Citrus White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies With Sea Salt

Quick Recipe Version (TL;DR)

• Yield: 24 cookies (about 12 servings)
• Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 30 minutes optional chilling)
• Cook Time: 12 minutes per batch
• Total Time: About 40 minutes (not including optional chilling)

Quick Ingredients

• 1 cup (135 g) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt (plus flaky sea salt for topping)
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2–2 tsp finely grated lemon or orange zest
• 1 1/2 cups (255 g) white chocolate chips or chunks

Do This

• 1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Toast chopped macadamias 6–8 minutes until lightly golden; cool.
• 2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt in a bowl; set aside.
• 3. In a large bowl, cream softened butter with brown and white sugars until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes.
• 4. Beat in egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and citrus zest until smooth and creamy.
• 5. Mix dry ingredients into wet on low speed just until no dry flour remains. Fold in toasted macadamias and white chocolate.
• 6. Scoop 1 1/2-tablespoon balls onto sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Chill scooped dough 20–30 minutes for best texture (optional but recommended).
• 7. Bake 10–12 minutes until edges are set and lightly golden but centers still pale and soft. Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Soft, slightly chewy centers with gently crisp, golden edges for that perfect bakery-style cookie texture.
• Buttery macadamia nuts and creamy white chocolate chips are toasted and folded in for rich flavor and satisfying crunch.
• Fresh lemon or orange zest and a sprinkle of sea salt keep the cookies from being too sweet and add a bright, grown-up twist.
• Easy to make with basic tools and pantry ingredients, plus the dough can be chilled or frozen for fresh-baked cookies anytime.

Grocery List

• Produce: 1 lemon or 1 small orange (for zest)
• Dairy: Unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1 additional egg yolk
• Pantry: Macadamia nuts, white chocolate chips or bar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, fine sea salt, flaky sea salt, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, pure vanilla extract, parchment paper

Full Ingredients

For the Citrus White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

• 1 cup (135 g) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled if not weighing
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt (or 1 tsp kosher salt)
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (slightly firm but not hard)
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2–2 tsp finely grated lemon or orange zest (from about 1 medium lemon or small orange)
• 1 1/2 cups (255 g) white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate bar

For Finishing

• Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon), for sprinkling on warm cookies
• Extra finely grated lemon or orange zest, optional, for a final fresh burst on top

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prep your pans and ingredients

Line 2 large, light-colored baking sheets with parchment paper. This helps the cookies bake evenly and release easily. Set the baking sheets aside.

Make sure your butter is at cool room temperature: it should give slightly when pressed but not be shiny or greasy. If your egg and yolk are cold, place them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 5–10 minutes to bring them closer to room temperature. This helps them mix more smoothly into the dough.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Position a rack in the center of the oven. If you plan to bake both sheets at once, use the upper and lower middle racks and rotate the sheets halfway through baking.

Step 2: Toast the macadamia nuts

Spread the chopped macadamia nuts in a single layer on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets. Toast in the preheated oven for 6–8 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until they are lightly golden and fragrant. They can go from perfect to burned quickly, so keep a close eye on them near the end.

Remove the nuts from the oven and let them cool completely on the sheet. Toasting deepens their buttery flavor and adds a gentle crunch that stands out in the soft cookie dough.

Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt until well combined and no streaks remain. This ensures the baking soda and salt are evenly distributed throughout the dough, helping the cookies rise evenly and season consistently.

Set the dry mixture aside; you will add it to the wet ingredients later.

Step 4: Cream butter, sugars, and flavorings

In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), add the softened unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

Cream on medium speed for 2–3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture looks lighter in color and a bit fluffy. Proper creaming helps incorporate air, giving the cookies a softer, more tender texture.

Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and 1 1/2–2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon or orange zest. Beat again on medium speed for about 30–45 seconds, or until the mixture is smooth, creamy, and slightly thickened. The zest should be evenly speckled throughout the mixture, releasing its citrus oils into the batter.

Step 5: Combine the dough and fold in the mix-ins

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until most of the flour is incorporated and no large streaks remain. Stop and scrape down the bowl once during mixing to make sure no flour is hiding at the bottom.

Switch to a spatula and gently fold in the cooled toasted macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips or chunks until evenly distributed. The dough should be thick and slightly sticky but hold together easily.

For best texture, cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 20–30 minutes. This short chilling time helps control spreading and gives the cookies a soft, thick center. If you are short on time, you can skip this step, but the cookies will spread a bit more.

Step 6: Portion and bake the cookies

Use a medium cookie scoop or a spoon to portion the dough into 1 1/2-tablespoon balls (about 30 g each). Roll gently between your palms to form neat rounds if you like. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart to allow for spreading. You should get about 12 dough balls per sheet.

If you chilled the dough in the bowl, the dough will be firmer. If you like, you can chill the scooped dough balls on the baking sheet for another 10–15 minutes while the oven comes fully back to temperature for even better definition.

Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers still look slightly underbaked and pale. If baking two sheets at once, rotate the pans front-to-back and swap racks halfway through baking.

Step 7: Finish with sea salt and cool

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, while they are still soft, sprinkle each cookie lightly with flaky sea salt. If you want an extra hit of brightness, you can also microplane a tiny bit of fresh lemon or orange zest over the hot cookies for a fragrant citrus cloud.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5–7 minutes; they will continue to set as they cool. Then, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The centers will be soft and slightly chewy, with crisp edges, melty white chocolate pockets, and crunchy, buttery macadamias in every bite.

Pro Tips

• Do not overbake. Pull the cookies from the oven when the centers still look a little soft and underdone. They firm up as they cool, giving you that perfect chewy center.
• Weigh your flour if possible. Using 280 g keeps the texture just right. Too much flour leads to dry, cakey cookies.
• Chill for thicker cookies. Even 20–30 minutes of chilling (either the bowl of dough or the scooped dough balls) helps the cookies spread less and bake up thicker.
• Use chopped white chocolate for bigger pockets. Chopping a white chocolate bar instead of chips creates lovely, irregular pools of melted chocolate.
• Toast the nuts for flavor. Skipping the toasting step makes the cookies taste flatter. That brief toast in the oven brings out the macadamias’ natural buttery richness.

Variations

• Orange-cardamom twist: Use orange zest instead of lemon and add 1/4 tsp ground cardamom to the dry ingredients for a warm, fragrant note that pairs beautifully with white chocolate.
• Lime-coconut version: Swap in lime zest, and fold 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut into the dough along with the nuts and white chocolate for a tropical bakery-style cookie.
• Cranberry addition: Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries to the dough with the nuts and white chocolate for sweet-tart pops of flavor and color.

Storage & Make-Ahead

Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days. To keep them extra soft, you can tuck a small piece of bread or a few marshmallows into the container; replace as needed.

For longer storage, freeze baked cookies in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 4–5 minutes to refresh.

You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen at 350°F (175°C), adding 1–2 extra minutes to the baking time. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt as soon as they come out of the oven.

Nutrition (per serving)

Approximate values per cookie (1 of 24): about 210 calories, 13 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 22 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 16 g sugars, 3 g protein, and 140 mg sodium. These values are estimates and will vary based on the specific brands and ingredients you use.