Macadamia and white chocolate
chonky chip cookies
As a lifelong committed thin cookie lover, I was certain I didn’t
need or want a NYC Levain Bakery–inspired, super-thick
cookie in my life. But my first big cookie changed all that.

Where had these irrationally huge macadamia-studded joys
been all my life?! I make them often now, keeping a freezer
stash of raw ones to bake at a craving’s notice. To adapt Nora
Ephron’s line from the movie When Harry Met Sally , ‘When you
realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody a
cookie, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.’

Heat the oven to 130°C (265°F). Chop each macadamia in half. (If you
bought macadamia halves, skip to the toasting.) Place on a shallow
baking try and toast in the oven for around 30–40 minutes until the
colour of pale honey. Cool the nuts quickly in the fridge.

Low and slow toasting is imperative with macadamias, given their high oil
content. I like the toasted nuts to match the dough colour for maximum
cookie aesthetic.

Place the cold butter, sugars and vanilla in the bowl of an electric stand
mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on speed 2 (above low) for
about 5 minutes, until the mix looks like sugary mash – no need to go to
pale and fluffy. Scrape the sides down once during this process.

I keep this base mix cold and mashed rather than warmer and fluffier so my
cookie dough texture is closed and dense rather than porous with air. They
will also spread less when baked.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into
a small bowl and set aside. Weigh the white chocolate chips with the
cooled chopped nuts and set aside.

Keeping on speed 2 (above low), add the egg to the butter mix in
one go and beat for 5 minutes, scraping once or twice during this
stage. The butter/sugar/egg mix will be brown with a wet porridge
consistency.

continued …

Keeps The raw dough will keep for

up to 3 months frozen; eat on the day
of baking for the best cookie time of
your life.

Makes 9 huge cookies.

Takes I like to make the dough the day

before and rest overnight, but it can

be as little as 1½ hours from toasting
macadamias to baked cookie if you
are excited!
330 g (11½ oz) raw whole
macadamia nuts
160 g (5½ oz) unsalted butter,
cold (5°C/41°F) and diced
120 g (4½ oz) light muscovado
(or brown) sugar
120 g (4½ oz) demerara
(or raw) sugar
15 g (½ oz) vanilla paste
325 g (11½ oz) plain
(all-purpose) flour
7 g (⅛ oz/1 slightly heaped
teaspoon) baking powder
6 g (⅛ oz/1 teaspoon)
bicarbonate of soda
(baking soda)
6 g (⅛ oz/1 teaspoon) fine
sea salt
330 g (11½ oz) good small
white chocolate chips
or chopped white chocolate
100 g (3½ oz) egg (approx.
2 eggs), fridge cold
cooking oil spray
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling