Super Chewy Vegan White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Oatmeal Cookies
These vegan white chocolate, macadamia nut, and oatmeal cookies are insanely chewy, full of warm vanilla notes, and are made with nutritious ingredients like oats, almond flour, and cashew butter! Easy to bake and accommodating to all types of diets (oil-free & gluten-free), these cookies taste indulgently delicious.
Have you ever vibed with a particular cookie so much that you couldn’t seem to get enough of it? For me, that’s recently been my oatmeal raisin cookies. That recipe uses a base mixture of cashew butter/maple syrup/vanilla extract that I crave continuously because 1) it gives the cookies a super chewy and highly addictive texture and 2) it’s a bit more wholesome (i.e. contains more nutrients and fiber!) than traditional cookies made with white flour and butter. With the warmer temperatures of the spring season setting in, I developed a craving for white chocolate, and decided to create a white chocolate chip cookie recipe. With my mind already set on the white chocolate, I couldn’t think of a better flavor complement than macadamia nuts (such a classic!). The result of my remixed cookies: a super chewy, vanilla-y, cashew butter-based, white chocolate and macadamia nut oatmeal cookie that’s insanely delicious and keeps you reaching back into the cookie jar. Again… and again.... And again...
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
Chewy texture with softened chocolate and crunchy macadamia bits. These cookies have a super, super chewy base texture that’s accented with softened bits of baked white chocolate. And for some super satisfying texture contrast, they’ve got the slightest crisp around the edges and loads of crunchy macadamia nut chunks that pair amazingly with the white chocolate. Pure perfection. 🤤
Made with nutritious ingredients. Aside from the maple syrup and vegan white chocolate, these cookies are made with wholesome ingredients like oats (whole grains!), almond flour, cashew butter, and macadamia nuts. But don’t worry, they still taste indulgently delicious (they’re cookies after all - not a health food!), despite not relying on traditional cookie staples like vegan butter and white flour.
Oil-free. Using a mix of very creamy cashew butter and liquid sweetener like maple syrup helps keep the base of the cookies free of any butter/oil while also helping to give the cookies their perfectly soft, chewy texture and tasty flavor - win!
Indulgently delicious. Even though these cookies are made with more nutritious ingredients, they’re every bit as delicious and satisfying as traditional cookies, but with that suuuuuper chewy texture! Cashew butter, maple syrup, and loads of vanilla help give these cookies a delicious, warm base dough that perfectly complements the white chocolate, macadamia nuts, and oat combo. Perfectly sweetened, rich, and decadent - what’s not to love? 😋
Ingredient Overview
Rolled oats. Obviously a key ingredient in oatmeal cookies! Bonus points for oats being fiber and protein-rich whole grains. Make sure to use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats or steel-cut oats, as those have different profiles and textures that are not ideal for cookies.
Almond flour. For structure! Almond flour is just finely ground blanched almonds, so it’s fatty (like almonds), which helps retain the moisture in these cookies so that they can be nice and chewy. Don’t try subbing it with traditional flours - they’ll make your cookies unpleasantly dry and tough.
Baking soda. For rise!
Cashew butter. Cashew butter is the primary source of fat in these cookies, replacing the butter or oil found in traditional recipes. But on top of providing the fat needed to create a soft-textured cookie, it’s also essential in enhancing this cookie’s vanilla, oatmeal-y, and white chocolate/macadamia flavor! I used a homemade, very creamy roasted cashew butter (recipe here!) that’s drizzly and spreadable, but if you’re using a store bought cashew butter, make sure it’s 1) super creamy/drizzly and 2) made with roasted cashews and absolutely nothing else, except possibly a hint of salt (check the ingredient label to make sure cashews (and possibly salt) are the only ingredient(s)!). Since roasted cashew butter is so essential to the flavor of these cookies, I don’t recommend substituting it with any other nut/seed butters.
Maple syrup. To sweeten the cookies while also helping to give them their soft and chewy texture! Plus it keeps the cookies refined sugar-free.
Vanilla extract and salt. Vanilla adds the necessary warmth that complements the white chocolate/macadamia nut combo, and a bit of salt always helps to round out the overall flavor of cookies!
Macadamia nuts and vegan white chocolate. For that classic white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie combo! I don’t know about you, but I was definitely obsessed with these cookies growing up. White chocolate is not typically vegan, and it’s difficult to find vegan white chocolate in most grocery stores since it’s still a relatively niche product (at least as of this writing!), but you can easily find some online. Pascha’s vegan white chocolate chips are really delicious and definitely exceeded my expectations for white chocolate baking chips - I would definitely recommend them if you’re looking for some to try (this is not sponsored - just my honest opinion!). For the macadamia nuts, I used raw whole ones that I chopped roughly into pieces about the same size as/slightly larger than chocolate chips.
Tips for Baking These Cookies
Baking these cookies is pretty easy and straightforward. 🥳 They actually share the same base dough as my oatmeal raisin cookies, so the same baking advice and tips apply to these. For guidance on how to achieve the perfect texture every time you bake these, check out the “Tips” section in that blog post!
Super Chewy White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Oatmeal Cookies
Vegan, oil-free, gluten-free
Makes 12 cookies
Ingredients
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup almond flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine salt
½ cup very creamy, well-mixed roasted cashew butter* (homemade or storebought)
½ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup raw macadamia nuts, chopped
½ cup vegan white chocolate chips (I used Pascha)
Directions
In a medium to large bowl, mix together the oats, almond flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, add the cashew butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix together until well combined.
Add the mixed wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to combine everything together until a dough forms. Then, fold in the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts.
Transfer the dough to the fridge to chill for 60 minutes. Meanwhile, start preheating the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
After the dough has chilled for an hour, remove from the fridge and use your hands and a spatula (as needed) to shape it into 12 evenly-sized, semi-flattened round disks (see photo in blog post above), spreading them evenly across the entire baking sheet. The dough will be quite sticky - just do your best to shape the cookies!
Bake until lightly golden and just starting to brown around the edges, about 13-17 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet, untouched, for 10 minutes.
The cookies will be very soft if you try touching them, but they will continue cooking once removed from the oven and will eventually set as they cool.
Using a large spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow the cookies to further cool until fully set, about 20-30 minutes.
The texture of these cookies is best when fresh i.e. within the first few hours of baking, but leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes:
*Be sure to use a single ingredient, roasted (not raw) cashew butter (i.e. just roasted cashews). I used my homemade roasted cashew butter - I just processed the cashews until they turned into a very drizzly butter. If using a store bought cashew butter, make sure it’s very creamy!
**Recipe originally published 4/29/2021; last updated 8/4/2022.
Don’t forget to leave a review below and tag me on Instagram (@teostinykitchen) so I can see how your cookies turned out! And if you’re looking for a similar style cookie, check out my recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies!