White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Remember how I promised you back in January that I would make up for the disturbing lack of cookies around this blog?  

Well, that was one of my New Year’s resolutions that I knew I would not mind fulfilling.  

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

White chocolate macadamia nut cookies are one of my favorite cookies.  They are buttery and chocolatey and yet, I seem to only have the pleasure of biting into one every couple of years.  That has to change.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

And we are off!  You know this drill.  Butter and sugar, egg and vanilla meets flour, baking soda, and salt.  

White chocolate is sweet and sophisticated while the macadamia nuts provide some crunch and meatiness.  Dream team!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

I love chopping nuts, it’s kind of my favorite thing, next to using my blow torch.  

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

We preheat, we cut parchment, we scoop dough.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

Warning: DO NOT OVER-BAKE!  These cookies can quickly go from chewy and scrumptious to crunchy and burnt.  Trust me, I know.   It’s important to pull these cookies out while the centers still look under-baked. 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

While the cookies are baking, pour yourself a glass of milk.  Go ahead, use the pretty glasses, you deserve a treat.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies {Pedantic Foodie}

One of my favorite taste-testers declared these cookies to be the best white chocolate macadamia nut cookies he has ever eaten.  I'll let you be the judge.  

Happy Wednesday friends! 

Sincerely,

  Pedantic Foodie

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies 

makes 2 dozen

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg 
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 3/4 cup roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In the work bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for one minute.  Add granulated sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy, scraping down the sides as necessary.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  

In a large bowl, sift to combine all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.  

Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating until all ingredients are well combined. Add chopped nuts and white chocolate to the cookie dough.  

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Use a 1-ounce scoop to portion the cookie dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.  

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to brown and the centers appear to be under-baked*. 

Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack. 

These cookies are best served at room temperature with large glasses of chilled milk.  Enjoy!

*It is really important to under-bake these cookies, otherwise they will be crunchy rather than chewy, and the white chocolate will burn on the bottom. 

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Coffee and doughnuts are one of the sacred food duos.  In the official book of sacred food combinations, this ranks number 3, right in between grilled cheese and tomato soup and peanut butter and bananas.

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

Being the foodie that I am, I wrote, "espresso doughnuts" down on an idea card a couple of weeks ago, and tossed it into the pile of random recipe ideas.  This past weekend, I rediscovered that card and this is what happened. 

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

Our coffee flavor comes in the form of espresso powder.  It smells incredible.

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

I love baked doughnuts because they aren't as heavy as the fried versions and they are a lot less messy.  You just need one of these doughnut pans.

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

The most important thing to remember when making baked doughnuts is to not overfill the pan.  Seriously, these things do some serious rising.

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

These doughnuts also received a coating of brown butter cream cheese frosting and espresso sugar, because we are fancy.

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

I really love how the tanginess of the cream cheese works with the richness of the brown butter.  I think this pairing should be added to the official book of sacred food combinations, which I definitely made up.  

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

Ahhh…this is a really good way to begin the morning.  

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting {Pedantic Foodie}

Get yourself a doughnut pan and let's get baking!

Happy Wednesday friends! 

Sincerely, 

  Pedantic Foodie

Espresso Doughnuts with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

makes 12 doughnuts 

for the doughnuts 

  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar 
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted*
  • 2 large eggs 
  • 1 cup whole milk 
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk to combine flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. 

In a separate bowl, beat eggs.  Whisk in milk, vanilla, and melted butter.  

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until thoroughly combined.  Allow the mixture to rest for five minutes. 

Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe the batter into a greased doughnut pan.  Be careful to not overfill, the doughnuts will do quite a bit of rising.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool while you prepare the frosting.

*Make sure that the melted butter has a chance to cool down before adding it to the milk.  If the butter is too hot, it will seize up when mixed with the cold ingredients.

for the frosting

  • 2 ounces unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 
  • espresso sugar, optional

Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium high heat.  Once the butter has melted cook for several minutes until the butter deepens in color and reaches dark amber.  Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, cream cheese on high for one minute.  Beat in brown butter.  Slowly add confectioner’s sugar, beating well after each addition until all the sugar is worked in.  Beat in heavy cream and vanilla, and mix until smooth.  

Spread the frosting over cooled doughnuts and sprinkle with espresso sugar or chocolate sprinkles.  Serve with a piping hot cup of coffee and a friend that tells horrible, yet wonderful puns.  Enjoy!


Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Here is the thing about muffins, they can be deceptive.  I will not take a muffin from just anyone.  Sometimes even the loveliest of muffins can conceal a spongey, flavorless interior.  In my mind, muffins should be moist, cakey, and lightly sweetened - it’s not a cupcake.

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

I had cherries on my mind the other day when I was trying to contrive some new recipes.  Unfortunately, the cherry season is still far out of sight, but thankfully, that does not mean that we cannot satisfy our stone fruit cravings.

Frozen cherries came to my rescue and these lovely, cherry-studded muffins were born.

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

Let’s get started!  These muffins get their cake-like texture from the creaming method.  Soft butter is whipped and beaten with sugar until it is light and fluffy.  This gives our muffins a firm, cakey texture that will hold up to our sweet black cherries. 

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

Have you ever experienced the disappointment of a berry-studded muffin where all the berries have fallen to the bottom?  It's annoying, but thankfully, it is also very easy to avoid.  Tossing your fruit in a bit of flour before adding it to the batter will keep the fruit from falling to the bottom.  Problem solved!

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

A muffin that has some sort of topping instantly gains my attention.  For this recipe, I made a simple cinnamon streusel by working a bit of softened butter into cinnamon, oats, flour and sugar.  The streusel adds a bit of extra sweetness and a nice textural element to our muffins.

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

Batter is scooped into a lined muffin pan and flowers are admired.  If you are anything like me, your iPhone is probably covered in flour by now and you have managed to get muffin batter on your jeans, just go with it.  

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

In my younger days, I would often ask my mother for butter for my muffin and she would usually say something like, "There is already butter inside the muffins."  To which I would reply, "Okay, that's great, now may I have some more butter please?"

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

I am grown now and I make my own muffins with butter on the inside and on the outside.  No shame. 

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping {Pedantic Foodie}

I hope you are all having a wonderful week.  I am currently enjoying a snow storm and drinking obscene amounts of chai.  Happy baking!

Sincerely, 

   Pedantic Foodie

 

Black Cherry Almond Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

makes 12 / recipe adapted from Culinary Institute of America’s Baking at Home

for the streusel topping

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup old fashioned whole oats
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Use a fork to work in butter, forming a rough crumble.

for the muffins 

  • 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided use
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder 
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg 
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen black cherries 
  • 1/3 cup chopped unsalted almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin pan with muffin cup liners.  

In a medium bowl, sift to combine baking powder, salt, nutmeg and 2 cups all-purpose flour.  Set aside. In a separate bowl whisk to combine milk, vanilla, and egg.  

In a large bowl, use a hand-mixer to beat butter on high speed for one minute.  Add sugars and beat for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate milk and flour mixtures in small increments, alternating between the two while mixing on low speed. 

In a separate bowl, toss frozen cherries in 2 tablespoons flour.  Fold almonds and coated cherries into the muffin batter, making sure to distribute them evenly.  

Use a spoon or spring-loaded disher to divide batter among the muffin cups.  

Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with about a tablespoon of streusel mixture.  Press down slightly to ensure that the streusel sticks to the top of the muffin.  

Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are deep golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy!