White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

So good! I read most of the reviews and was really confused as to what to expect. Half of them said the cookies came out really cakey and puffy, and the other half said they were too flat. I don't like either extremes and really wanted a cookie that was right in the middle. I got it! I followed the recipe in the basics (was going to use less flour as some of the reviews stated, but when I was adding it, they looked like they needed all 2 1/2 cups), except did 1 tsp vanilla instead of half almond, and added more macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. Used real salted butter, and it wasn't extremely softened, which I think helped. Dropped by tablespoons instead of teaspoons because teaspoons always seem too small. Baked for 9 minutes and they came out just undercooked in the middle, which is exactly how I like them. They were perfect. Hope this helps!

These came out great, I followed the recipe to the letter and it came out just like the photo. Crispy crust and chewy insides. If your having issues with the cookies I'd recommend you check your technique, you must be doing something wrong. I'd recommend doing it all by hand, electric mixers can cause things to go wrong very quickly because the generate heat and can over mix your batter. If your cookies are running flat, it means your butter is melting before you bake. First check and be sure your using real butter, the only ingredients in it should be milk/cream, anything else and it's not butter! Your butter is ready for creaming when it's cool to the touch and when you press your finger against it, it should dent a little. Also when you pick it up it should have no trouble holding it's shape. When your creaming try not to place your hand by the bottom of the bowl, the heat from your hand can melt the butter to much. Also chilling your cookies just before baking can help it keeps it shape, but don't chill for to long, maybe a few mins. Baking soda goes to work immediately, so if you wait to long your cookies won't rise. If it's coming out cakey it's probably the shortening or too much baking soda (measure carefully!!!!) Hard/dense cookies are do to over mixing, to get that crisp and chewy texture you want to FOLD your dry ingredients in GENTLY a little at a time. Stirring or being aggressive will beat the gluten to much and change the texture of the cookie.

I've made these cookies four times now and they are always a tremendous hit. The last time I modified the recipe based on some of the reviews here. I replaced half the butter with butter flavored shortening and did 3/4 tsp vanilla and only 1/4 tsp almond extract. It made the almond flavor much more subtle and not so overpowering. The substitution of shortening for part of the butter helps the cookies maintain their shape and gives them a great texture.

I made these cookies on a lazy Sunday afternoon, they mix up quick and easy. I read other reviews talking about the cookie "spreading" so I did 2 things to prevent this. First, I made sure to allow the butter to soften on its own at room temperature, and substituted 1/2 of the butter with butter Crisco. I also only used 1/2 of the almaond extract that is called for. The results were absolutely fabulous!!! They had very nice form, and baked up perfectly on my stoneware cookie sheet. My husband labeled it "a keeper" and took some to work to "share" although I think he was selfish and kept most for himself. I will be making these again!!

Some of the best cookies ever! I made them into bars, and way undercooked them so they would be soft, and a little chewy. I've been searching for this recipe for years - Got it!!!

I made these Saturday and had 2 requests for the recipe in my inbox on Monday morning. My switches: - 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening - 1 tsp vanilla, no almond - 3/4 bag of white choc chips - parchment lined sheets - big messy drops of cookies Bravo!

I made this recipe without the almond extract (doubled the vanilla) and they were delicious. I found these cookies to be quite sweet with the amount of sugar called for and wouldn't add any more.

These cookies came out great but what alot of recipes dont tell you is HOW to mix them properly. First off is stick with real butter.Any real bakeries do not use shortening. The reason why all of your cookies turn out flat is that you are over beating or beating too fast mainly the butter. If air is introduced into the mixture it will spread out on the sheet. So while mixing keep the speed at no more then med. to avoid airation but stop when everything is just blended. Another trick is after you scoop out the cookies on the sheet pop it in the fridge for 15 to 20 mins and this will also help them retain the picture perfect cookie look. To get a perfect bottom on the cookie with no burning use "Air Bake" sheets and they will cook evenly with NO burning at all.

