These sweet & salty butterscotch white chocolate macadamia cookies are
a fun twist on the classic. Take them to any gathering and they’re sure to
be a hit.
inspiration
I worked at a Walmart Subway for nine months in college. While our fifty percent discount kept me fed during a very broke summer, my favorite thing about working there was The Broken Cookie rule. Sometimes the cookies would get stuck on the pan and break when you tried to take them off, which meant you could eat them. My favorite ones were the white chocolate macadamia nuts. They got me through a lot of rough work day full of annoying customers and belligerent Walmart managers.
These butterscotch white chocolate macadamia cookies are inspired by those, but richer and homemade and with a little twist.
why i love this recipe
There are two things that make this recipe special. The first is that we use three kinds of sugar: white, light brown, and dark brown. The other is that we swap out half the amount of white chocolate chips for butterscotch chips. The result is a chewy, sweet, and salty cookie.
I took these to a party the first time I made them. I had made the cookie dough balls a little too big, so the cookies tasted great but looked kind of bloated and lopsided. As you do when you bring something to a party, I kept an eye on the plate to make sure they were being eaten. They were. And I noticed something else, too: people were pointing their friends toward them, breaking off pieces and passing them around, saying “You have to try this.”
They were a hit.
And they weren’t even the only cookie at the party. But they were the best cookies at the party.
details
They say that properly creamed butter and sugar should look “fluffy.” Here’s a little confession: I have no idea what that means. I cannot figure out how butter and sugar ever look “fluffy.” That word is for puppies, not food. When I have to do it, I cross my fingers, hope for the best, and go by vibes. But I try not to have to, especially for cookies. And you really don’t need to.
Melted butter makes a chewy cookie, and that’s what I like, so that’s what we’re doing. There are no mixers here. Just melted butter, three types of sugar, vanilla, eggs, and a wooden spoon. (And a bowl, obviously.)
Once the wet ingredients are mixed, you just pop the dry ingredients on top, give them a little mix with a fork (without touching the wet mixture underneath). Then you just mix the whole lot together. I strongly recommend doing adding the flour in halves—I usually do half of the flour with the baking soda, cornstarch and salt first, and then mix that in with the wet ingredients before adding the rest of the flour. Then you fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips and the nuts and fold it all together.
As I always say for cookies, chilling is crucial. It affects both the taste and the texture, so don’t skip it.
Once you’ve waited patiently for at least four hours, you can bake them. As soon as they come out of the oven, press on a couple of extra chips and sprinkle generously with sea salt. It’s important to let these cookies rest before you eat them, as they will be very soft when they come out of the oven. I usually let them cool for ten minutes on the pan, and then 20-30 minutes on a wire rack.
faq
Do I have to use all three types of sugar? You don’t have to, but I strongly recommend it. In addition to affecting taste, leaving out one of the sugars will affect the texture.
What if I don’t like/am allergic to nuts? Can I leave them out? Absolutely!
Do I have to chill the dough? Yes. I know it’s hard to wait sometimes! If you really can’t bear it, bake one cookie immediately to hold you over. It might not be very cute—part of the reason we can use melted butter in this recipe is because we chill the dough.
In a cookie kind of mood? Try lazy sugar cookies, chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, or my favorite, the best chocolate chip cookies.
butterscotch white chocolate macadamia nut cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to mix the butter, sugars, and vanilla until well-combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add half of the flour, all the baking soda, corn starch, and salt. Mix, then add the rest of the flour. You will think there is too much flour. There isn’t. Keep mixing. Once the flour is incorporated, mix the white chocolate, butterscotch, and nuts in.
- Cover and chill for as long as you can bear it, at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. This is a very important step, so resist the urge to skip it entirely.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon mounds and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Be sure to leave space between the cookies. Bake for 13-16 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven, press a few extra chips on top, sprinkle generously with sea salt, and cool on baking sheet for ten minutes before moving them to a wire rack. I recommend letting them set for half an hour before eating.
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