Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

My friend goes to Hawaii every year in the spring and she usually brings me back some wonderful treat from the island. This year, she brought me back what is basically a Hawaiian version of Nutella, but a chocolate macadamia nut version rather than a chocolate hazelnut version. I knew that I would be able to make something really great with the spread!

I went looking for recipes, and my primary idea was to make some sort of thumbprint cookie. Although I didn’t like thumbprint cookies when I was a kid, I have made several thumbprint recipes that I do like. I searched for Nutella thumbprints, and came across two recipes. One was a butter cookie, rolled in chopped hazelnuts. The other was a coconut cookie. While the first recipe was more what I was thinking of, macadamias are oily and they don’t chop cleanly. I decided to go with the coconut thumbprints, as I figured coconut is also a flavor I think of when I think of Hawaii.

Ok, I’ll admit that I didn’t read the recipe correctly when I made the cookies. I made the dough, then stuck it in the refrigerator. My first batch didn’t turn off very well, as the dough wasn’t sufficiently chilled. I put the dough balls into the refrigerator to chill for a little while longer and the cookies turned out better. The cookies contain a lot of butter, and they do spread if they aren’t chilled when you bake them. The flavors are a little different than you’d expect, as you think they will be filled with Nutella. You can certainly use Nutella if you don’t have the fancy chocolate macadamia spread.

Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 -1/4 cups flour

About ½ cup chocolate nut spread

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, coconut extract and vanilla and beat again on medium to combine. Add the coconut, salt and cornstarch and stir on low to combine. Add the flour and stir on low until just combined.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, place the balls on a large dinner plate, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then make an indentation in each cookie with your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon. Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cookies are cool, spoon the chocolate nut spread into the indentations. Allow the cookies to set before serving.

Recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Pineapple White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Gosh, I must be losing my mind. I planned what cookies I was going to make for today, bought all the ingredients, and then realized that I had already made the cookies. And I made them not that long ago so there’s no excuse! Anyway, this recipe came up in my Instagram feed from my local blogger friend Peabody and I knew it would be a winning combination. I only needed to get the dried pineapple at the store, so I went ahead with this recipe. She just posted these yesterday- I think that’s the fastest making of a recipe I’ve pinned ever!

Peabody talks about Mrs. Fields cookies in the 1980s, and how white chocolate macadamia was such a popular combination. I remember that too! I have Mrs. Fields Cookie Cookbook, but I find the recipes to be a little strange and don’t turn out that well. She has you bake the cookies at 300 degrees, which is… weird. Her recipes also contain SO MUCH butter that even I think it’s too much. That’s saying something. Her bar cookies are meant to be made in a 9-inch square pan, but the recipe have like a pound of butter and 4 cups of flour, which would be generous for a 9” x 13” pan. She has a few cookies that I have adapted to work, but that cookbook has been relegated to basement storage.

This cookie combines white chocolate and macadamias, but also adds dried pineapple, which is the perfect complement. I had some macadamias that my friend had brought me from Hawaii (stored in the refrigerator, they have kept for some time). Mine weren’t salted, so I just added a little extra salt. This makes a big batch of cookies; I made 5 dozen and I even made them larger than I normally do. The oven temperature is a little different, at 360 degrees, which is often what you get when you convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. My oven must have warmed as I baked the batches, as the first couple of trays baked perfectly at 13 minutes, but the last two trays needed just 12 minutes. They have a beautiful buttery, brown sugar crunch. You won’t go wrong with these cookies!

Pineapple White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

3-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/4 cups white chocolate chips

3/4 cup dried pineapple, finely chopped

1-1/4 cups salted macadamia nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter sugar and brown sugar until light, about three minutes. Add the eggs, mixing for one minute after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the white chocolate chips, dried pineapple, and macadamias. Do not over mix.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using a medium cookie scoop, creating 1-1/2” mounds.

Bake for 12-13 minutes, until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Sweet Recipeas

Macadamia Brownie Cookies

My husband and I recently took a trip with my parents to the Washington coast. While it was a rainy weekend, we had a great time and really enjoyed being able to relax. We visited one town and went to their farmer’s market and visited local shops. I think everyone in my family enjoys looking at kitchen stores, so we spent some time in the several kitchen stores. I don’t really need any new kitchen items, but it is fun to look.

I came across this cookbook, Slice & Bake Cookies. I don’t make a lot of slice & bake or refrigerator cookies, but some of the recipes looked interesting. I checked to see if the public library had a copy, and they did! I checked it out and explored the cookbook some more. I decided to try this recipe and it looked very classic. I am excited for the prospect of refrigerator cookies, as I could have some ready in the freezer for when I run out of time to bake cookies (or something turns out poorly).

This recipe was a walnut chocolate cookie, but I had some lovely macadamias on hand. You don’t want them to sit around too long or the nuts get stale. The dough comes together without much trouble. It is a little oily, and honestly, the dough is so soft you can’t shape the dough into logs right away. I suggest you refrigerate the dough some before shaping, shape, refrigerate, and finally roll in the nuts and shape one last time. They ended up being quite large cookies, so I would make a narrower roll next time. These have a strong chocolate flavor, not overwhelmingly sweet. A couple of the cookies broke, but I think that wouldn’t be a problem with smaller cookies. I think I will buy this cookbook, and I’m looking forward to trying more recipes!

Macadamia Brownie Cookies

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons butter

1-1/4 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1-1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/3 cups mini chocolate chips

1 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts

In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, combine the chocolates and butter. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium until the mixture lightens in color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add the chocolate mixture. Mix on low until the chocolate is incorporated. Add the flour mixture and stir on low until no white streaks remain. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into two halves, and shape each half into a log about 2 inches in diameter. The dough will be soft and the logs may not keep their shape. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Unwrap the logs, roll them in the chopped macadamia nuts and then rewrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats. Allow the cookie dough logs to sit at room temperature while the oven heats.

Slice the logs into ½” slices and place on the prepared baking sheets. The cookies will spread as they bake so don’t bake more than 12 cookies at a time.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until set but still slightly soft inside. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Slice & Bake Cookies by Elinor Klivans