Chewy inside with a slight crunch outside, Coconut Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies have texture, flavor and go above and beyond your typical chocolate chip cookie!
Cookies are a simple pleasure in life. But so often, cookies seem to dry out way too fast, at least homemade cookies. And then, I just don’t want to eat a two day old, dried out cookie, that tastes like it’s at least a week old. It’s just not worth it! So what is one to do?
I’ve been testing cookie recipes using whole wheat flour and at first, I was thinking that this could be the reason why my cookies seemed dry. Or maybe, perhaps, SOMEONE was leaving the cookie jar lid off… But after thinking more about cookies, and making cookies, I knew there was something I was missing.
Sugar, a main ingredient in cookies, is hygroscopic (the ability to hold water from the surrounding environment). So, if the moisture in the surrounding environment is increased (i.e. the cooke jar), then, the cookies should stay nice and chewy. So, I tried something I read or heard somewhere, sometime… maybe while in school, Google or was it from my MamMaw? I had forgotten about it, until I started testing some new recipes.
Something so easy and simple to do. And to think that it could extend the pleasure, the sheer joy of a fresh-baked cookie into day two or three? I’ll take it!
Here’s the solution; put a piece of bread in the cookie jar. The sugar in the cookie will draw moisture away from the sacrificial bread slice. The cookies stay moist and chewy. After about two days, the bread dries out so just replace it with a new slice. I was munching on cookies far longer than I normally do.
These coconut macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies are really nice and they’re big. I used a bit of whole wheat white flour and almond flour in this recipe to garner some nutrition and deeper flavor. You’d hardly know the whole wheat flour is there.
I love the texture of this cookie. It is nutty, moist, chewy and the ingredient combination takes these sweet treats a step beyond your regular (but never boring) chocolate chip cookies.
Cookies freeze with ease. Place scooped cookies on a sheet pan in the freezer. Once frozen, place them in an old plastic bread bag or freezer bag and back in the freezer for future use. It’s easy to thaw them out on short notice when friends pop in, or you want to take a few to share at work or, or, or….. Or, you just want to indulge in a fresh-baked cookie, and not share. The cookies take about 40 minutes to thaw, then bake at 350F. Don’t forget to add the slice of bread to the cookie jar!
Coconut Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter at room temperature (8 oz )
- 2/3 C Granulated Sugar 5 oz
- 1 1/4 C Brown Sugar 8 oz
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Large Eggs at room temperature
- 1 C All Purpose Flour 5 oz
- 1 C Whole Wheat White Flour 5 oz
- 1/4 C Almond Meal 1 oz
- 1/4 C Corn Starch 1 1/4 oz
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 C Macadamia Nuts roughly chopped (4 oz)
- 3 C Unsweetened Shredded Coconut 8 1/2 oz
- 1 1/2 C Dark Chocolate Chips 10 oz
Instructions
- All ingredients should be at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350F and line a sheet pan with parchment (or Silpat).
- Sift together the all purpose, whole wheat and almond flours together with the baking soda, salt and cornstarch. Set aside.
- With the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Drop one egg into the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl down. Drop the second egg in and mix just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture in two separate batches, pulsing the flour in and scraping the bowl down after each batch of flour is mixed in. Mix just until incorporated.
- Add the nuts, chocolate chips and shredded coconut, pulsing to incorporate first, then mixing on low speed until the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Use a #20 scoop (1.75 oz ea or 3.25 TBS ea) to scoop 6 cookies per sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350F oven. Rotate sheet pan 1/2 way through baking. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes on the sheet pan. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before placing in a lidded container. Add a small slice of bread to the cookie jar to keep the cookies fresh.
Recipe Notes
To freeze cookies, place fresh cookies on a sheet pan. Place the sheet pan in the freezer. Freeze for 1 hour, remove and place in plastic bag. Seal tightly and place back in freezer. To bake, thaw cookies for 45 minutes and bake as indicated in recipe.
Adapted from Chef Christopher Harris' CocoMacs
Thank you for reading! If you make this recipe, be sure to post it to Facebook or Instagram, notify me @vanillaandbean and tag #vanillaandbean. I’d love to see what you’ve made! Also, follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and/or Twitter for more deliciousness!
