The macadamia nut is such a divine little bauble. What a nut! Buttery, with a slight tang and a delicate crunch that most nuts just dream of. And, unbeknownst to me (until about 10 minutes ago), they’re indigenous to Australia! Typically, when I think of these expensive, tiny, orbs, I think of neatly-packed Hawaiian Host boxes with sleeves of caramel and chocolate-enrobed salted, roasted macadamia nuts – the classic gift that numerous friends in college would bring back from Maui after winter breaks at home on the islands. But no! Like so many foods, the origin and original champion of these nuts was not the region that eventually made them famous. Just like coffee or pineapples or tomatoes or potatoes. Things are moved – either forcibly or through fair trade or travel. But here we are today, thinking Hawaii is the born-and-bred home of macadamia nuts when really they came from down under in the tropical territory of Queensland.
Have you ever seen a macadamia nut tree? I certainly hadn’t, until I watched three straight videos about macadamia cultivation and production. The tree itself is gorgeously-leafed, with large, leathery, deep green coverage, and elegant, pale-pink drooping bottle-brush-esque clusters of flowers. Who would have thought. What a treat to get to learn about the food I’m eating by watching a few quick videos! It’s certainly easier than actually harvesting my own macadamia nuts which doesn’t look like a particularly easy process – but often the best packages are the hardest to unwrap (if that’s even a saying). In any case, I’m now sitting in my living room, munching away on these dangerously-expensive cookies (do not recommend making more than one batch if you care about your bank account), made from macadamia nuts purchased at Whole Foods and grown who-knows-where.
These cookies are a love letter to those many boxes of Hawaiian Host caramel, chocolate, macadamia clusters that provided blood sugar spikes at 11:45pm after four hours of taiko practice (yes, I played Japanese taiko all through university! if you don’t know what it is, check it out). Thanks to Mitchell, Aaron, and so many others for constantly lugging heaps of those coveted boxes on their way back to the Farm (Stanford University used to be a farm – fact of the day aside from learning about Macadamia nuts from this *thoroughly* researched post). If you’re into nutty cookies, check out our chocolate hazelnut cookies, or pistachio cookies, or toasted pecan shortbread, or peanut butter nutter butters (we’re definitely into nutty cookies).
Gluten Free Caramel Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- Electric mixer
- Candy thermometer
- Saucepan
Ingredients
For the caramel:
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 Cup salted butter
- 1/2 Cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the cookies:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 1 tsp of it now)
- 2 Cups finely ground roasted macadamia nuts not salted, instructions below
- 2 1/2 Cups arrowroot starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 Cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts
- 1 1/4 Cup milk chocolate chunks
- Additional milk chocolate melted to drizzle on top
Instructions
- First, roast the unsalted, raw macadamia nuts. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the macadamia nuts on the sheet and roast for 5-10 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning. Let cool and then blitz up enough to make 2 cups of macadamia "flour." Chop the remaining nuts to add later.
- Then, make the cookie dough. This will need to chill for at least 4 hours so make ahead of time. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and butter for 2-3 minutes until lighter and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue to beat for another minute until combined. Then add in the macadamia nut flour, gluten free 1-1 flour, and arrowroot starch and stir to combine (it will get much stiffer). Add in the baking powder and salt and stir thoroughly to combine. Add in the chocolate chunks and chopped macadamia nuts and stir through. The dough will be very stiff. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Once your cookie dough has chilled, make the caramel layer. Hook your candy thermometer onto the edge of a large saucepan so that the bottom tip of the thermometer nearly touches the bottom of the pan. Pour the two cans of condensed milk in, along with the butter, corn syrup, salt, and sugar. Heat on medium-low, stirring constantly, until everything is melted and combined. Continue to stir for 10-20 minutes to let the caramel thicken, darken, and soak up the butter (it will look buttery and curdled for a while, keep stirring and cooking!). Cook until the thermometer reaches between 220-225° Fahrenheit then remove from heat immediately, add in the vanilla, and stir until it stops bubbling.
- Let the caramel cool for about 15-20 minutes before stuffing the cookies with it. While the caramel is cooling, remove the cookie dough from the fridge to let soften. Once the caramel is cool enough to handle, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. Scoop tablespoons of dough out, roll into a ball, then flatten and place a 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel (or slightly more) into the center of the cookie and fold the dough around it, then roll into a ball again and place on the cookie sheet (do not flatten the cookies). Bake cookies for 10 minutes (they will not brown much) and then let cool before drizzling with more melted chocolate!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cookies!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
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