These Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies have to be one of my all time favorites. The hard part is finding vegan white chocolate chips. My easy fix is to order them online. I have been buying this brand for years and really love the rich buttery texture and sweet vanilla flavor.
If you are a cookie lover and want to take a sidestep from classic chocolate chip for your next baking session, give this recipe a whirl!...
Vegan Cookies
These cream and caramel colored, chewy-on-the-inside, crisp-edges-on-the-outside, Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies have cast a tropical cookie spell on me. My long lost craving for white choco-mac cookies has been re-inspired with each bite. Sandy shores. Coconut-kissed breezes. I'm swept away.
Cookie Swoon. Each bubbly little crevice is stuffed with crunchy, buttery raw macadamia nut bits and velvety white chips.
And while I love the white chips, the real star for me is those crunchy macadamia nuts...
Macadamia Nut Recipes
I love macadamia nuts! They always remind me of Hawaii. They are delicious all on their own as a snack, and even better when paired with something sweet - IMO. That crunchy texture and roasted saltiness paired with a sweet accent is tastebud heaven.
I love macadamia nuts in this mango, avocado salad - the salty, crunchy macadamia nuts play off of the juicy, sweet mango so beautifully.
And in these Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, those salty, crunchy macadamia nuts add the sharp contrast to all the sweet from the sugars and chips.
White chocolate tends to taste sweeter than regular dark cacao chocolate simply because you don't get that rich and bitter flavor from the cacao.
What's the difference between white chocolate and regular chocolate?
The simplistic answer is that white chocolate chips only contain cocoa butter (the fat) from a cacao bean. They do not contain the "chocolate" part.
White chocolate is really just taking the cocoa butter and mixing it with sugar and fat. You do not have any "unsweetened chocolate" in white chocolate. It just uses the cocoa butter and sugar added. Sometimes another fat is added as well.
Usually, chocolate chips contain unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar and sometimes a few accent ingredients. (Watch for dairy, usually called milk fat, if you want vegan chips).
Pure Cocoa Butter
You can buy 100% pure cocoa butter in chunks, but it usually isn't the best for "chips" since it isn't sweetened and the cocoa butter won't melt the way a chocolate chip should.
Also, cocoa butter is largely flavorless all on it's own!
I did a blog post all about chocolate if you are curious to learn more about the various types and parts of a chocolate bean! Here is my definition from that post:
Cacao Butter: Cacao butter is the cold-pressed, pure, white-ish oil from the cacao bean. Cacao butter is used when making chocolate bars and chips. It contains omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, antioxidants, oleic acid and theobromine. Cacao butter looks like white chocolate and tastes a bit blander than the nibs, though it still has a chocolate flavor. Cacao butter is mother nature’s version of white chocolate. - all about chocolate
Vegan White Chocolate Chips
I always buy this brand in the yellow bag from Amazon. You get four bags in bulk.
UPDATE: A few readers have told me that these chips *may* be available in select kosher supermarkets in the US. If anyone finds them, let me know! I will be investigating this myself!
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter, earth balance
- ½ cup egg replacer - vegan, JUST Egg used
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
Dry Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Fold in
- 1 cup macadamia nuts, roasted and salted
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, vegan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all the wet ingredients to a mixing bowl. Beat until fluffy.
- Add in the dry ingredients and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- Fold in the nuts and chips.
- Scoop cookies onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Remove from oven and col on a cooling rack.
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- baking sheet
- cookie scooper
nutrition estimate | per serving
Old Version Recipe
This is my vintage, circa 2012 recipe, though I prefer the recipe shown above. But just in case you want to reference the old recipe...
Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
vegan, makes about 2 dozen
sugar blend:
½ cup maple syrup (I used grade B)
½ cup vegan sugar
2 sticks of Earth Balance Buttery Spread Sticks (vegan butter)
½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 medium banana
Dry:
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
*I used Bob's Red Mill
2 tablespoon vital wheat gluten flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Fold in:
½ cup vegan white chocolate chips
½ cup raw chopped macadamia nuts
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. dd sugar blend ingredients to large bowl. Blend with hand mixer until butter is creamy - a little chunky is still OK.
