These Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies are my go-to chocolate chip cookie.
Picking your favorite chocolate chip cookie is like picking a mate: everyone has their unique personal preferences.
Some people like their cookies thin and crispy; others like them thick and overloaded with chips. Certain people (ahem, me) even prefer chipless chocolate chip cookies.
The variations can go on and on.
But…when you find THE ONE…. When you find that perfect-for-you chocolate chip cookie? It’s a match made in dessert heaven.
Why Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies are my favorite
Yes, my fave chocolate chip cookies are the ones that I make.
This recipe for Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies makes what I think are the best cookies:
Soft and chewy, but with crispy edges.
Dotted with chocolate chips, but not TOO many chips.
These cookies contain a little bit of melty chocolate goodness, a little bit of crunch, and a whole lot of flavorful, cake-y cookie dough to keep it all together.
Evolution of a classic
Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies were inspired by a recipe I found on The Pioneer Woman. She made a similar cookie using white chocolate chips, and they looked delicious.
Excerpt for one big problem: I hate white chocolate.
Side note: I blame this hatred on childhood trauma. I once devoured a good half-pound of white chocolate fudge in about 30 minutes when I was a kid. I subsequently spent the entire next day with the worst stomachache ever.
I haven’t touched white chocolate or fudge since.
Then, there was another problem: I really only like chocolate chip cookies made with “my” base recipe. Not anyone else’s. Not even The Pioneer Woman’s!
So, I took my tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe and finessed it up a bit, subbing in dark chocolate chips for my usual milk chocolate, and decadently adding some chopped macadamia nuts.
BTW: have you ever looked at the price of those nuts?? (That’s what she said.) Holy schmegeggies. This recipe is nothing if not decadent.
Although I’ve thus far resisted the urge to sprinkle my desserts with salt, I finally succumbed to the fad and added flaky sea salt to the cookies as soon as I pulled them from the oven.
The result was heavenly. There was my usual, chewy cookie that I love, but this time it was nestled around melty morsels of bittersweet dark chocolate. The deep cocoa flavor really allowed the brown sugar’s caramelization to shine, and I loved the unexpected snap of the buttery macadamia nuts dotted throughout each cookie.
I’m not usually a nuts-in-baked-goods fan, but these Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies could make me a convert.
How easy is it to make Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Chocolate chip cookies are a dessert I make for all sorts of occasions; I always have the ingredients for them in my pantry. In fact, I’ve made the base recipe for Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies so many times that I could make these cookies in my sleep.
And, in fact, I kinda do. This is the recipe I recite to myself whenever I have trouble falling asleep.
Yup. I don’t count sheep; I count cups of flour.
The cookie dough comes together really quickly, and you can have cookies baked and cooling within the hour. This recipe is perfect for when you want to bring a dessert to that last-minute party invite, or if your kids’ friends decide to drop by after school without notice.
They’re easy to customize for any occasion, too. Just add some festive sprinkles for birthdays, or swap in dark chocolate holiday colored m&ms for dark chocolate chips to make the perfect cookies for Christmas, Easter, Halloween, or Valentine’s Day.
What do you serve with Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Umm, what don’t you serve with Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies? As far as I’m concerned, just grab a few of these cookies, a glass of cold milk, and a new book to read, and I’d say you’ve got a pretty darn good night ahead of you.
If you’re looking to make a fun cookie platter, though, serve Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies alongside some Pfeffernusse Sugar Cookies, Jam Thumbprint Cookies, Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies, and Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies.
Or, if you want to have a “chocolate chip” themed dessert table, whip up some Chocolate Chip Confetti Blondies, Chocolate Chip Corn Muffins, Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones, Totally Different Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mint Chocolate Chip Hot Fudge Sundaes.
Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (whole)
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped raw macadamia nuts, divided
- Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roughly chop your macadamia nuts. Set aside 1 ¼ cups in a small bowl, and set aside the remaining ¼ cup in another bowl.
- Roughly chop ¼ cup of dark chocolate chips, and add these to the reserved ¼ cup of nuts.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- In a stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and well combined. Mix in the eggs, one by one, and the vanilla extract. Beat well until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tsp salt, and baking soda.
- Slowly mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, a few spoonfuls at a time and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat until all ingredients are combined, but do not overmix.
- Add the 1 ¼ cup (whole) dark chocolate chips to the bowl and mix for about 3 seconds. Then add the 1 ¼ cup of chopped macadamia nuts to the bowl and mix for about 3 seconds.
- If using a stand mixer, remove the bowl from the base. Continue mixing the chips and nuts into the dough by hand until they are incorporated, but do not overmix.
- Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheets. These cookies spread in the oven, so start with 5 scoops per sheet until you see how they bake up.
