White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cookies

It's month 2 of "cookie of the month" for my cousin Alexa. She loves white chocolate so I decided instead of adding it in the cookies, I'd make a simple glaze and put it on top. Don't have the time for this? just throw the chips into the dough with the nuts, they'll still taste great! If you want something fancier, you can add dried fruits like cherries or apricots. Just chop them up and add them to the dough.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks in a separate bowl mixed with 1 tsp of vegetable or canola oil.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Batter should be stiff. Fold in the chopped macadamia nuts and possibly dried fruits into batter. Over mixing leads to tough cookies

4. Drop heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. To make this step faster, use a small ice cream scoop. The uniform size allows for more even baking. Bake for approximately 9 to 11 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

5. Place the chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 40 seconds until chocolate is melted. Make sure to stir it before microwaving longer. Then use a spoon or squeeze bottle and drizzle the glaze over the cookies. I did free form, circles, and dipping half the cookie totally in chocolate. If you have kids this could be a fun part for them to decorate the cookie after you've baked them.