Macadamia nuts, white chocolate, and NUTELLA?! Three of my favorite things in a healthy cookie? That checks off all of my boxes! These cookies are mouth-wateringly good and combine the sweetness & richness of paleo Nutella with the delicate flavor of white chocolate and the hardiness & unique flavor of macadamia nuts. This recipe is made using my Paleo Nutella recipe and my Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways) recipe. Please be aware that these cookies are gluten-free but aren't grain-free and therefore are not paleo. See the "Substitutions" section of this post for paleo substitutions for the oat flour.
I've never heard of Nutella white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but I figured, hey I might be on to something here. And sure enough I was! Talk about crave-worthy, these cookies will make you keep wanting to go back for more... not like I know or anything..
But seriously, you can't go wrong with these cookies. They're healthy, sweet, flavorful, and have just enough added texture to make things a little more interesting. These cookies are vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, and 100% sweetened with fruit. For those of you with a sweet tooth, ditch the conventional, sugar-filled slice of pie or sickeningly-sweet cupcake and make this instead. This has to be one of my favorite recipes I've made myself so far. Plus, the kitchen smells AMAZING while these are baking!!
This recipe is fairly straight-forward, but the only tricky and more time-consuming part is having to make the Nutella and white chocolate ahead of time for these cookies. My Paleo Nutella recipe and my Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways) recipe are what I used in these cookies. Of course, if you have vegan & sugar-free white chocolate chips/chunks on hand you can use those instead of making the homemade white chocolate (I recommend trying out my white chocolate recipe though because it is extremely delicious).
Salted or unsalted macadamia nuts both work in this recipe, it's really just about personal preference. You do have to make sure you chop the nuts into small pieces, though, because you don't want to be biting into a cookie and have a large piece of macadamia nut ruining your magical sensory experience when you try one of these cookies (seriously, your tastebuds will thank you after eating one of these).
Nutritional Profile of Nutella White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
(For the nutritional profile of the ingredients in this recipe, I highlighted the health benefits of the ingredients in these cookies excluding health benefits from my Paleo Nutella and Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways). See those individual posts for their nutritional properties).
Vegan butter- vegan butter (like Earth Balance) is made mainly of vegetable oils that are packed with healthy fats. Healthy fats are good for your brain, heart, and skin & hair.
Dates- dates are an excellent source of antioxidants, fiber, iron, protein, and magnesium & other trace minerals. Antioxidants ward off disease by fighting off disease-causing free radicals, while fiber, iron, and protein are good for your digestive system, heart, blood cells, and muscles.
Flaxseed- flaxseed (and thus, a flax egg) is loaded with fiber, protein, iron, and healthy fats including a considerable amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly good for your heart, brain (especially children's developing brains), your immune system, eye health, metabolism, joints, hair, and skin. Make an effort to make flaxseed or another super seed like chia seed or hempseed a part of your daily diet. (Tip: when buying flaxseed, try to buy flaxseed meal because your body can more easily digest flax in this form, allowing your body to better absorb nutrients from this nutritious super seed).
Sea salt- sea salt regulates electrolytes, is good for your adrenal glands, and nourishes your body with micronutrients. Himalayan pink sea salt is my go-to variety of healthy sea salt.
Oats- oats (and therefore, oat flour, which is basically ground oats) are a great source of fiber, iron, protein, and healthy carbohydrates. Oats are known to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels if consumed on a daily basis. Carbohydrates provide the body with energy, while fiber, iron, and protein are good for your GI tract, heart & blood, and muscles. (Tip: if you don't have oat flour on hand, you can make your own homemade oat flour with just one ingredient and a food processor! Simply, measure out the same amount of gluten-free rolled oats as the amount of oat flour that you want (i.e. if you want 1 cup of oat flour, measure out 1 cup rolled oats). Add the oats to the food processor and blend for 15 to 20 seconds, until the oats take on a flour-like texture (it can be a little on the coarser side, but it's all about personal preference). If there are still some whole oats that didn't get incorporated, lift up and tap the edge of the food processor bowl to move the unblended oats and then blend in the food processor briefly until all oats are incorporated. Use immediately in a recipe as a 1-to-1 substitute for store-bought oat flour. And that's it!).
