I had an egg yolk leftover from another project and wasn't about to let it go to waste. Since I also had some macadamia nuts, I figured it was time to revisit one of my very old and well loved recipes, Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Ecstasies. The name is kind of goofy, but these thick chocolate stuffed cookies are very good.
Texture and Flavor
These cookies are thick, sometimes almost round depending on the way you stir and the brand of butter you use. Stuffing them with lots of and lots of chocolate and nuts also keeps them round. Sound familiar? Maybe they were the predecessor to Levain type cookies. The only thing is these are made with an egg yolk and no white, so it kind of changes the consistency of the cookies. They're soft, crumbly and the dough is not too sweet. It's there to hold the chocolate and nuts together.
Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Ecstasies Tips
These are incredibly easy and don't require a handheld or stand mixer but rather a wooden spoon or heavy duty scraper.
- Soften the butter, but don't melt it. You can leave it out or use one of the lower settings of the microwave to get it squishy.
- If you can, use Plugra brand butter. The cookies bake up rounder.
- Since this is a small batch with one egg yolk, you'll get a lovely golden hue if you use a grass fed bright orange egg yolk.
- For the chocolate, consider the amount given a suggestion. I think these are better with larger size chips like Ghirardelli bittersweet and Guittard milk chocolate. Use the best quality chips.
- Make sure the macadamia nuts are really fresh because they're prominent in the cookie. I use the salted ones because I like the salt with the chocolate.
Cookie Crumbs in Your Cookies
Here's a weird little thing I like to do to make big, fat, rounded cookies. It's something you might want to try with this recipe since it's a small batch and stakes are low. Make a batch of meltaway type shortbread -- any recipe that calls for confectioners' sugar, flour, salt and cornstarch. Enjoy your shortbread as you normally would, but take some of it and grind it into a powder. Stir shortbread cookie powder into your cookie dough. I typically use about ½ oz of shortbread crumbs to 2 oz of dough. It's especially good in Snickerdoodle dough because you get this extra burst of buttery flavor.
Back to the macadamia nut cookies. I like calling these Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Ecstasies because the name makes me laugh. I'm not sure about ecstasy from a cookie, but if you really pack them with good chocolate you'll feel like you're at a rave while taking a bite. Not that I would know what that feels like. Just don't go easy on the chocolate. The dough is just there to hold the nuts and chocolate together.
Recipe
Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Ecstasies
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened (65 grams)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (55 grams)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon water
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup to ¾ cup all purpose flour, use 95 grams see note (95 grams)
- ⅓ cup lightly salted roughly chopped macadamia nuts
- ½ cup bittersweet or dark chips or any good quality chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- With a wooden spoon or heavy duty scraper, stir together the soft butter, both sugars, vanilla and salt.
- Add the egg yolk and the extract and stir until well blended, then stir in the baking soda, scraping side of bowl well.
- Add the flour, stirring to make a thick slightly dry dough. It should be thick and heavy but not so dry it falls apart. Better to err on the side of less flour than too much with these so add gradually.
- Stir in your chocolate and nuts.
- Using a medium or large cookie scoop, shape into 6 or 12 (or somewhere in between) balls. You can bake right away or chill for thicker, browner cookies.
- Bake on an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F. for about 8 to 10 minutes (time will depend on cookie size) until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges and have developed cracks in the center.
- Let cool on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to a plate to finish cooling. Alternatively, you can put the cookies in the freezer to quick cool. Freezing and thawing them changes the texture slightly.
Anna says
The cookie crumb thing is fun! You can make all different flavors of meltaway type shortbread and then enhance the dough with crumbs. Not all types of dough work. Snickerdoodle dough seems to work the best.
Sue K says
Those sound like they would be fun to make and serve.
I didn’t know that tip about cookie crumbs in cookie dough. Very interesting!