Macadamia nuts are a salty, buttery, delicious treat. These flavors mix well with the smooth, creaminess of white chocolate.

White Chocolate, Macadamia Nut Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup (chopped, if needed) macadamia nuts
2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and set aside.
2. With a hand mixer, beat the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in the eggs, then mix in the vanilla.
3. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating until just moistened. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased and/or lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges look golden brown. They need to cool on the baking sheet, so even if they do not look quite set, they will continue to cook after you remove them from the oven. Allow to finish cooling on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.

If you need to make these cookies ahead of time for an event they freeze well. You can either freeze the cookie dough allowing to thaw before baking or you can freeze the already baked cookies themselves. The recommended time for freezing cookies or dough varies depending on the source. Some sources say 4-6 weeks is normal freezing time. While other sites state up to a few months. I do not like to exceed 6 weeks for maximum freshness.

If freezing the cookie dough first shape into a log, for this recipe I suggest shaping into two logs. Wrap each log in plastic wrap at least twice. Then freeze in a freezer bag. When ready to bake you can slice disks from the log for each cookie.

When freezing already baked cookies (allow cookies to cool first) place the cookies in layers in a large freezer bag. Separate the layers with wax paper. Before freezing, place the freezer bag in a plastic container for added protection.

Enjoy!