Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

When opening your freezer what do you see?
Pizza? Frozen meat? Frozen chicken soup or stock?
Maybe some frozen fruit or frozen meal?
Or that odd ball of a frozen dead pet you just couldn't part with?
Well, if all of the above, none of the above, or a combination, my childhood memories include opening my freezer and seeing boxes upon boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts.
In a way these cookies are a tribute to my childhood sweet tooth and constant noshing on Mauna Loa chocolate covered macadamia nuts. On my many family trips to Hawaii, we would arrive home with literally cases of chocolate macadamia nuts. Why? Only because my dad was obsessed and always wanted a little taste of Hawaii to snack on. Looking back on that people must have thought we were crazy for buying cases of the stuff to bring back home, but as a kid I was always thankful for that little sweet treat that was just a quick reach into the freezer. These soft, chewy, and semi thin cookies are a nice little bite of paradise.

Servings: about 36 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of room temperature butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1 cup of chopped toasted macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugars. Once the sugar and butter are creamed, add in the eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Then in small batches add them to the wet ingredients in the mixer.

Chop your macadamia nuts and lightly toast them either in the oven or the toaster oven for about 5-8 minutes. Allow them to fully cool.

To the dough mixture, add the chocolate and macadamia nuts. Be careful not to overmix the cookie dough.

On parchment lined baking sheets, scoop out about a spoonful of cookie dough and roll them into small balls.

Place them into the over for 10-12  minutes. Once golden brown, remove from the oven and allow them to cool. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to completely cool.

Enjoy!