Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, Soft and Chewy

You’ll love these delicious vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, boasting a perfect balance of softness and chewiness. These cookies feature vegan white chocolate chips generously scattered amid chunks of roasted macadamia nuts. Each bite delivers a harmonious blend of textures, with the sweetness of the white chocolate complementing the rich, buttery flavor of the macadamia nuts. Enjoy a delectable vegan twist on a classic favorite, where vegan ingredients effortlessly contribute to the cookie’s deliciousness.

We’ve long had a cookie debate at our house: Which cookie is everyone’s all-time favorite? Mine is luscious melt-in-your-mouth vegan soft sugar cookies…but… sometimes it’s vegan almond butter cookies too! My kids go back and forth between peanut butter rice krispy squares and vegan pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips (probably because that’s what Grandma used to make). But my husband’s favorite cookie was never even in the running- white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies- because I couldn’t never find vegan white chocolate that I liked in cookies!

But how can you make anything with “white chocolate” in the title if you can’t find a decent vegan white chocolate chip? Luckily for me (for all of us) when I was creating vegan cranberry bliss bars I found some pretty legit vegan white chocolate chips on Amazon! Now my husband can easily argue that the best cookies are these veganized white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Idk…he might be right!

You’ll love these yummy vegan macadamia nut cookies with white chocolate chips because the are a little soft – but with a nice chew to them. They are sweet – but a little salty too with the salted roasted macadamia nuts. I think you’ll be making these tasty cookies again and again!

Ingredients needed to make your own yummy vegan white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies

• ground flax seed and water to make the flax egg
•  all purpose flour  – Measure the flour accurately so your cookie will be light and chewy not hard and crunchy. See the directions below for how to accurately measure flour.
• cornstarch for texture
• baking soda AND baking powder and salt
• vegan butter – use higher fat stick vegan butter rather than tub vegan butter
• brown sugar and white granulated sugar – Use organic sugar if you are a sugar vegan.
• agave nectar for added moisture and a little sweet flavor
• vanilla extract
• 8 ounces vegan white chocolate chips
• 4 ounces macadamia nuts – I buy roasted lightly-salted macadamia nut.
• You’ll also need a (preferably) two large sturdy cookie sheets, and parchment paper. We use a hand-held mixer. A medium-sized cookie scoop is useful to get just the right size of cookie.

Instructions for making these rich vegan white chocolate chip cookies

The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.

Steps 1 and 2: Getting ready to make cookies

This is the part where I’d normally say to preheat the oven and prepare your baking baking sheets. Since we are chilling the dough for two hours, we will preheat the oven in a step below.

Soften the vegan butter

If your vegan butter is cold from the fridge, set it out to soften. It should not be warm and melted, but cool and soft enough to cream with the sugars. If I can poke my finger in the vegan butter and it still gives a little push then it is softened enough. If my finger easily pushes through then it is too soft.

If you have forgotten to take the vegan butter out in time to soften then cut it into cubes or slices and place it in the mixing bowl for a few minutes.

Chop the macadamia nuts

I use a four-ounce package of dry roasted and lightly salted macadamia nuts. Four ounces of macadamia nuts is just the the right amount to give a nice crunch but not be overwhelmingly nutty. A popular brand sells the four-ounce package of roasted lightly salted macadamia nuts in the grocery store so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.

Chop the macadamia nuts and set them aside. When you chop the nuts, chop them into into large pieces – like in half or quarters. You don’t need to do a fine chop. BUT, macadamia nuts are very soft and so you’ll get some tiny nut crumbs. Please use those nutty little bits! Don’t throw them out. Just add them with the larger chunks when it’s time.

Step 3: Prepare flax egg:

Combine two tablespoons of ground flaxseed with six tablespoons of water to create a flax egg. Give it a good stir. Set this mixture aside to thicken while you prepare the other ingredients. If should have a nice gel formed when you are ready to add along with the other wet ingredients.

Step 4: Properly measure the flour and mix the dry ingredients

Accurately measure the flour

For precision in baking, weighing flour is the gold standard as it ensures consistent results. The weight of flour can vary significantly based on factors like humidity and measuring techniques. However, if you don’t have a scale, the “spoon and swipe” method—lightly spooning flour into a measuring cup and then leveling it off with a flat edge—can offer a more accurate measurement than scooping directly. While weighing remains ideal, the spoon and swipe method is a reliable alternative for achieving better accuracy in your baked goods.

