White Chocolate & Macadamia nut cookies

Cookies. To cook or not to cook. That is the question...

Pardon that inexcusably bad pun. Baking cookies is a bit of a challenge here. I like my cookies crisp and crunchy, the significant other likes his soft and chewy. And whether my daughter deigns to eat a homemade cookie or not depends on the phase of the moon, the time of the day, the tides, eclipses and what not.

Recent the So asked why I never bake his favourite White Chocolate, & Macadamia nut cookies. Hmmm.. let me see.. could it be because he always complains that my cookies are crunchy? I decided that if he wanted (un)baked cookies (read soft cookies), that's what he'd get.

So I trawled good old Epicurious and found this recipe for White chocolate, Cranberries and Macadania nut cookies. That was half the job done. Considering that the SO wasn't that big a fan of cranberries, I left those out. This is a fairly straightforward recipe, but there was this really challenging step. To take the cookies out of the oven at the right time. And wince when they were not baked to tooth-challenging-crunching-satisfaction. Ah well, the sacrifices I make!!!!!

I'd planned to take the kids to the park, so I dropped off one batch of cookies at A's office, and off I headed to my daughter's favourite park. My phone buzzed. It was A. I was mentally braced for "not quite the way I like them".

A said that he had just bitten into the first of the cookies. And??? I waited with breathless anticipitation... "these are the best cookies I've ever eaten!" I wasn't too sure I'd heard right. And after he went on in the same note for a while, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. The little one came running, and asked for a snack. I gave her a cookie. She took a bite. She gave me a funny look. "Amma, this is not cookie. This is not cake," .... Thus spake the little gourmet, and ran back the swings.

Ah well, I can't please everyone. One gourmet at a time, thank you.

White Chocolate, & Macadamia nut cookies
(makes about 40)

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
2 cups white chocolate chips (or coarsely chopped white chocolate)
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Macadamia nuts


Preheat oven to 175°C.
Sift together salt, flour and baking powder and keep aside.
Beat butter till fluffy. Add both the sugars, and beat till well mixed.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Add the sifted flour and beat until just blended.
Stir in chocolate and nuts.
Drop dough into cookie sheets, 1.5-2 tbsp at a time, spacing them about 2" apart.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until just golden.
Cool on sheets.

I tried these cookies with a mix of peanuts and macadamia nuts. Those turned out fairly well too. This recipe is a keeper. All I need to do is resist the temptation to bake them a little longer.
And I have to admit, these taste better chewy than crunchy.