the cookie dough with your hands until a ball is formed, where the add-ins are evenly distributed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. This will let the gluten-free flour absorb moisture from the butter and eggs, and the butter will also harden, which prevents large spreading during baking.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (about 45 grams each) on your baking trays.
- Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Sprinkle coarse sea salt on top, optional. Fully cool before enjoying!
Hint: Macadamia nuts are big. It's best to chop them the size of the chocolate chips you're using, to prevent large lumps in the cookie.
Substitutions
These gluten-free white chocolate macadamia cookies have several allergens: tree nuts, soy, eggs, milk. We're obviously not going to make them tree-nut free, so let's look at the others.
- Soy-free - most white chocolate chips contain soy. If you're looking for soy-free white chocolate chips, check out the brand Pascha. They're pricy, but great!
- Egg-free - I haven't baked these egg-free myself, but you could try a flax or chia egg. If you do, please let me know how it turns out!
- Milk-free - milk is found in the butter, which you can substitute with a vegan butter high in saturated fats like coconut, and it's also found in the white chocolate chips, unless you use the Pascha brand.
Variations
Here are some ideas to change the flavors:
- Raw nuts - if you're looking for a more subtle nutty flavor, skip toasting the macadamia nuts!
- Peanuts - you could swap the macadamia nuts for peanuts! I found the flavor of toasted macadamia to be close to peanuts.
Equipment
I used two cookie sheets, a sifter and a bowl.
Storage
These gluten-free white chocolate macadamia cookies are shelf-stable! I store mine on the counter under a tea towel. I've kept them for three days. Beyond that, I'd advise to wrap them in plastic, store in an airtight container and freeze. Just thaw to room temperature when ready.
Top tip
It's important to let the cookie dough sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before shaping. Cold butter delays spreading, which means cookies will be chewier. If you choose to make the cookie dough ahead of time, you can keep the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
FAQ
My answer... why not! White chocolate contains a lot of sugar and is sweet and delightful. Macadamia nuts are mild-tasting but rich, and naturally tame the sweetness of the white chocolate.
My first choice would be Brazil nuts, as both are large, mild and rich. You could also use pecans, but I would decrease the amount of white chocolate, as pecans already have a sweetness to them.
Related
Looking for other cookie recipes?
Gluten-Free White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- 1 flour sifter
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 140 grams gluten-free flour
- 20 grams corn starch
- 3 grams baking soda
- 1.5 grams salt
- 60 grams sugar
- 75 grams brown sugar packed
Liquid Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 grams vanilla extract
- 56 grams butter soft, room temperature
Add-Ins
- 60 grams macadamia nuts cut to the same size as the white chocolate chips
- 70 grams white chocolate chips
- dash coarse sea salt optional
Instructions
- Sift the gluten-free flour, baking soda and corn starch into a large bowl.
- Add the salt, sugar and brown sugar to the large bowl, and mix all the dry ingredients well.
- Optional: lightly toast the macadamia nuts in a pan over medium heat. This takes about 2 minutes.
- To the large bowl of dry ingredients, add the egg, egg yolk, butter and vanilla extract.
- With a fork, mix the ingredients.
- The mixture will be dry. With your hands, continue combining all the ingredients until a dough ball is formed.
- Add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Continue mixing and rolling the dough ball with your hands until the add-ins are homogeneously distributed.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This lets the gluten-free flours absorb moisture, and the butter will also harden.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C)
- Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Divide the cookie dough evenly. Each of the twelve cookies should weigh around 45 grams, which is a large heaping tablespoon.
- Form dough balls and space evenly onto the baking trays.
- Place the baking trays in the middle of the preheated oven and bake 12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on a rack before enjoying!
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
Soft and chewy! Can't wait to hear what you guys think!
Anjali
I couldn't believe how moist and chewy these turned out to be even though they were gluten free! No one could tell that they didn't have any gluten in them! So yummy!
Gianne
The texture was perfect and the flavors were amazing. I couldn't even tell they were gluten-free. Definitely a must-try for anyone looking for a tasty cookie option.
Kerri
These cookies were so good I couldn’t tell they were gluten free!
veenaazmanov
Moist and chewy sounds delicious. White chocolate and the Nut combination is yummy. Perfect snack box or a Tea party platter option.
Harriet Young
The white chocolate and nuts work perfectly with each other. Absolutely delicious, thank you