Milk Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Coconut Cookies
Thick soft and chewy bakery-style milk chocolate chip macadamia nut coconut cookies are an Island favorite!
When I flew to Hawaii for a mother-daughter girls trip in January with my daughter, Sierra, we ate our weight in macadamia nuts. We were literally driving in our convertible to see a waterfall when we were overcome by the most delicious smell in the air. It was coming from a bakery that specialized in macadamia nuts. We pulled our car to the side of the road, followed the smell to this cookie bakery that specialized in buttery macadamia nut cookies. We bought a huge bag and finished it by the time we made it to the waterfall.
We weren't done consuming macadamia nuts! We ate macadamia crusted chicken for lunch and then for dessert, we had guava and passionfruit shave ice with homemade macadamia nut ice cream. We won't divulge how many milk chocolate caramel macadamia nuts we ate while watching a BYU basketball game in our hotel room. Basically, we couldn't get enough of them! Anyone else a fan?
We tried a milk chocolate macadamia coconut cookie in Hawaii and I vowed to create a copycat recipe to make at home. This has the perfect balance of salty and sweet. The creamy milk chocolate pairs perfectly with the salty, buttery macadamia nuts and the coconut brings the tropical flavors. So if I can't be on a beach in Hawaii, then I am going to eat like I am!
If you have tried my LEVAIN BAKERY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE, you know it is possible to have a thick yet chewy cookie recipe. I recently sent out an email to my subscribers asking them what their biggest baking challenge is with cookies. An overwhelming amount of you said your biggest challenge is flat cookies. Well, I am here to tell you that you won't have that problem with these cookies!
Let's get into the baking science. The classic Nestle Tollhouse recipe calls for 1 cup of butter to 2 ¼ cups of flour. This lends itself to a soft, chewy, relatively flat cookie with a slight puff in the center. This recipe calls for 1 cup of butter to 3 cups of flour plus two leavening agents. This gives the cookie the loft and thickness, without making it cakey. I also suggest using ½ cake flour for a more tender cookie, if you have it on hand. Cake flour has less gluten which helps to create a more delicate, tender texture.
If you don't have macadamia nuts at home or just have kids who can't stand nuts in cookies, then you are welcome to leave them out. You will end up with a decadent milk chocolate chip coconut cookie and it will be wonderful. The cookie will remain thick even without the macadamia nuts.
Here are some of my favorite baking tools:
Light Colored Baking Sheets
KitchenAid Mixer
Parchment Paper Sheets
My favorite milk chocolate chips are Guittard.
Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coconut Cookies
Equipment
- 1 turner
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter (cut into small cubes)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 3 cups Flour (may use 1 ½ cups of cake flour and 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut
- 1 cup Macadamia Nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together cold cubed butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4 minutes or until creamy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add vanilla.
- Stir in flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined to avoid overmixing. Stir in chocolate chips, coconut, and macadamia nuts.
- Separate dough into medium-sized balls and place on a light-colored cookie sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes to set.
Carolyn T.
This recipe is easy to follow and delicious! My son has issues with foods made with all-purpose flour, so I followed your suggestion and used 1/2 cake flour. He can't stop raving about them! Today I made my third batch in less than a week! Kudos to you, Melissa! Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Kristin
Can’t wait to try this! It’s a combo of like all of my favorite things!
Zoey
Do you have a recommendation for how much/what type of sugar should be added to the recipe if using unsweetened shredded coconut? It's the only type I can currently get and this recipe looks so promising. Thank you in advance if you have any feedback!
Ronnie
The pictures and recipe looked amazing so I thought I would give it a try. Wow......am I glad I did!! Unbelievable cookie, really easy to make for a rookie in the kitchen as well. Well done Modern Honey, well done!
Taylor
This recipe deserves 100 stars!! It is heavenly, I love the added crunch of the macadamia nuts. So amazing!!!
Donna
Are the macadamia nuts supposed to be chopped up or put in whole? Thanks.
Michael
Chopped but not too finely. Max quarters.
Brittany
Hi, Can I cook these from frozen? If so, how much additional baking time should I add?
N
There's a grocery store near me that makes a cookie like this, so I am making these to see how they compare. Currently on batch two, in which I used all plain flour, and doubled the chocolate chips. The first batch (as you wrote it) was a little too cake-y for me, but still tasty. Very nice recipe.
Darlene
Hi, I really like to know if using half kick flare works with other recipes, such as your snickerdoodle recipe
Darlene
Love the suggestion of using half cake flour. Can this substitution be used with other cookie recipes? I am planning to make your snickerdoodles.
Melody
I have made these two times and would give 10 stars if possible. I used dark chocolate chips because I love dark chocolate. I love your technique of mixing flours and adding cornstarch. An absolute game changer for baking cookies. I rarely leave a review but this recipe is worthy!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Phyllis figueira
Just tried these cookies they turned out perfect. And they are so yummy. The cake flour is helpful for them to stay fluffy. Thanks
Neka
My entire family loved this recipe. The kids and I were eating them as soon as they came out of the oven. I omitted the cornstarch and baking powder( trying to prepare for Passover) and they were still soft and delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe we will be making them for a very long time
Rewari
These look amazing!!! Bet they would be really great with white chocolate
Tracey
Hi Melissa,
I get so excited to see your emails, because I just know it’s going to be good! All the recipes I’ve tried have turned out so great. I was never able to make cookies properly before, until I found you! ???? it’s because of all the detailed explanations you give and the reasons that certain things happen. Plus the personal stories are fun too!
I haven’t tried this yet, but I am rating a 5 for the recipe instructions and beautiful photos!
I never knew the difference between regular flour and cake and pastry flour before either.
I was reading a recipe the other day, don’t know the blogger, but there were several commenters that rudely complained about the long winded explanations and stories, and “ffs, just get to the recipe already”. Even though there is a jump link right at the beginning to go to the recipe.
Well, don’t stop what you’re doing!! I love the stories and explanations and super clear instructions. it’s helped me so much with my cooking and baking. We are all not experts here, but you take the time to tell us “you can do this”! Plus I know you try recipes many times until you get your version JUST RIGHT! Thank you!!!
Maria
These look incredible! I love the combination and glad you added milk chocolate as many recipes add white chocolate to macadamia nuts and I'm not a a white chocolate fan. Look forward to trying these when the weather cools down a bit.