So good! If you want to make a powerful impression, take these cookies to a party. I put the full amount of almond extract in and it was not overpowering at all. I cut down on the flour a little bit, using 2 cups of all-purpose and 1/4 of whole-wheat pastry flour. Taking these cookies to a dinner party tonight...if they last that long!

Fantastic! I also added 1/2c Coconut. -So good! Please understand that flour reacts different depending on what brand it is et. Also if it is a rainy day, dry sunny day etc. (flour absorbs moisture from the air so can react differently on different days too. I always bake 1 "test cookie" * If it spreads too much, I add 2 T additional flour and mix it in before baking. * Too dry and doesn't spread/stays in a lump? add 2T more butter or shortening. then bake. -Hope this helps

For Best Results: All ingredients should be a room temp. Including Eggs. Do not exceed medium speed when creaming butter or adding the eggs. It will be mixed enough in about 2-3 mins. Scrape bowl 2-3 times. Add flour mixture on slow speed and just till incorporated. Fold in nuts and chocolate by hand. Refrigerate batter about ten mins. Use an air-bake sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a small ice cream scoop to place cookies 2 inches apart. Bake @ 350 until edges start to brown. This can take 12 mins. let cool on pan for 2 mins then move to rack to cool completely.

I was disappointed by these cookies! They turned out the right texture but they were tasteless. I was irritated that I wasted 7$ on the nuts for this not to go as planned. I like the recipe on the white chocolate chip bag much better. Maybe if you were to double the chocolate chips...

These are my favorite cookies but I never found a good recipe to try. Thank you for posting it! I just made a batch to add to my holiday cookie collection and I plan to make another later today. I too cut the almond extract to 1/4 tsp. and used 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening as in a review I read for this recipe. The cookies did not spread and taste delicious!

Very good. I did omit the almond flavoring because I do not like the taste of almond flavoring so for the reviewers who said "do not leave it out" that would certainly depend on knowing your own taste. If I was making the cookies for someone that I knew liked almond flavoring then I would add it. This is when you first read a recipe and see a lot of or not so much spicy flavorings, adjust to your preference rather make the recipe and than criticize. For those who thought their cookies were too puffy, you might try cutting back the baking soda, 1 teaspoon is a little more than you would normally find in relation to the amount of flour. Also, if you melt the butter just until it starts to brown, add the brown sugar, wisk and let it sit for 2 or 3 minutes to dissolve the sugar, you will get a different consistency than if you cream the butter and sugar, however this is not to everyone's liking. Try it and if you do not like it, go back to the original way. For those who complain about the cost of the macadamia nuts, this is what trying new recipes is all about and at least on this site you have the benefit of the comments of others who have made the recipe whether you agree or not.

My husband's most favorite cookie! This recipe was, according to him, the BEST white chocolate macadamia nut cookie he has ever put in his mouth. I didn't change a thing, only added ½ teaspoon of baking powder into the mixture to yield a bit fluffier of a cookie. The result? Perfectly chewy, delicious cookies and slightly puffy. My ideal! I'll be using this recipe from now on until the end of time for my husband! Thank you!

Used half-butter, half-shortening instead of all butter. Doubled the nuts and the chocolate chips. Also made much larger cookies than recipe calls for - I used my 2-tablespoon scoop instead of teaspoons! Baked about 14 minutes at 350 degrees and got gorgeously tanned and delicious cookies that still have a bit of chew in the middle with crunchy edges.

Do not alter this recipe. It's perfect as is. I bake every recipe as listed the first time and I'm glad I didn't take the advice of some of the other reviewers. The cookies didn't spread too thin, they had a great consistency, and they are definitely a new favorite. Be careful not to melt your butter (if you warm it up in the microwave). The key is to barely soften it. If you didn't like this recipe, you didn't do something right.

The flavor of these cookies was nice. What I was looking for, but they were WAY TOO THICK. So cake like. I wanted flater, chewier cookies. I will keep looking. In the photo of these cookies, they look normal, but mine were very thick.

