Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies

These Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies are what my cookie dreams are made of. Packed with nuts, fruits and chocolate with merely a smattering of cookie dough gluing it all together.

They are ideal for the festive season or even for a weekend baking session with the kids.

What make these Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies special?

I have eaten macadamia and white chocolate cookies and cranberry and white chocolate cookies, but I could never find a cookie that had all three elements! The crunch of richly flavored macadamia nuts, the tartness of dried cranberries and the creamy white chocolate working in perfect unison.  I found that these Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies go well with, or without, a glass of milk or cup of tea.

I wish I could explain how much I love these Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies. Each bite offers a new layer of taste and texture, making them irresistibly moreish.

These cookies strike a delightful balance between chewy and crunchy. The edges are slightly crisp, providing a satisfying bite, while the centers remain wonderfully chewy, thanks to the moisture from the brown sugar and dried cranberries.

The combination of light brown muscovado sugar and golden castor sugar creates a depth of flavor. The molasses in the brown sugar adds chewiness, while the fine granules of the castor sugar dissolve easily for a smooth texture.

The white chocolate chips melt slightly during baking, creating pockets of creamy sweetness. The macadamia nuts offer a buttery crunch and flavor, contrasting the chewiness of the cookie. The dried cranberries provide bursts of tartness and fruitiness, cutting through the sweetness of the cookie.

We love our cookies crispy (not hard or dry) and these cranberry, macadamia and white chocolate cookies have the perfect snap. I even bought one at a café the day before I made a batch, to remind myself what shop bought cookies taste like, and what I wanted to avoid… too much sugar and not enough nuts and fruits.

Serve these cookies to guests for morning or afternoon tea or as part of a festive cookie platter.

Tips for making Cranberry, macadamia and white chocolate cookies

• Use good quality lightly salted butter.
• Use the best quality white chocolate chips you can find because cheap white chocolate is just nasty.
• Use a cookie scoop to get even sized cookies.
• The round macadamia nuts are hard to chop with a knife so I put them in a ziplock bag and give it a couple of whacks with a meat mallet first to break it down to smaller chunks.

If you love cookies but want something without fruits click on the links below:

• Chocolate chunk pecan cookies
• Pecan Snowball cookies
• Oat and Coconut Crunchie recipe
• Cape Malay Butter Coconut biscuits (Klapper scraps)

Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies

Razena Schroeder

These festive Cranberry, Macadamia and White chocolate cookies are packed with nuts, fruits and chocolate.

5 from 21 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Cookie

Cuisine South African

Servings 18

Calories 274 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 125 grams lightly salted butter at room temperature
• 85 grams light brown muscovado sugar approximately 125 ml or 1/2 cup
• 85 grams golden castor sugar approximately 125 ml or 1/2 cup
• 1 egg
• 5 ml vanilla extract approximately 1 tsp
• 220 grams cake or sponge flour approximately 440 ml or 1 3/4 cups, firmly packed
• 5 ml baking powder approximately 1 level tsp
• 200 grams white chocolate chips approximately 330 ml or 1 1/3 cups
• 140 grams chopped macadamia nuts approximately 250 ml or 1 cup
• 140 grams dried cranberries approximately 250 ml or 1 cup

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 170 C or 150 C fan / 340 F / Gas mark 3.
• Line the cookie sheets with baking parchment.
• Beat the butter for 2 minutes until it lightens and looks creamy, then add the sugar and beat until the sugar is dissolved and there are no sugar lumps. This may take between 5-10 minutes depending on whether you are using a whisk or cake mixer. For purposes of this test I used a whisk.
• Add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture and beat again until it is thick and creamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add the vanilla extract and ensure that you scrape the sides of the bowl to mix in all the butter and sugar at the bottom and sides.
• Fold the flour, baking powder, white chocolate chips, macadamias and cranberries into the butter mixture and combine thoroughly. The mixture will be soft and easy to scoop.
• Use a small or medium ice cream scoop with approximately 30 - 50 ml capacity to scoop dough balls onto the lined baking sheet.
• Leave enough space between the balls so that they can spread without touching.
• Bake on the lower shelf for 10 minutes then turn and bake on the middle shelf for a further 3-5 minutes, depending on how crispy you want it.
• Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack. This will ensure that they don't crumble when you remove them while hot.

Notes

For a variation add a teaspoon of grated orange zest to the butter and sugar mixture.

Nutrition

Serving: 0gCalories: 274kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 66mgPotassium: 119mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 190IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 0.6mg

Disclaimer: Nutritional information for the recipe is an approximation and varies according to the ingredients and products used.

Keyword easy holiday baking, halaal recipes, simple recipe

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