Macadamia and Honey Cookies

Macadamia and Honey Cookies

A bonus of keeping bees is their gorgeous by-product - HONEY.  

Fresh honey extracted straight from the hive is incomparable in flavour, aroma and texture.

Combine this with macadamia nuts and you have a winner.

My mother recently returned from a holiday in northern New South Wales, bringing freshly picked macadamia nuts from a macadamia nut farm.  These were delicious and quickly sealed to keep in the freshness.  Some had been tossed in different seasonings from Italian to Australian bush flavourings, but all I wanted was the plain variety.  Along with the last of the honey harvest for the season, I was tingling with anticipation and reached for the flour and sugar to combine away.

I like to prepare biscuits, slices or cakes on the weekend.  As long as the cookie jar is filled every Sunday with a different offering - which usually lasts for about 3 days - I, and therefore the family, am happy.

Cookie baking is to be done quickly, as opposed to a gallant dessert which one can labour over for hours.

Beat butter, honey and  sugar until creamed.

Macadamia Honey Cookies 

125 butter, softened

2 large tablespoons honey

1/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 1/4 cups plain flour

3/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup macadamias, finely chopped

2 tablespoons raw sugar (for dipping) optional

Cream butter, honey and sugar in a bowl with electric mixer until well combined and smooth.

Stir in flour, sifted bicarbonate of soda, coconut and macadamia nuts.

Roll into small balls, flatten slightly and dip one side into the raw sugar if desired, 

before placing on a silicon or baking paper lined tray.  

Bake in moderate oven 180C for 10 minutes until lightly browned.

Cool on trays for a few minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool.    Yield 35 biscuits.

Freshly baked biscuits.

Enjoy with a cappuccino, a cup of steaming black tea or a glass of milk.
Perfect for our Autumn weather when on some days, all you want to do is bake and cook.
Buon appetito, cheers Merryn

White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

My son came bouncing into the room, he had just returned from a holiday with friends at Byron Bay.
 "I had a great time" he said, "we stayed across from the beach and had pancakes every day for breakfast with bacon and maple syrup.  We also had the best cookies I have ever had, here I brought you one" and promptly gave me a White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookie ceremoniously wrapped in a serviette. 
You can imagine, my heart somersaulted with love - and the cookie was good.

The cookie was so good I had to make my own.
That is, after we had pancakes - well crepes really but don't start me on what is a pancake or pikelet.
This is a much debated subject in our house.   My Other Half is convinced what I call a pancake is actually a pikelet, so I prefer to cook crepes and avoid the whole subject.  

We cooked crepes with crispy bacon rashers and maple syrup, topped with a  little sifted icing sugar -

apparently very Byron Bay.     After shopping for macadamias and white chocolate buttons I managed to contrive some White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies that were quite good.  In fact they were better than the original cookie after journeying 7 hours in a serviette to reach me.

I made two batches that day, each slightly different but totally acceptable. 

The orange rind helped soften the sweetness of the chocolate.

White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

 

125g butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 free range egg

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 cup white chocolate buttons or pieces

1/3 cup finely chopped macadamias

Beat butter, vanilla essence, orange rind, sugar and egg in a small bowl with electric mixer until smooth.  

 

Finely chop the macadamia nuts in a food processor 

or mortar and pestle.

Roughly chop the white chocolate buttons in the same food processor or mortar and pestle.

Stir flour, nuts and chocolate into the mixture.  Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls and place onto greased or baking paper lined baking trays placing them about 5cm apart.   Bake in a preheated moderate oven (180 C) for 15 minutes approximately or until firm and just starting to brown.  Cool on wire racks.

Store in an air tight container when cool.  They will last a week, if they are any remaining by then :D
White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies -  not just for kids.
Buon appetitio, Merryn.