These are very good cookies. I also used half butter(for flavor) and half shortening(for texture), while upping the vanilla extract to 3/4t and lowering the almond extract to 1/4t as other reviewers mentioned. I thought a few more nuts and chips would be good. I noticed that a few have mentioned an overpowering saltiness to these cookies, leading me to wonder what type of butter was used. I was trained to use only unsalted butter in all recipes, so that I am always in control of the saltiness of the end product. I make my cookies bigger than these, so of course end up with a smaller yield. Thanks for the recipe!

These are not that good... I mean, they're okay, but the end result is really not worth the time, money and effort that goes into this recipe. They're rather "cakey" and I was hoping for a flatter, softer cookie.

My brother's fiancé asked me to bake his and hers favorite cookies for their wedding. Her favorite was white chocolate macadamia nut, which I had never made before. After reading through different recipes on this site I chose this recipe and the "White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies IV" recipe to try. This cookie beat the other recipe in multiple taste tests. Ultimately, the fiancé choose this one and all but one person liked this one better. I changed very little on this recipe. The 1/2 shortening helped the cookies maintain shape and added a nice texture. The 1/2 brown sugar helped the cookies not be as sweet and the almond extract gave it that little bit of something extra. Definitely give this recipe a try.

I refrigerated the dough before baking (one night make the cookie doughs, bake another night) and rolled into walnut-sized balls. They spread a little, but stayed small and neat, and were DELICIOUS!!!! My man said they were the best cookies he'd ever tasted. Two thumbs wayyyy up - thanks!

I don't know how people can rate a recipe 5 stars when they have to make changes to the recipe. IF you make changes you are no longer following the original recipe and should not rate the original based on your results after changes. These turned out very puffy and cake like... I think 2 eggs is to much for the recipe and would reduce it down to 1 egg. I was looking for a flat chewy cookie and that is not what I got. The picture is very misleading.. the picture is what I was looking for the actual product was not... will try a different recipe next time.

Very disappointed in this recipe, I feel like I have wasted a batch of chocolate and macadamias. The almond extract overpowers the taste of the whole cookie and the texture of the cookie is unappealing.

I made these for Christmas and I decreased the flour to total 2 1/4 cups and increased the vanilla to total 2 tsp. These were so buttery, full of flavor and decadent straight from the oven. Excellent late night munchie food as well. Thanks for a great recipe.

I made a few alterations due to lack of ingredients. I used good quality dark choc chunks, only vanilla and like some other reviewers did half butter and half shortening. The only other change was I made them WAY bigger and then flattened them with damp fingers. I love them and am planning on hiding them before my husband gets home!!

I loved making this cookies. The recipe is very precise and even with egg replacer it came out delicious. I ended up with 60 cookies and lots of happy people!!!!

I followed the directions exactly and these came out cakey and puffy for me. I think I'll switch back to my other recipe.

These are delicious. They practically melt in your mouth. I read some reviews before making them and decided to do half butter, half shortening. I also noticed that the almond extract IS a little strong but not in a bad way. I love it but if you think you might now maybe use a little more vanilla and less almond extract.

I am really dissapointed with how this recipe came out. I had high hopes for this one. The cookies did not flatten out one bit :( The taste is okay, noting special. I'm not sure if it's because I mixed the dough too much, maybe it is.

I made sure that everything was measured extremely accurately, but the cookies didn't spread at all. Infact they held their exact shape. I always use real butter and I am not sure if that makes a difference or not but next time I will add less flour and I will add more white chocolate as other reviews have recommended. I used salted macadamia nuts and the over all flavor of the cookie was very good.

These cookies are amazing! Everyone wants the recipe but, do you want to know how to make them amazing? I change the butter to a 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup of shortening. Plus the vanilla extract changed from 1/2 teaspoom to 3/4 teaspoon and cut the almond extract down from 1/2 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon. SUPER COOKIES!

This recipe is amazing! I've made it for family and friends and everyone loves it!! The only thing I did differently was I used 1/2 cup margarine, 1/2 cup butter..if you haven't made these cookies already, you have no idea what you are missing out on!