3. Add in the dry ingredients and mixer blend on lowest setting just until the mixture gets thick. Then remove mixer beaters and hand fold/stor the rest of the dough together.
4. Fold in the chips and nuts. Add more if you want - I added in another handful of those lovely macadamia nuts.
5. You can either spoon warm dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets - or place dough in fridge for at least 30 minutes for easier scooping of dough. Either way works.
6. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for about 16 minutes. Cool. Enjoy!
Kelly McPherson says
maybe you were making the cookies too small, smaller cookies have a smaller cooking time while bigger cookies take longer
Lily Mathers says
Why coconut milk? I know this was 5 years ago but I am still curious! I get the (n)ice cream part, but why coconut? I'm kind of coconutted out, it seems like everything in Veganworld (I do live there,yay!) contains coconut.
Lily Mathers says
Vegan dark chocolate is sooooo much better than any others! I always figure there is more rom for yum when you take out the cow milk!!
Lily Mathers says
It means animal fat free! No more lard, ick.
Lucy Grist says
These look hella awesome!!! Is t possible to sub for gluten free flour?!! 🙂
Kaytastrophe Deekay says
I am wheat free, I can sub the flour parts no prob except replacing the VWG, I know I can use flax egg but should I also add potato starch to stick it together is my dilemma, I am newish to wheat free so if anyone can offer help I would appricate it!
Kathy Patalsky says
You might be fine! Just not sure.
Kathy Patalsky says
They didn't! But I ordered in springtime.
Taylor says
Ok thanks for letting me know! I will wait until wintertime to order!
Taylor says
Did they not melt in the mail before you got them? I really want to try these but I'm worried if I order them they would just melt 🙁
Micheles1 says
For my taste buds every time I use a banana in baking it makes evrything taste like banana. Any suggestions for a banana substitution? I made these and they are great by the way. Love the white chocolate chips too. Just don't like tasting banana... 🙁
Thanks!!
Sinthia93 says
If I want to completely replace the vegan butter, how much banana and soy milk should I use? Thank you!!
Tyler says
Whoa...so vegan means fat free right? LOL. These cookies look beautiful-
MyRecessionKitchen says
I was very excited to see vegan white chocolate chips until I read the ingredients and saw artificial flavor...to bad, I guess I'll wait until someone can make them with real vanilla.
Ellen Panetto says
I was just telling my boyfriend how much I miss white chocolate since I've been allergic to milk! We'll have to order these chips (lots of them)!
Racheli Shepp says
Hahahaha, oh my god, when I saw that package I *died*. I live in Israel, and I buy these chocolate chips all the time. They're available in my little village's tiny grocery store, which says *a lot*. I did not, however, know that they actually have a reputation as a great vegan product, and outside of Israel, too! How did you even hear about these?
Mina @ Thrift Cottage UK says
What does two sticks of vegan butter weigh? I'm not sure if we have Earth Balance in the UK and use a different brand, so I'd appreciate the weight so I can substitute. I want to make these for a pot luck on Thursday; our friends are omnivores so we need to bring a few amazing dishes to persuade them that we aren't just eating "rabbit food"!
Emerald says
Should be about 8oz or 1 cup.
Lauren Balistreri says
Add some coconut milk and vanilla vegan ice cream and you have a delish ice cream sandwich
Liz Ashlee says
These look delicious!!
Myfudo says
I can't wait to have the white chocolate pieces melt in my mouth...Yummy!
Josh Brz says
those look delicious! i have started to use 2 parts spectrum shortening to 1 part coconut oil as the fat in cookie recipes... it tastes great, and it's cheaper by volume than earth balance (if you buy it during the holidays when these things tend to go on sale). to combat the spreading, i typically add a tablespoon or two of tapioca starch... can't taste it, and i think it helps to prevent the greasiness that vegetable fats tend to give vegan cookies.
Stephenlevegan says
I have bought those chips from Pomegranate (a kosher grocery store) in brooklyn and they are amazing! I used them to make white chocolate cranberry biscotti from the vegan cookies invade your cookie jar book, as well as white chocolate chai pancakes....*reminisces*
Isobelle says
AH! White chocolate macadamia cookies used to be my absolute favourite before I started eating vegan. I used to melt at just the sight of them. I think I did the moment I clicked onto this post, too.
