Soft Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (GF)

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White chocolate and macadamia nut cookies are a classic favorite for many. This recipe takes the traditional and puts a healthier spin on them while keeping them just as soft, chewy, and delicious!

Healthy Cookies Perfect For Holidays & Gatherings

Need the perfect cookie to take to that party you’re going to? Want to add something new to your baking favorites? These cookies are perfect for that and more. They are as easy to make as your average chocolate chip cookie, but a really nice change up. White chocolate and macadamia nuts are just such a classic duo that makes these cookies a baked good you’ll want to make again and again.

FAQ About How To Make Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Do You Have To Roast Macadamia Nuts For Cookies?

No, it isn’t necessary to roast macadamia nuts or use pre-roasted macadamia nuts for baking in cookies. You can, however, use roasted nuts if you prefer. They will add more flavor to the final cookies and a nice golden color.

What Does Cornstarch Do To Vegan Cookies?

Cornstarch is a common ingredient used in baking. When added to sauces or fillings it acts as a thickener. When added to dry mixes it acts as an anti-caking agent. And finally, when added to cookies it can help create a softer, chewier texture.

Mixing cornstarch with a high fat/ low water ingredient like coconut cream can help create a great egg replacement as the cornstarch thickens the liquid to add a bit of bounce to your final product.

What Makes Gluten Free Vegan Cookies Chewy?

Cookies are a complex combination of ingredients that combine to create many different results. The way to make cookies chewy can depend on many factors. Gluten free and vegan cookies do not contain wheat flour or eggs which can add to creating the texture of a chewy cookie.

To make cookies chewy without those ingredients try using cornstarch mixed with a high fat ingredient such as cream or coconut cream. Brown sugar, molasses, and maple syrup can all add to creating a chewy candy like texture to a cookie.

How Do You Chop Macadamia Nuts For Cookies?

For best results with baking it’s best to chop nuts to about 1/6 to 1/8 of the size of a whole nut or smaller. This will help to distribute the nuts in the cookie dough and allow a generous amount in every bite of the cookie.

What Is The Trick To Making Soft Gluten Free Cookies?

Gluten free baking can be quite difficult for newbies, and even for those with more experience. There are whole books devoted to the subject. To achieve gluten free cookies you need to make sure you replace the gluten flour with the proper combination of ingredients to achieve a similar result to gluten flour.

Gluten free flour blends are great for this but do not always work in every recipe. When following a gluten free cookie recipe pay attention to what the baker recommends for the flour to use.

Is White Chocolate Vegan?

No, most white chocolate is not suitable for vegans as it contains powdered milk. You can purchase vegan white chocolate bars or white chocolate baking chips online or in many stores. There are also some recipes online to make homemade vegan white chocolate chips. If that’s a recipe you’d be interested in let me know in the comments.

How To Make Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Step 1:

First things first, grab all the stuff. You’ll want to have your nuts chopped, and chocolate if using white chocolate bars. Gather your ingredients and you’re ready to begin. Don’t forget to turn on the oven as well.

Step 2:

Cream butter and sugar together until it looks light and creamy almost like frosting. Then follow the order of ingredients laid out in the instructions until you have a nice, very thick, cookie dough.

Step 3:

Roll dough into balls that are about the size of a golf ball. There are no rules for how big or small you have to make your cookies though. Try making mega cookies or baby cookies if you want.

Step 4:

Place on cookie sheet and press them down. The gluten free and vegan swaps in this recipe keep them from spreading like a more typical cookie recipe would. Press them down just enough so they look like little pucks. I also like to add some extra toppings on here and press them into the cookies. This is very extra and I do it for cosmetic reasons, not flavor.

Step 5:

Bake your cookies until they are just starting to get a bit brown on the edges. It’s better to err on the side of underbaked than overbaked with these cookies. Plus, there’s no eggs so there’s nothing that very dangerous to eat raw so yay. Once they look like perfection take them out and let them cool at least long enough not to burn anyone. Devour and enjoy!

Baking Tips For These Cookies:

1. Bake at 375 for softer cookies:

If you have a crappy oven (been there), turn things up a bit and bake your cookies a bit shorter or about the same as stated in the recipe. The faster cooking time allows the center to stay soft and not dry out like they would with a lower and slower cooking time.

2. Add extra white chocolate and nuts on top for picture perfect cookies

This doesn’t do much to improve the flavor but since we eat with our eyes first you may feel like it does.

3. Let these cookies rest before eating for best texture

I know there is hardly anything better than a fresh melty cookie, but these improve with a little age. The gluten free flour holds it’s structure better the more they cool and will give you the best bite. But also you can just dig in if you can’t wait. They’ll still be good.

Ingredients For Gluten Free Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

• Vegan Butter:

Vegan butter helps to create the rich flavor and texture base to these cookies. It bonds with the sugar and flour without drying out the cookies.

• Granulated Sugar:

Granulated sugar is perfect for helping keep these cookies a bit on the blonde side while adding plenty of sweetness to the cookies.

• Brown Sugar:

Brown sugar adds a deeper flavor and sweetness to the cookies along with helping create that beloved chewy cookie texture.

• Coconut Cream:

Coconut cream is used in this recipe as a replacement liquid to eggs. When mixed with the cornstarch and flour it adds liquid without adding too much water content. Adding too much water content can cause cookies to steam while baking and dry the cookie out creating a much cakier texture.

• Baking Powder:

Without getting into baking science, baking powder adds the stuff you need to get your cookies to rise and be fluffy or chewy.

• Salt:

Adds that much loved addictive hint of flavor.

• Vanilla & Almond Extract:

Also for flavor.

• Cornstarch:

Helps in gluten free vegan baking to replace eggs and create soft chewy cookies. You can use arrowroot starch instead if you are averse to corn.

• Gluten Free (Measure 1 to 1) Flour Blend:

This is important for gluten free baking. Most flour blends that claim to measure one for one will do the trick. They are typically made with a rice flour base. I recommend testing a few to see which one works best in your baking. I love using Bob’s Redmill 1 to 1 because I’ve had the best results with it.

• Almond Flour:

Almond flour adds an even deeper flavor to a basic cookie. It is also a source of fat that can help you achieve that perfect bite cookie.

• Dairy Free White Chocolate Chips or Chunks:

Not all white chocolate is dairy free so be sure to get vegan white chocolate. I have tried a few brands but Enjoy Life has recently started making one and they win on best one in my opinion.

• Macadamia Nuts:

Macadamia nuts are the star of the show. They add that lovely crunch element and, well, nuttiness. You could replace them with another nut, such as walnuts, I suppose. (not the same though)

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