Chunky Macadamia and Maple Cookies

It's just a very good cookie recipe.

Welcome back to my substack. This week's post is a bit late since it is not Monday anymore. I don’t have a good excuse, except that life got busy. Nonetheless, here we are.

First a bit of housekeeping. After writing this newsletter for two months I have realized that I was too ambitious. I decided to make things easier for myself and start sharing a recipe every two weeks. I hope you understand, and I do think things might change in the future, but right now this is the best thing I can do for myself and the quality of recipes I share.

Now back to our usual programming. This week I am sharing a recipe for Chunky Macadamia and Maple Cookies. The word on the street (my street at least) is that these are the best cookies ever, like top of the cookie game. This is according to my brother and his girlfriend, but I am sure their comment is entirely objective and not at all affected by our close relationship.

When I first thought of this recipe, I wanted thin, large cookies with chunks of macadamia and swirls of cinnamon caramel. After testing the recipe, I realized that was not this cookie’s destiny. I changed the flour-butter-sugar ratio, added maple syrup, a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon and flaky salt on top. I ended up with these delicious, large and chunky cookies that are crispy on the outside but still soft in the middle. They have a delicate maple aroma with a hint of cinnamon and crunchy chunks of toasted macadamia nuts (yet again this recipe is giving fall vibes). It is all in all a great cookie, especially for dunking into a cup of coffee or tea.

Ingredients (makes 10-12 cookies)

60g white sugar
60g brown sugar
150g plant-based butter at room temperature (I used Naturli)
60g maple syrup
20g plant-based milk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste/vanilla extract
250g white flour
2 tbsp cornstarch (18g)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
100g macadamia nuts
flaky salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (I use a fan setting). Spread 100g of macadamia nuts on a baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Let them cool down and chop them into smaller pieces (they don’t have to be even in size).

2. Add 150g softened plant-based butter, 60g white sugar, and 60g brown sugar into a bowl of a stand mixer and cream together until you get a light and fluffy mixture (around 5 minutes).

3. Add 60g maple syrup, 20g plant-based milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla paste. The mixture might split, but don’t worry about it. Mix until it becomes light and fluffy again.

4. In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients: 250g white flour, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 3/4 tsp baking powder. Mix very well.

5. Slowly add dry ingredients to your butter mixture and mix until combined before adding chopped macadamia nuts. Make sure there are no dry patches of flour in the dough.

6. Transfer the cookie dough to a container and keep it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight to ensure enough time for the flour to hydrate.

7. The next day, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (I use a fan setting). Use an ice cream scoop to scoop your cookie dough (you can also roll it by hand, I recommend 55g of dough per cookie). Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt.

8. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe. I will see you soon! xx