White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies….it’s Aloha Friday!

Happy Aloha Friday, Friends!

Since Wednesday, I’ve been blaring my Hawaiian-Island jams just willing the weekend to come faster.

You see, in a former life, I think I must have been Hawaiian. For years I’ve been immersed in the Polynesian culture and have spent the good part of 8 years with hula and producing lū’aus. You can ask any one of my former students and they can confirm what a hot mess I became the weeks leading up to large shows or the annual lū’au. But you know what? I wouldn’t have traded a moment for anything in the world.

So you can imagine my overwhelming joy and delight when my sister enrolled my niece, Maya, into a hula school (hula hālau). Trust me, I’ve been heavily “hinting” for all the little ones to join a hālau for years, but Maya so far, is the first. Hālaus are more than just a dance school. They are communities that not only instruct on dance but also pass on culture and values.

My baby girl was in her very first lū’au this past Sunday—and I cannot express how much overwhelming pride I had that day for her. Sure, I had to resist every cell in my being from jumping in to take charge of one aspect or another—hey, I’m somewhat of a control freak. But I was just so happy.

Check out Maya (3rd from left) with the other little keiki girls. Adorable, right?

My sis asked if I could bake a little something to donate towards the bake sale. I enlisted the help of my older two nieces and we made a TON of these delish White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies. Totally appropriate, right?

We made a few tweaks from batch to batch on the recipe and I believe, found the ideal proportions. Chewy, crispy and chopped full of nuts and chips.

Isn’t she just a sweetheart? Now if we can just get her little brother (my god-bebe) Lucas into classes……

Aloooooha!!!!!!!!

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Makes approximately 1½ Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour, plus 1 Tablespoon
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk
1 Heaping Cup White Chocolate Chips
1 Heaping Cup White Macadamia Nuts (roasted and unsalted), roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the white chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 14 -15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Adapted from Allrecipes