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Embrace the tropical flavors with these delectable Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coconut Cookies that whisk you away to island paradise with each bite. Loaded with buttery macadamia nuts, rich semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a generous amount of coconut, these cookies offer a chewy, sweet experience that perfectly captures the essence of a tropical getaway. They’re the perfect blend of nutty, chocolatey, and coconutty goodness, ideal for summer parties, as a festive holiday treat, or whenever you need a sweet escape. Get ready for your new favorite cookie!
If you are a big fan of chewy cookies, you should also try my Browned Honey Oatmeal Cookies.
The Chemistry of Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coconut Cookies
The chemistry of baking these cookies lies in the interaction between the leavening agent and other ingredients. Baking soda, a base, reacts with the brown sugar, which contains acidic molasses, to produce carbon dioxide. This reaction helps the cookies rise and spread during baking, creating their characteristic chewy texture. The proteins and fats from the eggs, butter, and nuts emulsify the mixture, adding richness and moisture that enhances the chewy texture while the coconut provides a delightful crunch and flavor contrast.
What is in Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coconut Cookies?
Unsalted Butter
It is always important to use unsalted butter when baking. If you use salted butter, you have no way of knowing how much salt you are adding to your dough or batter and it will result in an overly salted treat.
Butter adds fats to your dough or batter which helps with moistness, flavor and texture. Butter melts at body temperature, which creates a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.
When baking with butter the temperature is important. If the butter is too warm your treat will melt down too fast and overspread in the oven, leaving you with a greasy, flat mess. If your butter is too cold it will have the opposite problem and not melt down enough, leaving your treat too thick.
Brown Sugar
Is granulated sugar with a little molasses mixed in. Molasses is a somewhat smoky flavored natural sweetener, which makes brown sugar a bit sweeter than granulated sugar. Brown sugar draws more moisture into your treat, keeping it softer for longer. It’s also more acidic, which means it will help activate your baking soda.
Granulated Sugar
Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.
Eggs
Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.
Coconut Extract
Adds a sweet tropical flavor to your treats.
All-purpose Flour
Builds structure as it absorbs liquids and expands. All-purpose flour falls in the middle of bread flour (high in gluten) and cake flour (low in gluten). It’s exactly what it is named, all-purpose, the most universal flour that can be used in most baked goods.
Baking Soda
Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.
Fine Sea Salt
Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand.
Sweetened Coconut Flakes
Add texture and a burst of coconut flavor.
Macadamia Nuts
They offer a delightful contrast with their crunchy texture and rich flavor.
Chocolate Chips
Is a form of chocolate. Chocolate chips are not pure chocolate, they are typically made up of cocoa, sugar, emulsifier and vanilla. Chips are good for baking because they do not melt completely in the oven like pure chocolate would. That way you get confined pockets of chocolate throughout your treat.
Turbinado Sugar
This is raw sugar and have very large granules. It will not melt down in your oven like granulated sugar, so I do not recommend using it as a substitution for sugar. This is best as a topping.
How do you make chocolate macadamia nut coconut cookies?
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Combine butter, brown sugar, and white sugar in a standing mixer (or a large bowl with a hand electric mixer). Mix until combined. Turn the mixer on high and whip for 1-2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to scrape down the bowl.
- Add the eggs and extract and mix until combined, if you cannot find coconut extract, vanilla extract will also work.
- Now add the dry ingredients, the flour, baking soda, salt, and sweetened coconut. Mix on low speed until the dough forms.
- Fold in the mac nuts & semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can use white chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips if you prefer).
- In a separate small bowl, combine the toasted coconut and Turbinado sugar. Set aside.
- On light metal cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper, scoop large 2tbs scoop size cookie dough balls out. Roll the tops of each cookie dough ball in the toasted coconut mixture.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, until lightly golden brown. For best results, the cookies should be slightly undercooked because they continue cooking once removed from the oven.
- Remove and allow the cookies to sit on the pan for 5-10 minutes to set.
- If cookies are still too soft to remove from the pan, pop the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes, and the cookies should be removed easily.
Storage Tips
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them chewy and fresh. These cookies are best enjoyed within the first week of baking. They tend to absorb moisture from the air, affecting their texture over time.
Freezing Options
Freeze the dough balls or cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving or baking directly from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
Making Ahead
You can prepare the cookie dough two days ahead and keep it refrigerated. This allows the flavors to meld and deepen, especially the coconut and chocolate notes.
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Why make chocolate macadamia nut coconut cookies?
Tropical paradise in every bite! Try these chewy chocolate macadamia nut coconut cookies. They’re perfect for sharing the aloha spirit with friends and family. Enjoy baking these heavenly cookies, which bring a taste of the tropics to your kitchen and ensure a delicious escape with every bite.
I found inspiration for these cookies on a recent trip to Hawaii, where the local flavors of coconut and macadamia nuts were simply irresistible. I wanted to recreate that lush, flavorful experience in cookie form to share a taste of the islands wherever you might be. These cookies are a tribute to those sun-soaked days and balmy nights, wrapped up in chewy, chocolatey goodness.
FAQs
What makes these cookies chewy rather than crispy?
The higher moisture content from the brown sugar, which contains molasses, contributes to a chewier texture. Molasses add both flavor and chewiness by absorbing and retaining moisture during baking.
Can I substitute the macadamia nuts with another type of nut?
You can substitute macadamia nuts with other nuts like almonds or pecans. However, the unique buttery flavor of macadamias is part of what gives these cookies their distinctive tropical taste.
How can I ensure my cookies are evenly baked?
Make sure to space the cookies evenly on the baking sheet and rotate the sheet halfway through the baking time to promote even cooking and browning.
Why do you add the cookies to the freezer if they are too soft?
Placing the cookies in the freezer helps them set quickly if they are too soft to move. This rapid cooling solidifies the fats, allowing the cookies to firm up enough to be moved without breaking.
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Chocolate Mac Nut Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 2/3 cups brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup macadamia nuts
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- In a standing mixer, combine butter, brown sugar & granulated sugar. Mix until combined. Turn the mixer on high and whip for 1-2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to scrape down the bowl.
- Add the eggs and extract and mix until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt and sweetened coconut. Mix until the dough forms.
- Fold in the mac nuts & chocolate chips.
- In a small separate bowl combine the toasted coconut and Turbinado sugar. Set aside.
- On light metal cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper, scoop large 2tbs scoop size cookie dough balls out. Roll the tops of each cookie dough ball in the toasted coconut mixture.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes.
- Remove and allow the cookies to sit on the pan for 5-10 minutes to set.
- If cookies are still too soft to remove from the pan, pop the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes, and the cookies should be removed easily.
Nutrition
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