These cookies are my husband's favorites! I did make some changes to thos recipe though. I reduced the flour to 2 cups and used 3/4 teaspoon vanilla ,and I reduced the almond extract to 1/4 teaspoon because it is an overpowering extract. These are great cookies, however, I do not like macadamia nuts so next time I make these I will do a seperate batch with just the white chocolate. Thanks for submitting this one!

I am giving these cookies five stars because other people liked them and because I didn't follow the recipe exactly (I don't think it's fair to knock off a star). I cut the butter in half and used 1/2 a cup of shortening, but I think I would have been happier with the cookies if I had followed the directions and used all butter. Also, my store only had salted macadamia nuts, so I didn't put in any salt. Don't get me wrong, these cookies weren't bad at all, but I think my expectations were too high. Next time, I will use all butter.

Excellent cookie! I took others' advice and used butter crisco for half of the butter and used only 1/4 tsp almond extract. My first batch I accidentally overcooked and they were still great. The second batch was absolutely perfect. Definitely a keeper!

I followed the recipe exactly, except for using 1 tsp. of vanilla extract instead of 1/2 tsp. each of vanilla and almond since I didn't have almond on hand. They turned out wonderfully! For me, they definitely turned out on the puffier end (I did mix the heck out of the batter with an electric mixer), but I just flattened the dough a little before baking. They are a keeper and I'll be making them again.

Not sure what happened to mine. They taste good, but look nothing like this pic. They have a consistency of bread almost, kinda of fluffy, not sugary enough. I measured everything correctly too...hmmm

These were extremely thick and cakey. They did not spread at all, they were lil pucks...White chocolate macadamia nut cookies are one of my favs and these were the worst cookie Ive ever made. Glad I made a 1/2 batch to test first...

Cookies just came out puffy as a mug. Tastes like salted pork. Extremely doughy. Not Dollar Tree quality at all. Very cake-like. Not the consistency and texture we were looking for.

these are awesome, very tasty. I only have one question. Did anybody actually got 48 cookies out of this recipe? I got 24 medium size cookiz.

The best cookies ever! I do not like doughy cookies- AT ALL! These were slightly more cake-like, but not doughy. So, so, so good! I have to say, so many people have said, "use half butter half shortening" no way! Use all butter- but don't melt it all the way. Just until it is soft, and make sure to get salted butter! Then make the dough. And I personally love flat cookies, so I baked these right away. But if you wanted a thicker cookie you could put them in the freezer or fridge for a few minutes or hours. Also, these can freeze in a plastic container for about 2 weeks, so they are great cookies to make ahead of time! Oh, and the dough or the actual cookies can freeze. One more thing, shortening is not good for you one bit, and I am not saying that butter is, I am just saying- Butter Is Better! Anyhow, thanks for posting this Mary, your awesome! p.s. I liked them better with plain vanilla, not almond extract. And I used honey and xylitol in place of the sugar and brown sugar! Good Luck with these scrumptious cookies!

These could not have come out any better - they taste professional, and are very addictive. I made sure to use butter that was not too soft so there were no problems with spreading, and I upped the vanilla a little as we like vanilla. My husband finally had to leave the room to keep himself from eating too many. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

I tasted salt(sodium), more than the cookie itself, and i plan on never making this cookie again!! I will not use this recipe again.

This recipe was exactly what I was looking for. After reading other reviews I was concerned that they might flatten...but I had no problem with this at all. The key is to not have your butter to soft when mixing...and to use real butter. I followed the recipe to the T...and my cookies turned out great. Thanks

I subbed in 1/2 cup of shortening per some other reviews, and they turned out nice and soft. The teaspoon-sized servings made for adorable bite-sized cookies that went fast...all 4 dozen of them!

Cookies came out great using the alterations Grace recommended.

These cookies are delicious! I used 2 tsp of vanilla and no almond extract and I also only used 2 1/4 cups of flour. I baked them for about 9 minutes and they are terrific!!!

I made this recipe just as written and the cookies really are quite good. As usual, teaspoonsful of batter makes small cookies and a whole bunch of them. I used well rounded-to-heaping teaspoonsful and ended up with 94 cookies. And if you wait for the cookies to be golden brown on top, they will be charcoal on the bottom. I took them out of the oven as the edges showed the first sign of browning, and they were just right. Thanks for this recipe, Mary!

