Toffee White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (Whole Foods Copycat)

I work in the city two days a week, and often at lunchtime I wander the aisles of Whole Foods. My office is right next to Madison Square Garden, and the streets are always crowded with traffic and the sidewalks are flooded with tourists. Whole Foods, with its pristine pyramids of organic fruit and free samples of coconut water, feels like shelter from the storm.

Usually while I’m there I pick up something for dinner, like salad greens or a loaf of French bread, but last month I bought a bunch of cookies. You know, as a special treat for Owen 😉

One of them was the most perfect crunchy-at-the-edges, soft-in-the-middle white chocolate macadamia nut cookie with pockets of melted toffee. Alex and I split it, and we both had the same reaction, which was basically, OMG where has this been my entire life?! We started calling it The Cookie, and every time I went to Whole Foods I brought one home. Or three.

Of course, I became obsessed with hacking the recipe and figuring out how to bake them myself. On my second try, I think I’ve nailed it: melted butter, light brown sugar, a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, and loads of white chocolate chunks, toasted macadamias, and toffee pieces (I used Heath Bits’o Brickle Toffee Bits, which I found in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips).

A big batch of these cookies was the first thing I baked in my new oven at our new house. My intent was to distribute them to our neighbors (two families are also from Brooklyn and have young boys–I’m so excited!), but literally hours after I made them I came down with Owen’s terrible cold. I didn’t want to make everyone else sick, so… I basically *had* to eat them all myself. 

Toffee White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2016-02-20 20:33:19

Serves 24

If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, you can absolutely make these entirely with all-purpose. For this recipe, I used 1 1/2 bars of white chocolate. You could also use 1/2 bag of white chocolate chips. The cookies will keep for about 3 days, stored in an airtight container.

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Ingredients

1. 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
4. 1 large egg
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6. 1 cup all-purpose flour
7. 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
8. 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
9. 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
10. 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
11. 6 ounces chopped white chocolate
12. 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
13. 3/4 cup toffee bits

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer) beat the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture just until combined. Beat in the white chocolate, macadamia nuts, and toffee bits. Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.
4. Scoop the dough into 24 balls and arrange on the baking sheets (I baked mine in batches, 9 cookies on the first and second sheets, and 6 on the last one). Bake until set at the edges and slightly soft in the center, 10 to 13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

By Turnip the Oven

Turnip the Oven https://turniptheoven.com/