I have to buy some of those chips! Have to, have to, have to.
Man. I'll be thinking about these for the rest of the day.
koshinka says
When you say "two sticks," is that 1 cup, then? I think I've seen mini-sticks before, but I just want to double-check.
Vegantami says
These cookies look great! I just received an order of these vegan white chocolate chips in the mail two days ago. I am an Amazon Prime member, so the shipping was free. (I highly recommend Amazon Prime for vegans--I order so many specialty/health foods from Amazon at such good prices! Vegan beaty supplies, too!)
I can't wait to try making these cookies. Thanks for another great recipe! 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
I am Prime too! But Prime shipping wasn't available from the retailer I bought the chips from. I think. Maybe I messed that up! hmm.
yes, PRIME is awesome. Makes it so easy to buy exotic vegan ingredients without crazy high shipping rates.
Jennifer says
I think I just drooled all over my keyboard! And I question the lack of different kind of chips availability all the time! I love myself from chocolate but would kill to find peanut butter or white chocolate without having to resort to waiting for an online order when I have a craving.
Nikki says
This is my FAVORITE cookie! I thought I'd never have one again after adopting a vegan lifestyle! I am soooo excited!! Totally worth ordering the chips. I'll eat them right out of the bag.
Rheyn Allen-Williams says
First and foremost, the cookies look and sound amazing, and I'm going to get right on that. But perhaps more urgent is my question/comment (is there a word that means the combination of these things yet? there should be!) about your storage container:
A few years ago, I scored some rad -- yes, RAD -- containers from World Market with lids that look virtually identical to the one in your picture, and I'm wondering if they're basically the same thing. The bottoms of mine are a neutral color with a different vegetable pattern on each of three sizes, and they're made of bamboo. Every time I use them I think about how I wish I had more, but I haven't been able to find them anywhere in-person, and the brand name -- "Bio Bamboo Fiber" -- is just vague and general enough that searching online is pretty much useless. If it sounds like this is what you have, where on earth are they available?!? Thanks!
(And, again, the cookies: WOW.)
Kathy Patalsky says
yup! these are bamboo. I have a few of them. I purchased them from Cost Plus World Mart. Love them!
JenniferBarnaby says
I have a vegan friend who would love these. They look absolutely delicious and I love that they're square. With the addition of the banana, I'd like to call them "Kathy's Jungle Cookies" when I serve them, if you wouldn't mind!
Kathy Patalsky says
hehe, go for it!
Emily Segal says
Kathy, you can get those white chocolate chips (and chocolate ones too) at any kosher supermarket. Are you in L.A.? I am sure there are kosher markets. I'm in Israel but I can find you a kosher market in the US if you want to email me.
Kathy Patalsky says
really?! I guess I need to go find a kosher supermarket nearby and investigate this! thanks!
Emily W. says
How did you make the pretty square shape?
Kathy Patalsky says
hehe.. that is just my "I always add too much dough to each cookie and don't properly space them on the baking sheet" method. The cookies kinda mesh together. But that reminds me that they were homemade I think 🙂
Jaya Bhumitra says
this is my favorite type of cookie--the recipe looks amazing!
Bob says
These photos are incredible. I especially like the first one, it makes me hungry.
Sarah says
Awesome!!! Love the photos
Kathy Patalsky says
Thnx!!
Alex says
I don't do saturated fats (vegan butter) and I would be mega appreciative if you made a vegan cookie recipe (orcake/muffin) with oil instead:)
Kathy Patalsky says
Hi Alex, there are actually plenty of dessert recipes in my index without vegan butter. Feel free to browse! http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2004/04/recipes-desserts-sweets.html
Jamie says
Yum! White chocolate macadamia have always been my favorite type of cookie! I remember buying them from the tollhouse stand at the mall when I was in middle school.
Kathy Patalsky says
Right?! Ah, the mall. More proof that white chocolate is a child of the 80's 🙂