We did not like this one. Normally we devour a batch in two or three days. This one was still around a week later.

I made it with 1/2 butter and 1/2 margarine and I used the almond extract. They are delicious cookies. I know when my husband says "darned good" that he really likes them. A big hit and I want to thank you for a great recipe.

I made them wo the almond extract. They turned out *excellent*! My family friends loved them (and so did I)!

These were light, delicate and quite delicious. But I knocked off one star because they were slightly drier than I would have wanted. But if you like the light and delicate type of cookie, I'd recommend it to you.

I really liked it...melt in your mouth texture. however I'm not a big almond fan so I think I'll cut down on the amount of almond I use next time

My sister made these a few nights ago and they were fantastic. She even changed the recipe a bit and made a batch that was gluten free for her husband. Both batches turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!

Yummy. I just finished baking these cookies and wow. They came out great. I didn't have any almond extract so I used just about two teaspoons of vanilla instead and they turned out great. I also only baked these cookies for 81/2 to 9 minutes for a slightly more chewy cookie. Wonderful. Thank you for the great recipe, a must try.

The recipe was very simple. I did not add the almond extract. I really don't care for it, and it is very over powering. I used the two sticks of butter and found that the cookies flattened, I used about two Tbs. of the batter on one cookie to make sure there was as much of a chewy center as I can get. Next time I will try with the shortening. Overall a very simple and tasty cookie is the end product!

These cookies were absolutely fabulous!!! With the few slight changes, my family couldn't keep their hands away from the cookie jar!! Instead of using 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 a tsp of almond extract I used 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp of almond extract. I also added 1/4 cup extra flour but this amount varies depending on the consistancy of the dough. My family isn't huge fans of white chocolate so I use the white vanilla chips instead which are sinful. Although the recipe was quite varried from the original...they made delectable treats.

As other suggested I used half butter half shortening. Next time I will use all butter and they turned out more cake like and I like the flatter kind of this cookie ( like Subways... yum!). I used half the almond ext which was perfect- any more and it would have been too overpowering. Next time I will cut the mac nuts down a bit and use extra white choc chips.

These were so good!! I added a half cup of flaked coconut to them and it made all the difference. They were a big hit on Father's Day.

This is the best cookie recipe in the world. Definitely. I used gluten free flour and rice bran oil spread (like margarineish stuff) and definitely overmixed and kept the dough in the fridge overnight.. BUT THEY STILL TURNED OUT AMAZING! They are quite a cakey cookie and crispy around the edges, they puff up and spread quite a bit. I had them in teaspoonfulls and the cookies ended up the size of .. um, around the circumference of a mandarin and the height of 1/8th pinkie finger

I just made these and followed everything. Im not sure why my first batch didnt get flat, they stayed the same shape, so for the second batch and pressed them down and shaped them. Can someone tell me why?

These cookies are delicious! No changes were made it was perfect.

This was a yummy cookie recipe. There are a few changes I made to this recipe. I changed the flour to 2 cups and added 3/4 cups oatmeal--blended to a fine powder (in blender). 1 tsp almond extract--for a nutty flavor. 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp baking powder. These cookies are irrestible...especially dipped in milk!

Better than any white chocolate macadamia nut cookies you can find in the stores. Love the even ratio of chips to nuts. A little too much almond extract for me (no one else thought so though) but overall, excellent.

I have made this recipe several times, and it turns out wonderful. My boyfriend says he rates it a 9, on a 1-10 scale. However, i find the dough is hard to work with, and i prefer adding all the ingrediants together, before mixing at all. It works better that way for me, and that is what i will be doing from now on. Thanks for the recipe!

Very good cookie. I made two white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipes from this site tonight and this one is my favorite of the two. I made the recipe exactly as is (excepted for i half the recipe). The cookies were neither two flat or to tall. They were just right. After reading the other reviews, I do agree that you should either sub vanilla extract for the almond extract or 1/2 the amount of almond extract. I will make that modification the next time I make these. However my husband loves almond extract, so I expect that the cookies I made tonight will be gone in no time.

