If you are searching for the perfect holiday or anytime cookie you have to make a batch of these delicious Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies!
Cookies have become my best friend lately. I have been making so many cookies and testing so many recipes from some of my friends and I haven’t found a cookie I didn’t like.
But let me tell you about these Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies for a minute…or for the whole post! One word: Delicious!
All the flavors from the cranberry, white chocolate to the nuts really make this cookie recipe absolutely amazing, oh and they are super easy to whip up.
I love recipes that are super easy to make, that don’t take much time and effort and cookies always come to mind when I want something quick and easy.
That is exactly what this Macadamia Nut Cookie recipe is! And I just know that you my dear readers will love these cookies just as much as we do.
These are one cookies that I always make for our annual holiday cookie exchange, everyone LOVES them. I have always had nothing but rave reviews on these.
Thats what keeps me making them year after year, because people love them and always want the recipe for them. And they love the depth of flavor but the simplicity.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With easy to find and minimal ingredients these cookies are quick to whip together.
- You can easily double or halve this recipe depending on what you are making them for.
- The flavors play so well together with a soft chewy cookie with a little bit of crunch.
HOW TO MAKE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES, STEP BY STEP:
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted add the butter, shortening, and both sugars.
- Beat together until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix just until beaten but not fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wed ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips, craisins, and nuts.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, it’s okay if they are close together, then place them in the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and arrange the chilled cookie dough balls 2-inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet (keep remaining dough balls in the freezer until ready to bake) and bake for 9 to 12 minutes just until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
See how easy the process is in making these Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies? Super simple! Just like any other cookie recipe.
I love baking these with all the components and have made these Macadamia Nut Cookies with and without the white chocolate and the cranberries.
You can add in other things too if you like, other nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chunks, etc. It’s really what flavor you are going for, but these are perfect the way they are.
The only thing about this one is that we like to chill the dough.
WHY DO YOU CHILL COOKIE DOUGH:
Chilling cookie dough before cooking solidifies the fat in the dough itself which then when baking it takes longer for the fat to melt down which causes less spread for the cookies.
This isn’t for all cookies but since we use both shortening and butter in this recipe we recommend that the cookie dough be chilled for that reason.
Some of my other favorite cookies we have on our site include Cream Cheese Cookies, Cookies and Cream Cookies and Danish Butter Cookies.
HOW DO YOU MAKE COOKIES STAY SOFT?
Sealing and storing properly is the key to keeping cookies, especially these Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies soft.
While I really do not recommend using cookie jars because they allow air to get into the jar and make the cookies get hard. I would store in an airtight container such as a ziploc bag.
If you aren’t able to use an airtight container, the next best thing is to place a slice of bread in with your cookies, the bread releases moisture which will ultimately transfer to the cookies and keep them soft.
These are our go-to methods when we want our cookies to stay soft for longer periods of time, especially when we are making a double batch which we do a lot of the time!
We love making double batches of these Macadamia Nut Cookies because like I said, these are ones we love to give away at cookie exchanges and holiday gatherings, etc.
HOW TO STORE COOKIES:
The one thing that I love about certain recipes is that they can be stored many ways, and I’m going to tell you how to store each way.
- ROOM TEMP: To store these cookies at room temperature, cool your cookies and once cookies are cooled store in an airtight container like a ziploc bag, they should keep for 2-3 weeks.
- REFRIGERATOR: The same as above, I don’t really recommend refrigerating them, as they will just last the same time as if you were to store at room temperature.
- FREEZE DOUGH: To do this, make dough per recipe, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and using a cookie scoop drop your dough next to one another and place in freezer until solid, then remove and place in ziploc bags, the dough will keep around 9-12 months.
- FREEZE BAKED COOKIES: To freeze already baked cookies, let them fully cool then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, remove to ziploc baggies and place in freezer, they should keep 3-4 months.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- If you’re not a fan of cranberries you can absolutely leave then out.
- If you’re not a fan of white chocolate you can also leave them out.
- These cookies can be frozen, see my tips above.
- You can easily double or halve this batch depending on how many you are serving.
- Do not use fresh cranberries, they do not bake long enough to soften the cranberries and make them burst.
- Do not over mix this dough or the cookies will turn out crispy.
- If not baking right away you can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Looking for that perfectly easy, perfectly tasty holiday or anytime recipe then you need to make a batch of these Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup craisins
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix just until beaten but not fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wed ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips, craisins, and nuts.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, it’s okay if they are close together, then place them in the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and arrange the chilled cookie dough balls 2-inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet (keep remaining dough balls in the freezer until ready to bake) and bake for 9 to 12 minutes just until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If you're not a fan of cranberries you can absolutely leave then out.
- If you're not a fan of white chocolate you can also leave them out.
- These cookies can be frozen, see my tips above.
- You can easily double or halve this batch depending on how many you are serving.
- Do not use fresh cranberries, they do not bake long enough to soften the cranberries and make them burst.
- Do not over mix this dough or the cookies will turn out crispy.
- If not baking right away you can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
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