[ White Choc Mac Nut Cookies ]

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cup (325 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (225 g) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (104 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup (211 g) white chocolate chips
• 1 cup (120 g) roasted salted macadamia nuts, chopped
• 1–2 tsp of milk

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Instructions

1. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl while it’s mixing a few times, as needed. You should be able to see the change in color and texture happen and know it’s ready.

3. Add the egg and egg yolk one at a time and mix until well combined after each addition.

4. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is just combined. Do not over mix.

6. Add a teaspoon of milk and combine on low speed just until incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to finish combing the dough and help it come together. Add an additional teaspoon of milk only if really needed to help the dough come together. You don’t want to add too much liquid and end up with cookies that spread too much.

7. Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

8. Create 2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough until all the cookie dough has been used.

9. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours or overnight. After refrigerating them, let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before baking to come closer to room temperature.

10. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

11. Bake cookies for 8-9 minutes. Remove just as the edges begin to turn golden. Don’t over bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool. For tips and troubleshooting help, check out the post above or see the video.

12. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If the cookies have spread a little more than you like, you can use a spoon to gently push the sides in a bit.

How to Make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Cream your butter and sugars: First up, you’ll cream your butter and sugars together until they are light in color and fluffy in texture. You should be able to really see that the change has happened. Scrape the down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times while mixing to make sure everything is getting creamed well.

Add the eggs: Next, add the egg and egg yolk one a a time, mixing until well combined after each addition. Then add the vanilla extract.

Add your try ingredients: Add the dry ingredients and mix together just until well incorporated. You won’t want to over mix.

Add some milk: Now you’ll add one to two teaspoons of milk. It really just helps the dough come together at the end adds a touch more moisture to the cookies. Keep in mind that you don’t want to over-do the milk. Too much can lead to cookies that over spread.

Mix in the white chocolate and macadamias: Finally, add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and stir everything together. The cookie dough is quite thick, but will come together.

Chill your cookie dough: Make your cookie dough balls, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight. This step is really quite important. As the cookie dough sits, the moisture soaks in and becomes more dispersed through the dry ingredients. If you don’t give this cookie dough the change to rest, your cookies will not only spread more (and not leave you with as chewy of a cookie), they’ll also be more dry because the dry ingredients won’t have had a chance to moisturize themselves. Not all cookies are made better by refrigeration, but these 100% are.

Bake your cookies: After refrigerating, let them sit for about an hour before popping them in the oven. Once baked, let them cool and you are finally ready to devour your cookies!

[ Nanaimo Bars ]

These are a HIT in this home, and everywhere else I take them lol ...

Ingredients

Bottom Layer:

• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, diced into pieces
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 5 Tbsp (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cup (180g) graham cracker crumbs* (about 12 sheets)
• 1/2 cup (76g) almonds, finely chopped
• 1 cup (83g) sweetened shredded coconut

Filling

• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 - 3 Tbsp heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp Bird's custard powder, or 1/4 cup powdered milk and 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups (210g) powdered sugar

Top Layer

• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 Tbsp (28g) unsalted butter

Instructions

• Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Line with parchment paper and butter parchment, set aside.
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• For the first layer: Melt butter in large heat proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water set over medium-low heat.
• Remove from heat, add in sugar, cocoa powder and salt and whisk until well combined. While whisking vigorously, very slowly pour in beaten egg in a thin stream.
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• Return mixture to heat and cook until mixture has just thickened.
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• Remove from heat and add in graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and almonds and toss until evenly coated.
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• Press mixture into prepared baking dish. Chill while preparing the filling, bottom layer shouldn't be warm when adding the custard frosting layer.
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• For the second layer: If you are using the custard powder option then simply add powdered sugar, butter, custard powder and 2 Tbsp heavy cream to mixer fit with paddle attachment. Whip until very pale and fluffy while adding another 1 Tbsp cream to thin if needed.
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• Spread mixture into an even layer over bottom layer. Chill preferably in the freezer while melting chocolate (otherwise the warm chocolate can melt this layer).
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• For the third layer: Melt semi-sweet chocolate along with butter in a heat proof bowl, set over a pot of simmering water until smooth (or in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals stirring between each, until melted and smooth).
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• Spread mixture into an even layer over filling layer (spread quickly before chocolate begins to set). Chill until chocolate has set.
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• Cut into squares (tip for best appearance, cut squares from side to side rather than cutting downward). Store in an airtight container in refrigerator, bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

*1. To chop ingredients I recommend using the food processor:

• Break graham cracker sheets in half, add to the food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl. To crush by hand place graham crackers in a gallon size resealable bag and crush using a rolling pin.
• Add the almonds and pulse in short bursts until chopped very small, transfer to bowl with the graham crackers. Almonds can also be chopped fine by hand.
• I even like to also chop up the coconut until it's about half the original size in the food processor, though this is optional. 

Important note: I don't recommend serving these bars to the elderly, young children or those with a weakened immune system. Though the egg is cooked, in testing twice I found 140 - 145 degrees was as high as I dare let the temp go or I felt the egg would begin to curdle and the mixture would also become too dry. The USDA recommends a safe temp of 160 degrees.