Oh My GOSH!! These cookies were incredible. I've been looking for a good cookie recipe and I found it. Here's what I did: I didn't drop and bake. I made a cookie roll on parchment paper and parked it in the frig for about an hour. Then I sliced and baked. I undercooked them just a bit, but they were perfect - still soft in the middle. I've used this base for other cookies too - choc. chip, oats, butterscotch. They all turn out great.!!!

My family raved over these cookies! I made the recipe exactly as stated and had none of the problems other reviewers have had. Thanks for a great recipe! UPDATE: At my boyfriends request, I used coconut extract for a unique twist. No vanilla or almond just 1 teaspoon of coconut extract. He raved about these cookies afterwards and hoards them like I was never going to make them for him again.

This has become my traditional make at Christmas cookie that I get requests all year long for!

I made these omitting the almond extract, using the full 1 tsp. of real vanilla extract. I also used real butter softened and baked for 8 min. with one additional min. left on the cookie sheet to firm up. They were soft, buttery, and delicious. No problem with the cookies spreading at all. A keeper!

After reading the reviews, I also used 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter. Instead of the macadamia nuts, I used half cashews and 1/2 pecans only because they were on hand. Delicious!!

Turned out the flatest cookie I have ever made and I am a baker. They did have great flavor but I would never serve them to guests. This cookie is just the same as chocolate chip. so just use your fav recipe, sub the chocolate chips for white chocolate and ad macadamia nuts.

Great recipe! Nice and tasty! I used 1/2 of butter flavored Crisco in place of the butter to make them nice and soft. I also used 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond flavoring.

This is a great recipe, I like to jazz it up for the holidays by adding dried cranberries and a tbl of brandy. It makes it fantastic!

Delicious flavor but a little cakier than I like.

This is a great, easy little recipes for one of my favorite kinds of cookies. I thought they tasted best leaving out the almond extract entirely, and letting the nuttiness come from the macadamia nuts, but that might just be me. The best part? - I have a temperamental oven, and these cookies are still good when slightly overdone. Yay!

These are absolutely wonderful!!!! Macadamia nuts are expensive and hard to come by in Canada - and of course, they're my favorite kind of nut. This is my recipe for SURE! They are not too sweet and are soft and chewy. 9 minutes in my oven was plenty of time to cook them perfectly and I didn't have any trouble with them spreading. Thank you!!!

Mixed this up then refrigerated it overnight since other reviewers had expressed concerns about it spreading too thin. In my opinion, it still was too thin. They were very difficult to get off the air bake cookie sheet. I am making these again and will cut back on the butter to see if that helps. My son LOVED these even thin as they were. UPDATE: Used 3/4 cup butter and left everything else the same. Baked exactly 10 minutes............PERFECT!

Mouthgasm!!!! I made these with whole wheat flour instead and they came out beautiful. These should be illegal in three countries cause they're so good. Try this recipe, you won't regret it!!

These are awesome! I used 1/2c. butter flavor crisco and 1/2c. margarine, without the extract. They were so thick and chewy, not flat at all! Thanks--SM

These delicious cookies were a hit with all my friends and family! I definately recommend this recipe. I used butter flavor Crisco instead of real butter and didn't have any almond extract. I doubled the vanilla extract and the cookies still came out great. Enjoy!

My husband loved this cookie! I made them by the tablespoon so it gave me roughly about 40 good size cookies.I also used the half butter and half shortening because we like soft cookies. They were gone it three days! Will be making again..and again.

my boyfriend finally ranted about how i only bake for other people so i decided to make that as they are one of his favorite cookies and they came out wonderfully!!! i put in half a tablespoon of vanilla and kept the almond extract... i also added maybe around 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and it was wonderful!!! great recipe!!!

