Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Classic cookies are my absolute favorite dessert to "veganize." There is something really satisfying about taking a traditional recipe and reworking it to be dairy and egg free, and having it taste the same. Witchcraft. These Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies are sweet, chewy and filled with nondairy white chocolate chips and buttery macadamia nuts.

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Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies Ingredients

These cookies are fairly-straightforward ingredients-wise and in assembly. The majority of the following ingredients can be found at your local grocery store and those that can't can easily be purchased online.

Wet Cookie Ingredients

• Vegan Butter: Vegan butter is a simple alternative to dairy butter. Non-dairy butter is made up of different vegetable oils and is solid at room temperature. The flavors are nearly identical to normal butter. 
• Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar will give the cookies a light molasses flavor without making them too dark in appearance.
• Sugar: Regular, granulated sugar will provide additional sweetness and heighten the moisture content in the cookie.
• Nondairy Milk: A little nondairy milk is needed here to loosen the dough slightly. Any nondairy milk will do here, just try to pick something unflavored and unsweetened.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract is used heavily in baked goods for a reason. It will chemically add vanilla flavor without overpowering the other flavors you would like to shine through.

Dry Cookie Ingredients

• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is added here for textural reasons. The addition of this ingredient will help create a chewy yet tender cookie texture.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda is a leavener that requires an acidic and liquid ingredient to activate. In this recipe, the leavener will help the cookie dough base rise and firm up as it bakes.
• Sea Salt: Salt is a known flavor enhancer and these cookies are no exception. This is especially true where flour and butter are concerned. In addition to amplifying flavor, salt works to strengthen the dough.
• All Purpose Flour: No need for fancy flour here! All purpose flour has a moderate/average amount of protein when compared to other flours. It will give your cookies sturdiness and a nice chewy quality without compromising the lightness you desire.
• Macadamia Nuts: The star of the show! Macadamia nuts are big, buttery nuts with the most delicious flavor. I used roasted, salted macadamias but you can use unsalted or even raw if you'd prefer.
• Nondairy White Chocolate Chips: These baking chips are simply white chocolate chips without the dairy. I'll be honest - they are nearly impossible to find in stores. Save yourself time and just order them online.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cut macadamia nuts for cookies?

For baking, it is always best to purchase whole macadamia nuts and then chopping them (or not) in a way that fits a recipe's specific needs. With this purpose in mind, these nuts can be raw, roasted or roasted and salted. Measure out the amount of nuts you need for your recipe and spread them out evenly on a cutting board. Using a sharp chef's knife, rock the knife back and forth across the nuts. Cutting them all at once helps you to get a fairly consistent size. Roughly chop until macadamia nuts are about ½ to ⅓ their starting size.

Why is white chocolate paired with macadamia nuts?

White chocolate and macadamia nuts are often paired together due to their complimentary characteristics. To demonstrate, white chocolate is incredibly sweet as it lacks the cocoa solids that provide the balancing bitterness to other kinds of chocolate. Macadamia nuts, especially when roasted, diffuse this sweetness.

Macadamia nuts are so expensive! What can I substitute them with?

Macadamia nuts are one of the most expensive nuts on the market. If you can't find them or they are out of your price range, substitute with cashews. While cashews can be pricy too, you will certainly get more bang for your buck. The recipe won't be impacted too much at all.

Tips for Making Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

1. When adding the cornstarch, baking soda and salt to the cookie dough, it is really important to try and get them as evenly distributed as possible. This will further ensure all of your cookies rise evenly and are consistent in texture.
2. Do not skip the chilling of the dough. I know that step can be annoying but it's super important! Chilling your dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes will help limit spread in your cookies while they bake in the oven.
3. You can get ahead when making this recipe by preparing the cookie dough the day or night before you plan to bake! To this end, prepare the dough completely and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight and then bake off your cookies when ready.
4. If you are a bit of a perfectionist like me, you want your cookies to be perfectly round. To achieve this, take a wide-mouth mug or 3-4 inch round cookie cutter and gently swirl around each cookie right when they come out of the oven. This will allow you to hone the shape before the cookies cool and set.

What makes these Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies Amazing?

• Indulgent
• Perfectly match their non-vegan counterparts in taste AND texture!
• Made completely in one bowl
• Deliciously sweet and nutty
• Chewy
• Only 10 ingredients
• Perfection in every bite.

Need I say more!?

How to Store Vegan Cookies

These cookies will keep in an airtight container (such as a large zip-lock bag or Tupperware container) stored at room temperature for 2-3 days. They can also be frozen in the same fashion for up to 1 month.

Whenever I make cookie dough I always prepare a double batch. This way I get twice as many cookies and can freeze half of them. These actions save me time down the road and I also always have cookies available incase a dessert emergency arises!

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