1. First “lighten” the flour by stirring it about with a spoon to get some air into it.
2. Next, take a spoon or smaller measuring cup and scoop out the lightened flour.
3. Then shake the lightened flour into the measuring cup. You’ll be shaking the flour in the measuring cup until the level of the lightened flour is a little bit above the level of the measuring cup.
4. Next, take a knife or other flat implement and cut the top of the flour all the way across the measuring cup.
5. Finally, with one swift movement, use the same knife to swipe away the excess.

The rest of the dry ingredients

Add the rest of the dry ingredients – the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt – to the measured flour and mix everything very well. You will want to have all of the dry ingredients thoroughly mixed before adding them to the fat/sugar/wet ingredient mixture.

Step 5: Cream the sugars and vegan butter

In a separate larger bowl, cream together the softened vegan butter with one cup of brown sugar and one cup of granulated sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. When you measure the brown sugar, pack it in the measuring cup. Unlike with the flour, brown sugar needs to be packed firmly to get an accurate measurement.

Step 6: Add the wet ingredients

By now the flax egg should have a nice gelled texture. Add the flax egg, agave nectar, and the vanilla extract to the creamed vegan butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar mixture. Continue to mix for just a minute or two until these have been fully incorporated.

Step 7: Combine the wet and dry mixtures:

Gradually add about half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Then, add the remaining flour and mix again. We do it this way, adding half the flour at a time so that we don’t have a giant cloud of flour to deal with if added all at once.

Step 8: Add the vegan white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts:

Fold in eight ounces of vegan white chocolate chips and the four ounces of chopped macadamia nuts until evenly distributed throughout the dough. Don’t use a mixer for this step, but a large sturdy mixing spoon.

Step 9: Chill the cookie dough

This is possibly one of the most important steps and the key to success with these cookies. The dough needs to be well chilled or your cookies will end up super flat when you bake them. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours to ensure it’s properly chilled. The chilled dough will the cold and stiff like stiff play-dough would feel.

Steps 9 and 10: Preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheets

NOW is the time you can preheat the oven. Sometime durning the last 30 minutes of dough-chilling time, preheat your oven to 350℉. Put the cooking rack in the center/middle level of the oven and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

It’s ideal to use at least two cookie sheets for this recipe so that the baking sheets will be thoroughly cooled before you place the uncooked dough balls onto the sheets.

Step 11: Shape the cookie dough balls and get ready to bake

Use a cookie scoop or a large soup spoon to scoop out the dough, and roll it into balls the size of golf balls. If you are using a cookie scoop then the dough is already in a ball for you. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, ensuring there’s enough space for them to spread slightly. Because the cookies will spread as they bake. If your cookie sheets are large and can accommodate 12 cookies each, that’s a good guideline.

Bake in Batches:

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the bottoms are lightly browned. You’ll be making multiple batches, so keep the dough in the fridge between rounds to keep it chilled and cool those cookie sheets before using them again. If it’s cold outside, you can also cool the baking sheets outdoors to speed up the process, or simply rotate between multiple sheets to always have a cool one ready.

Step 12: Cool the Cookies:

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 -10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Use a spatula to transform the still-warm baked cookies so that they don’t fall apart in the process. Yes, these freshly baked cookies are yummy warm – if you don’t mind them falling apart on the way to your mouth. Luckily, they are equally delicious when properly cooled too!

Notes for success:

• This recipe yields 40-44 cookies. If that’s too many, you can easily halve the recipe.
• These cookies are best enjoyed within a few days of baking.
• You can easily freeze any cookies you don’t consume right away. Freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container or a zip-tight freezer bag.
• Use vegan buttery sticks rather than vegan tub butter for the best results, as the higher fat content improves the cookies.
• If the cookies come out too flat, it’s likely because the dough wasn’t chilled sufficiently, or the baking sheet was too warm. Make sure both are adequately chilled before baking.
• For the white chocolate chips, an 8-ounce package like King David Vegan White Chocolate Chips is recommended.
• Use a 4-ounce package of dry-roasted and salted macadamia nuts for the best flavor and texture.

Enjoy your freshly baked vegan cookies!

The Printable recipe card