These cookies were an absolute breeze to whip up! Excellent flavor with the almond and vanilla extract. I read other reviews before making them but decided to follow the recipe exactly and see what happened. What happened was the best cookies ever. Not too fluffy but not flat what so ever. I pride my self on baking good cookies - these were by far the best I have ever made. And my husband and kids (who don't like nuts) agree!

These are the perfect white chocolate macadamia cookies. Everyone loved them and they sold like crazy. One customer asked us how we got Mrs. Field's recipe. Thanks, Mary.

This would be a wonderful cookie just the way it is, but I'll rate one star lower since I made a few alterations because I'm a baker and I know what I like. The ratio of cookie, white chocolate and nuts is perfect. I didn't use almond extract because I didn't have any & I usually don't like it. I just doubled the vanilla. I like chewy cookies that aren't cakey. To achieve the consistency I like, I used bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. I also substituted 1 egg yolk + 2 Tbs of milk for one of the eggs. These are tricks I learned from Alton Brown to make my cookies chewy. It's also very important to cream the butter and sugars for at least 2 minutes until the mixture lightens in color. Then add the wet ingredients. These tricks work for me every time. The half butter/ half butter flavored shortening thing works too, but I like the taste with real butter much better. I also chilled the dough for 24 hours... making the dough one night and baking the next night. I took these cookies to work and my co-workers devoured them. They were a huge hit.

These were the best cookies...ever. I went looking for a recipe, saw the review, and had to write one myself. i like the note about if your nuts are salted, leave out some of the salt. They taste AMAZING!

The key to these delicous cookies is to use butter straight from the fridge. DO NOT SOFTEN THE BUTTER. Cook just until the edges are brown and leave on the cookie sheet 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to parchment to cool. This is an excellent recipe as written, and will be used by my family for years to come!

Made them on a humid day and the first batch turned out dry, so I added 1 cup of brown sugar. Also put in a cup of orange flavored dried cranberries. They're soft and chewy and decadently delicious!

These cookies taste good. I used celebaut chocolate which bakes up perfectly. I think this recipe could have used a bit more chocolate. I also used tablespoon fulls and flattened them a bit as I found they came out a bit cakey and puffy. I am not sure what makes a cakey cookie as opposed to a chewier cookie..but I think I would have preferred a bit of a chewier cookie. Also I think a dark brown sugar would have given a richer flavour. All in all, a good tasting cookie though, and I did omit the almond extract as it's not to my liking and just doubled the amount of vanilla.

These are wonderful! Except for substituting butter flavored Crisco for the butter, I followed the recipe exactly and they look beautiful and taste amazing! Great recipe!

These cookies came out perfectly! I didn't make any changes. The almond extract did not overpower at all.

This is the third time I've made them!! They disappear very quickly each time. This is my Dad's favorite cookie! I however took someone's advice to reduce the flour to 2cups. I live in FL & my cookies never spread unless I reduce the flour. I also keep the almond extract as is in my recipe & it doesn't seem to overpower the other flavors. I also add craisins [dried cranberries] for color and flavor interest. Even sceptic dissenters of this addition can't help themselves and these cookies don't last 3 days anywhere I've made them! They disappear =)

I decided to follow the recommendation from other reviewers to replace 1/2 cup butter with shortening. The consistency was perfect but they ended up a bit bland. I think I made a mistake by using plain vegetable shortening instead of butter flavored and maybe should have packed my brown sugar more? Decent but not a keeper in my book.

This is an awesome recipe! The first time I used white chips and the second time I used chopped white chocolate - both turned out wonderful. I almost always substitute butter flavored Crisco for butter in my cookie recipes to make them softer but I didn't even do that. Will make again and again!

The best macadamia nut cookie I've ever made OR even tasted! Yummy! I turned down the oven slighly and cookied just a little longer. It made them soft and chewy. ^^ I used only 1/4 cup of macadamian nuts. My family's not much into nuts.

I made these just as written - they are fantastic! I baked for 11 minutes on an air bake pan, and they stayed chewy and moist. I have also made them with an extra 1/2 cup of nuts and they are still great!

very good, used 1/2 butter and 1/2 butter Crisco. Made 35 cookies