- Press pieces of reserved chopped chocolate chips and nuts into the tops of the dough scoops.
- Bake cookies at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until mostly golden brown.
- Remove cookies from the oven to wire cooling racks and immediately sprinkle the cookies with the sea salt flakes (the amount you use is up to you!).
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire cooling racks to cool completely.
This is really helpfull information. Thanks a lot for your post keep it up. Thank you so much!
Thanks, Stella! I hope you have a chance to try my recipe. 😊
Hi there. I found your blog from a comment you made on Instagram – I didn’t like the book Commonwealth either so I thought maybe I would like similar books (I know it’s a different approach to start with the common books you don’t like but maybe!) Anyway, I have my own chocolate chip cookie recipe that I LOVE and can make almost in my sleep but I might give this one a try – sounds delish! Off to poke around the rest of your blog. My favorite things – books and cooking!
Hi Gina! Welcome to the Tart. 😊 I’m so glad you found my blog…and you’d be surprised by how many book friendships I’ve formed over a dislike of certain books or authors! Dislikes are definitely as powerful as likes when it comes to reading, lol. I hope you find some books I’ve reviewed on here that you’d like to read…and some recipes you’d like to try! Would love to hear how my choco chip cookies hold up to your favorite recipe. 😊
Just made your cookies – while the dough is dry, if you are patient with your stirring the recipe works. The cookies are fantastic.
Woot! Thanks so much, Liz! And, yes, this recipe definitely calls for some patience with the stand mixer, haha. But it’s all worth it in the end! I’m so glad you loved the cookies.
Made these cookies to take on a 400 mile trip . I only brought 18 with us and froze the other half. Didn’t have sea salt so I put 3-5 granules of kosher salt on them. My new favorite recipe! Thanks!
Hi, Marie! I can’t believe you went on a 400 MILE TRIP…and only brought 18 cookies with you!! That is what I call WILLPOWER. 🙂 I’m so glad you loved the recipe and that the cookies kept you happy on your trip!
Hello! I just wanted to let you know I made these the other day and this is hands down the best cookie recipe I have ever made. I split the cookie dough and did some with just dark chocolate chips and the other half was your recipe with white chocolate chips added in. Thank you so much for this incredible recipe ❤
Hi Katelyn! Thank you so much for your comment!!!! These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies, and I’m so glad you love them, too!!
It’s interesting to read your post here, I love Macademia nuts as well, but not a fans for white chocolate chips. So, this recipe fits me perfectly. Plus I will add some dried cranberries as well.
By the way, I can freeze the left over cookie dough for future use, right?
Hi Lillian! So glad this recipe fits your needs! Yes, I believe if you flash-freeze scoops of raw cookie dough, the scoops will keep in the fridge for around 2-3 months, if properly sealed and stored. I use this blogger’s guide to freezing cookie dough: https://www.acozykitchen.com/how-to-freeze-cookie-dough
I’ve also frozen baked cookies for a few months, and they defrost wonderfully on the counter or with a few seconds in the microwave.
I made the cookies but they are dry. I thought 31/2 cups of flour was an awful lot but made them anyway. I followed the recipe exactly. Don’t know where I went wrong. They didn’t have
Much taste either.
Hi Linda, I’m sorry to hear the cookies weren’t to your liking! The recipe does use quite a bit of flour, but the cookies should turn out moist and chewy due to the brown sugar. It sounds like you might have overbaked them; that’s the only thing I can think of that would make these cookies turn out dry. Maybe your oven is running hot, or maybe you made smaller cookies that didn’t need to bake for the full recommended time? It’s helpful to get an oven thermometer to see what temp your oven is REALLY at so you can achieve that perfect bake!
Thanks. Actually I tried the cookies today and they are delicious. Maybe I was just tired, but they really are very good. I will definitely make them again!
I’m so glad you gave the recipe another chance! And that you enjoyed the cookies the second time around. 🙂
No jump to recipe? Not going to use your site.
That’s a petty attitude to have, Mary, for someone who’s getting free access to a recipe. If you’re not going to use my site, make it because I called you out on being rude, not because there’s no “jump to” button. Take care!
Im trying this recipe now but reducing the flour by 1/2 cup due to 1 of the reviews i read. Also, I think my over runs a bit hotter than it should. I’m making my 1st batch of flake salt as I’ve never been able to find in my stores. It’s not done yet. I’ll let you know how the cookies turn out. TY for the recipe, it’s just what i was looking for.
Hi Greg! I hope you enjoy the cookies. Let me know how they turn out using a little less flour. I’ve only ever made them using the recipe the way I’ve written it, so I’m curious!