Caramelized White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Servings 16 -18 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick) room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts roasted and salted
4 ounces caramelized white chocolate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, in a medium mixing bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds or until creamy. Add sugars and continue beating for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add the whole egg and beat until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla, and continue to beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and either stir by hand or mix on low until combined. Stir in the nuts and chocolate.
Scoop about 2 Tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough. Place balls of dough about 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Allow to cool completely on the cookie sheet, then remove to an airtight container to store.

Recipe Notes

*If your nuts are not salted, I would increase the salt in the recipe to 3/4 teaspoon.

*I used a little more than half of the caramelized chocolate that I made from the previous post's recipe. That recipe started with 8 ounces of chocolate. After roasting, it was closer to 7 ounces. You don't have to weigh it. Just use a bit more than half, or more, if desired. I thought the four ounces was plenty for me, because the chocolate is so sweet.

*My butter was cool room temperature. That means you can press it firmly with your finger and it will leave a clear indentation. This does matter to the texture of your cookie. If your butter is too soft, the cookies will spread quickly and be flatter than you might want them. If your dough ends up to be too soft, refrigerate it after it's mixed for about 30 minutes.