A Long Memory
The first time I tried a Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookie was at one of Mrs. Field’s kiosks in a mall, over 20 years ago. It was love at first bite.
Over the weekend, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to bake, I decided to let my pantry and freezer guide me. Fortunately, I was well stocked with chocolate chips and I had a large container of macadamia nuts in the freezer. Mrs. Field’s fabulous cookies flooded my mind and the rest was easy.
I think chocolate chips by themselves are divine, but raw macadamia nuts do absolutely nothing for me. Yet, when the two are combined and baked, something magical happens to the nuts. The macadamia nuts are not the deep nutty flavor of a roasted nut, but they are cooked enough to turn them into a very special nut indeed. The cookie itself has a nice crispness to it, which was the texture I was looking for.
There is only one word of caution that I must add: these Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies are VERY hard to resist. I had a bag in my refrigerator and kept going back to it, for just one more piece.
Thank goodness, I have friends, always available to share my cookies. Otherwise, I would be in serious trouble.
I, never, would have thought that the memory of simply buying a cookie, decades ago, could stay with me for so long. I guess it says a lot about just how delicious that cookie was and how easy it is to be inspired by even the smallest thing in our daily routines. I can’t wait to see what goodies I discover tomorrow and in what direction they point me in!
| Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies | | Print |
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup macadamia nut halves or pieces
- For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Use a large cookie dough scoop to drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in 350° oven for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies store well in a plastic storage container and they may be frozen.
- The kind of chocolate is a personal preference. I prefer bittersweet, but semisweet and/or milk chocolate may be used.
- I use a large cookie dough scoop that holds 3 tablespoons of dough. Measure yours by filling it with water and pouring the water into a liquid measuring cup, keeping in mind that ¼ cup = 4 tablespoons. If your ice cream scoop is larger, bake the cookies longer. If it is smaller, bake the cookies for a shorter period of time.
- You may also make smaller cookies. Just watch carefully for baking time adjustments.
