Tropical Cookies (with White Chocolate, Macadamia Nuts, Lime Zest + Toasted Coconut)

These Tropical Cookies are loaded with white chocolate, macadamia nuts, lime zest, and toasted coconut! These tropical treats will have you dreaming of a vacation.

I love to make cookies. I like to make cookies for the people in my life, whether it’s for a special occasion or no reason at all. Cookies just scream “here’s something comforting because I was thinking about you,” don’t they?

If you can deliver them warm, even better. There are few things on the planet that can beat a warm, gooey cookie, especially if it’s slightly under-baked and/or has melty chocolate chunks.

These cookies are a fun twist on your traditional white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. They got a tropical twist from the additions of lime zest and toasted coconut.

The resulting cookie is crunchy, sweet, creamy, flavorful, and finishes with a burst of lime flavor that just makes these cookies ever more awesome. My roommate said it and I have to agree, the lime zest totally makes it. It makes you wish you were eating these cookies on a beach in Hawaii, where macadamia nuts are everywhere.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m against white chocolate chips. They don’t taste nearly as good as real white chocolate, so I think it’s important to grab a bar or two of white chocolate and chop it yourself for cookies.

That way, the white chocolate chunks will actually melt and get that gooeyness you want in your cookies. White chocolate chips contain a wax to help them keep their shape. That means they don’t melt well, in cookies or for ganache, which means less gooey cookies. We don’t want that.

Macadamia nuts are expensive! Make sure you chop them up a bit to help them go a bit further. If you don’t want to splurge on a bag of macadamia nuts, cashews would also be delicious. For the coconut, I think unsweetened coconut flakes are definitely the way to go, as opposed to sweetened shredded coconut you usually find at the grocery store. It adds a better texture and more pure coconut flavor, in my opinion!

These cookies are well-rounded – crunchy, creamy, tangy, and so delicious. Share these with the people you love. Hope you all love them!

Tropical Cookies Save Print Author: Rachel Conners Serves: 3 dozen Ingredients

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (2 oz.) white sugar
2 cups (14 oz.) light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3½ cups (1 pound) all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped into ½ in. chunks
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
½ cup coconut flakes, toasted and chopped

Directions

n the bowl of stand mixer or using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugars, and lime zest until light and fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the white chocolate, macadamia nuts, and coconut flakes.
Bake at 360ºF for 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

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Hungry for more? Check out some of my similar recipes!

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