Could you please clarify how much butter is used in this recipe? Thanks.
Hi Margo… 2 sticks (8 oz).
Also, would you clarify if it should be sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
Hi Michel! Shredded coconut is unsweetened.
Hi Traci
Is it possible to sub the corn starch? Can you replace almond meal with LSA?
What does the corn starch do to texture of the cookies?
Kelly
Hey Kelly! Leave the corn starch out if you like. I add corn starch (always organic) to tenderize the crumb and to assist in a bit of crunch for the outside of the cookie. Can you clarify LSA? I don’t know what it is. I hope this helps.
Just made my first batch and I have to admit I was super excited. I tried a cookie like this at a local restaurant and then went on the hunt until I found this! I’ve been talking about it for weeks (to my husbands shagrin).
So I finally made them today… And I must admit I’m a little disappointed. But perhaps I did something wrong. Mine came out looking beautifully, but when I tried them they were just crispy all the way through which seemed to evaporate all the flavor. I didn’t get any of that ooey gooey chocolately goodness that chocolate chip cookies are known for. I didn’t even want to waste the calories to finisb it (yikes!). I followed the recipe to the T with no substitutions … But perhaps I made them too small (I didn’t have the proper scoop) or perhaps I over mixed them just a bit too much… What happened? I only made 1 batch and then froze the rest until I could figure it out. After all, a beautiful cookie is great, but a tasty one is what we really want, right?
Please help?
Hi Bethany! I’m so sorry you’re disappointed in these cookies. These are not ooey gooey cookies, rather they are chewy, moist on the inside with a light crunch on the outside (I wrote about this in the post and headnote). Making the cookies smaller than indicated, then cooking at 350F for 20 min would probably dry the cookies out. Can you tell me the size and/or weight of the cookies? You could try baking them for perhaps 15 minutes and start checking them for doneness. They’re done when they’re lightly golden on top and a bit darker on the bottom. I hope this helps.
I figure out that I did indeed make them too small. Thankfully I used your rdommebdstiom of freezing them and didn’t waste the whole batch. I thought my ice cream scoop was too big, so I halved them, but that was wrong… But I did figure out that if you do half them (for twice as many cookies! Who doesn’t love that!?) then you should only bake 10-12 minutes. Now they are a hit and I’m super happy with them! I can’t seem to make enough!
Hooray! Thank you so much for letting us know, Bethany. I’m thrilled the frozen cookies came out with the reduction in baking time! Hooray! :D
Love the look and combination of these cookies Traci. Scrumptious. Always on the lookout for a great, chunky cookie, so these are definitely up for baking this week!
These look delicious, Traci! I love macadamia nuts in cookies, and to pair it with the coconut is perfect! Yummy yummy!
Oh, we love these, Beeta! I hope you enjoy them! :D
Oh my goodness, I honestly want to reach into my screen and sneak some of that delicious looking cookie dough!! These cookies sound absolutely fabulous Traci and with SO MUCH FLAVOR! I wonder how they’d taste with flax eggs and coconut oil (subbing for the egg and butter!). Adding these to the “to make” list! Pinned :)
Hey Ceara! I love these cookies just as they are. BUT, I think subbing coconut oil and a flax egg would turn these cookies into something everyone can enjoy! DO IT! Thank you for your pin! :D
Hmmm, i can’t wait to make these.
I never thought I’d be adding yet another version of chocolate chip cookie to my repertoire, but this recipe is that happy exception. The almond meal and cornstarch…wow, did these ingredients give the cookies indescribable texture. Very appreciated that Traci listed ingredient “weights”, as well as volume measurements, as is this how I try to approach all of my baking. There was crunch, there was chew, there was everything you could want in a cookie…that being said, I turned off the oven, removed half of the cookies after the 20 minutes, and then after letting out a goodly amount of the heat, I shut the oven door to let the remaining cookies dwell until cool. Those cookies became totally crispy, and I’ve fallen for both versions.
Cheers all,
Jeff
Hi Jeff!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Love the oven tip! I’m on it!