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 (here’s the Choc Chunk version!), 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.
Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.
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.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Watch how to make it
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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 175g / 5.5 oz butter, unsalted, softened (11 US tbsp)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar , caster/superfine best
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks (Note 6 for using leftover whites)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 1 1/2 cups flour , plain/all purpose
- 1/2 cup 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 (not baking chocolate, 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 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Line 2 trays with baking paper.
- Remove log from fridge, unwrap and slice into 1.75cm / 3/4" thick slices (12 – 13 cookies).
- Place 6 on each tray, bake for 10 minutes.
- Turn oven down to 170°C/340°F (150°C 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:
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!)
Byron Bay Triple Choc Fudge Cookies – Chocolate cookies with white AND dark chocolate, these are seriously chewy and seriously chocolatey!
Byron Bay Choc Chunk Cookies – the same cookie dough as this recipe, but loaded with choc chunks!
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!
Life of Dozer
Executive Producer Dozer, reporting for duty!
Can these be frozen please?
You can freeze the dough up to 3 months if you like 🙂 N x
Perfect thank you 🙂
Excited to find the recipe,
I got 14 cookies out of it, yet to try they are smelling delicious 😋
Baked at 10min at 180 deg then turned down to 150 deg for 5min as they were looking brown and baked.
Thank you so much
I made 16 cookies with this Recipe. I’ve made similar before so I trust they will be amazing
Hi Nagi, I am a fan of your cooking. I love how simple the recipes and it tastes yummy. This Christmas I made these choc chip and macademia and white choc cookies to give away as Christmas presents for all my friends. It’s cheaper and tastes way better than the famous Bayron Bay cookies(oops! don’t tell anyone😊)
Do you think I could make these into smaller cookies like half the size? Just bake less? Thank youuu!
Hi Rachel, yes you can, just bake less depending on their size – N x
I’m a huge fan of the Byron Bay white chocolate and macadamia cookies too, but like you Nagi I can rarely bring myself to pay for them. So I was super-excited to find your recipe, and tried it straight away — it is every bit as good as the real thing! Yummo! One of my taste-testers even said, “I can’t believe these aren’t bought.” Thanks heaps Nagi!
WOOT! You nailed it Prema! N x
Outrageously good! And that’s after I accidentally forgot the baking powder 🙈
I’m so glad they still worked for you Susi! N x
I made these to take to work.. But I didn’t go to work yesterday and ate the whole batch instead!! Oops!!!!!!
They turned out amazing!!
Just made them and they are a hit with my family
Love these biscuits. Superb.
I changed rice flour for vanilla protein powder for a slightly healthy cookie than normal and wow unbelievable!!
Oh that’s great to know Matthew – thanks so much for that! N x
Haha this happened to me too
These are absolutely Delicious! I have made the twice both times perfection.
I have never had a bad recipe from your blog. They work every time. Thank you for sharing🙏🏻
Hi Nagi, I am looking for a macadamia, figs and ginger cookies recipe as totally agree on the price tag of the Byron Bay cookies 😛
Would you be able to suggest the rough estimation of figs and ground ginger using this recipe?
Thank you so much
Hi Tram – pop a request on my recipe request page as I’d need to test a recipe here 🙂 N x
The flavour is absolutely perfect but I found mine a bit “gritty”, any tips as to why that might be? Did i put too much of rice flour…?
Check the rice flour box? I once ordered ‘Rice Flour’ in my online shopping order and instead of the rice powder/flour they supplied a ‘Ground Rice’ Rice Flour – looks the same so I didn’t notice but it’s nowhere near the cornflour like texture of rice flour. (same brand: McKenzies’. It was gritty and not suitable for any recipe that would use ‘Rice Flour’. I learned the hard way. It’s my only thought on that. Best wishes.
Great recipe! I used dark chocolate and they came out amazing!
I’m so glad you loved them Walter! N x
hello, any substitute for eggs
I haven’t tried with an egg substitute sorry – this one really needs the yolks. N x
Nagi, when I printed the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie, a HUG Happy Face printed out in the middle of the instructions? Not sure if that as intended or? Either way, These look and sound delicious…..this week they will happen :-). Stay safe down under Nagi and Dozer. We are doing our best up here in Canada…far far too many lost to this pandemic and various human tragedies in Nova Scotia. Thanks for all you and Dozer do to brighten our day(s). g
haha! Not sure why that happened to you Gail! N x
Hi Nagi! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try this recipe tomorrow. However, I don’t have brown sugar. Will it be alright to just use all caster sugar? Thanks!
Hi Claire, its the mix of sugars here that gives these cookies the right texture and flavour. You can use all caster sugar but they will be more short and crunchy – N x
After being in quarantine and missing my best friend I made these to drop off to her and the kids, these were an absolute hit. Did the drive by and boy have I earnt brownie points them. Love all your recipes as that is what I have been cooking in quarantine. Keep up the amazing work, my friends and family have been loving it..
Food is the BEST gift Charly!! N x