White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 C (283 g) all-purpose flour
1 t (4 g) baking soda
1 t (3 g) cornstarch
½ t (3 g) salt
¾ C (6 1/3 oz/180 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ C (6 oz/170 g) packed brown sugar
¼ C (1 ¾ oz/50 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 t (10 ml) vanilla extract
¾ C (4 ½ oz/125 g) white chocolate chips
¾ C (3 ½ oz/100 g) chopped salted macadamia nuts

Whisk flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.

In large bowl, using handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until smooth, for 1 minute. Add sugars, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, for 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, then beat on high speed until combined, for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, and beat again as needed to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix on low speed until combined. With mixer on low speed, add white chocolate chips and nuts. Dough will be thick. Cover and chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. If chilling longer than 3 hours, allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling and baking.

Place oven rack in middle position and heat to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. To minimize cookie spread, I prefer Silpat baking pads.

Roll balls of dough, about 1 ½ tablespoons per cookie, and place 3 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned on sides. Centers will look very soft. Rotate pan one half turn midway through baking. I prefer and recommend baking only one cookie sheet at a time. It takes a little longer but cookies will bake much more evenly.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes: 24 cookies

6 Jan 18 – Mixed dry ingredients together in medium-small Pyrex glass bowl. It was just large enough to whisk ingredients. Creamed butter (temp = 67° F) with sugar and it came out lighter and fluffy. Perfect. Added dry ingredients and mixed only until combined. Used Danish whisk to finish mixing dough and incorporating nuts and chocolate. I divided whole nuts in to quarters. Dough was thick but workable. Refrigerated dough approx 2 ¼ hrs. I portioned the dough by dividing in half and then again and finally each quarter was cut into 6 equal pieces. That method worked well as it has in the past when the dough is firm and holds together. Baked in the island oven for approx 11 mins and cooled on trays for 5 minutes. Cookies were still delicate. I topped each warm cookie with additional white chocolate chips. Cookies fell/flattened a little but not too much. First impression of both flavor and texture was very good, even better the next day.

12 Jan 18 – Made a double batch for Susan’s Bunco night. I used large glass bowl for dry ingredients. It was the correct size for the quantity. I also discovered the book recipe is NOT the same as that on the web which Susan confirmed. The recipe above and which I used is the one from Sally’s book. Used medium glass bowl for the sugars. Again, it was the correct size. Refrigerated dough in mixer bowl for 2 plus hrs. Use my divide in half method to portion out dough balls, making 48 cookies. Baked in island oven for 11 mins. First batch was a bit under done and fell in the middle. I kept unbaked dough balls in the refrigerator while I baked each pan. Second batch better, more done but also flattened out more that they should. Third batch the same as the second. Using the bottom of a glass, I flattened the dough balls in final batch to about 3/8-inch. The baked a little better but still flatten too much. Flavor OK but texture not good due to too much spreading. I was disappointed how they came out.