White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies – a copycat recipe of the popular Byron Bay cookies found in cafes all across Australia! The combination of white chocolate with the soft creamy crunch of macadamia nuts in a big, thick, buttery cookie is a match made in heaven.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Byron Bay cookies changed the Aussie cookie market forever when they first came out. They were known for their size (big!), the buttery crisp-but-melt-in-your-mouth texture and most importantly, the generous amounts of “stuff” inside. Big chunks of chocolate, nuts, M&M’s.
Nobody eats a Byron Bay cookie and is left feeling dissatisfied!!
They’re now found in cafes all across Australia, and as popular as ever. They also come with a fairly hefty price tag of $4.00 each.
So it was inevitable that I’d pursue a copy-cat version with a vengeance!
This recipe is a copycat of Australia’s most popular cafe cookie – Byron Bay cookies!
Byron Bay Cookie recipe – what you need
This recipe was developed using Shortbread Cookies as a base which has a similar texture and flavour, then tweaked by referencing the ingredients listed on the Byron Bay Cookie jars in cafes (I cheekily took photos of the labels to reference back at home!).
Just a note on a few ingredients:
- Rice flour – this makes the cookie crumb a bit “silkier” than when made with just flour, to mimic the texture of Byron Bay Cookies (it’s listed in the Byron Bay ingredients). Can sub with normal flour;
- Brown and white sugar – both used to achieve the balance of texture, flavour and colour. White sugar makes cookies crisper, brown sugar makes cookies chewier, browner and a touch more flavour; and
- Macadamia nuts and white chocolate – the base cookie is the same for all white Byron Bay Cookies so feel free to sub this with other “stuff” of choice – choc chunks, M&M’s (the Dotty Cookies!), other nuts, dried fruit, caramel bits etc.
How to make it
This recipe is one of those recipes where you form a log which is refrigerated to firm up, then sliced. In the spirit of Byron Bay Cookies, I make these BIG and THICK!!
I use a hand held beater here but it can be done with a stand mixer or even with a wooden spoon and a bit of an arm work out.
It cost about $12 for all the ingredients, and this recipe makes 13 cookies (because it would be asking too much for any recipe I invent to make a nice even number like 12 cookies). So at $4 a pop, this makes $52 worth of cookies.
So I’m feeling very smug right now. I know I know, I’m soooo immature!!! 😂 – Nagi x
PS These cookies keep very well, staying the same texture rather than going soft like some cookies do. The record so far is 4 days. I’m holding onto 1 cookie to see how long much longer it will last.
More cookie / cracker copycats
Other recipes I’ve created in the past for the same reason as these Byron Bay cookie copycat recipe (ie because I love ’em but they’re expensive!)
- Gourmet Fruit & Nut Crackers for Cheese – homemade version of the rather expensive fruit and nut crackers to serve with cheese! Homemade is incredible – the flavour is so much better than the store bought. Plus it’s way WAY cheaper!
- Muesli Cookies (Breakfast Cookies / Granola Cookies) – copycat of the thick, chunky, chewy muesli cookies sold in cafes across Australia. A healthy breakfast option because it’s like a bowl of oatmeal in cookie form – refined sugar free, low fat, gluten free, keeps you full for ages but it tastes like a sweet cookie!
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 175g / 5.5 oz butter, unsalted, softened (11 US tbsp)
- 1/3 cup (70g) brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (70g) white sugar , caster/superfine best
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) flour , plain/all purpose
- 1/2 cup (75g) rice flour (sub with plain) (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 100g / 3.5 oz macadamias , roughly chopped (Note 2)
- 125g / 4 oz white eating chocolate , chopped into pretty small pieces (Note 3)
Instructions
- Beat butter, sugar and salt on medium (speed 5) using a hand held mixer for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add egg yolks and vanilla, beat for 1 minute or until smooth.
- Add baking powder, rice flour and half the plain flour. Beat with mixer on medium speed until flour is incorporated.
- Add remaining flour and beat with mixer until flour is incorporated. Add macadamia nuts and chocolate, then mix through with a wooden spoon (dough gets a bit too hard to use mixer).
- Scrape mixture onto a work surface, press together and shape into a 22cm/9" log.
- Roll up in baking paper or cling wrap, twist ends then refrigerate for 2 hours.
Slice and bake:
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (or 180C/350F fan).
- Line 2 trays with baking paper.
- Remove log from fridge, unwrap and slice into 12 x 1.75cm / 3/4" thick slices.
- Place 6 on each tray, bake for 10 minutes.
- Turn oven down to 170C/340F (or 150C/300F fan), switch the trays between shelves.
- Bake 15 minutes, remove from oven and cool cookies on tray.
- Cool fully before serving.
Recipe Notes:
- Initial high temp “sets” the cookie so it doesn’t spread everywhere, then we lower it to finish cooking through without the cookie going brown
- Bake time time is longer than usual recipes because these are BIG thick cookies!
- Cookies do not spread or rise very much
- For smaller cookies, reduce the cook time of the lower temp
- Different measures in different countries - recipe has been written to cater for different cup sizes in different countries. Only exception is Japan - please use weights.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Executive Producer Dozer, reporting for duty!
Tasted fantastic, , easy to make. Can you make a recipe, when one is eaten, another one magically appears. Neverending cookies, especially these cookies. On our way to WA from Sydney, they are going to run out. Very sad.
Haha I hear ya Alana!!
Really looking forward to making these! I’m thinking they’d make fantastic presents wrapped in cellophane and a ribbon.
Yes, definitely!
Hi Nagi. Can I use glutinous rice flour on this recipe? Thank you. 😊
Hi Faith, glutinous rice flour has a different texture when cooked so won’t be suitable in this recipe unfortunately – N x