Macadamia nuts- macadamia nuts are rich in healthy fats, fiber, iron, trace minerals, and antioxidants. These nutrients are good for your heart, digestive system, and fight free radical damage.
Substitutions
The vegan butter, baking soda, and my Paleo Nutella recipe CANNOT be substituted. They are all necessary for this recipe. The Medjool dates can be swapped out with any other variety of date. I am not sure how other sweeteners like maple syrup would work in this recipe, since the texture would turn out very different, but if you have the experience to know a good substitute for 1 cup of dates that will keep the texture of these cookies similar, then by all means use that! Maple syrup, honey, agave, date syrup, coconut sugar, and date sugar (if you can do sugars on your diet) are some ideas. The flax egg can be substituted with 1 chia egg or 3 Tbsp aquafaba (chickpea brine). The vanilla isn't necessary but complements the bold flavor of the Nutella.
You can sub table salt for the sea salt. You can sub a 1-to-1 gluten-free/grain-free flour, or almond flour with arrowroot starch/flour for the oat flour. I'm not exactly sure on the exact amounts that would need to be substituted, however. The homemade white chocolate recipe can be swapped with store-bought, vegan, and sugar-free white chocolate chunks/chips or a store-bought, vegan, and sugar-free white chocolate bar, chopped. The macadamia nuts really complete these cookies, but if you can't do them on your diet or don't have them, then try using another nut or seed. I bet cashews, whole almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds (pepitas) could work here!
If these cookies aren't quite strong enough in Nutella flavor for you, spread a little of my homemade Paleo Nutella on top to give it extra Nutella-y heavenliness.
I know I said I'd have two more recipes posted by yesterday, so sorry I'm running a little late. But, tomorrow I will be posting my first savory/side dish recipe! (*cue cheering noises*).
Enjoy <3,
-K.
Nutella White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Fruit-Sweetened)
Prep Time*: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time*: 47 minutes
Servings: 20 to 22 cookies (depending on how big you make them)
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup vegan butter (like Earth Balance or Miyoko's)
-1 cup Medjool dates
-1 flax egg
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup my Paleo Nutella recipe
-1 cup oat flour
-1/4 cup arrowroot starch/flour (can sub cassava/tapioca starch/flour)
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/8 tsp sea salt
-1/2 cup vegan & sugar-free white chocolate, chopped OR vegan & sugar-free white chocolate chunks/chips OR homemade vegan & sugar-free white chocolate (like my Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways) recipe), chopped (I used my homemade Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways) recipe)
-1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (salted or unsalted)
Directions:
1. Make my Paleo Nutella recipe and Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways) recipe ahead of time. See those individual recipes for ingredients and directions.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Soak the dates in hot water for 5 to 15 minutes to soften.
3. Add the dry ingredients (oat flour, arrowroot flour/starch, baking soda, and sea salt) to a medium bowl and whisk together to combine. Set aside.
4. Slightly soften the vegan butter in the microwave for 5 to 7 seconds.
5. Add the softened vegan butter and soaked & drained dates to a food processor. Cream together until smooth & creamy.
6. Add the flax egg, Paleo Nutella, and vanilla extract to the food processor and blend until uniform.
7. Add the flour mixture to the food processor and blend until just combined and a thick batter is formed (Try not to over-mix the batter while incorporating the flour).
8. Transfer the batter to a medium sized bowl.
9. Chop the macadamia nuts into small pieces (whatever size you like, but try not to make them too big because big pieces of nuts create a rough texture). Chop the vegan & sugar-free white chocolate (or use vegan & sugar-free white chocolate chips/chunks).
10. Using a spatula, fold the macadamia nuts and white chocolate into the batter. If the batter is too soft, stick it in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up a little.
11. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out enough batter to make a small to medium size cookie and drop onto the cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the batter, making 6 cookies per sheet. With a fork, lightly press down on the top of each of the cookies to flatten them slightly.
12. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven (at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges and tops of the cookies just start to brown.
13. Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool.
14. Serve while still warm (but make sure they've cooled enough so that they're not piping hot) with a slather of my Paleo Nutella on top, if desired. Enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
*Not including making the Paleo Nutella or Date-Sweetened White Chocolate (Two Ways). See those two recipes on my website to calculate the total time it will take to make the cookies overall.
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